VP Finance and Accounting

About the Company Our client is an established animal health manufacturer with a decades-long history of advancing animal health. From concept and development in R&D through biologics and pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution, the company produces reliable, high-value products for the livestock and companion animal industries. Backed by a private equity partner, the business is positioned for continued organic and inorganic growth. To support that growth, the company is seeking a VP of Finance & Accounting to lead product costing, manufacturing financial analysis, working capital management, and financial reporting across its regulated production operations. About the Role The VP of Finance & Accounting owns the accuracy of product cost bills of material, the forecasting of manufacturing variances, and performance reporting to business function leads across the organization. This leader sits at the intersection of finance and operations, partnering daily with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and site leadership to turn production data into business insights, facility optimization, and margin improvement. The role establishes best-in-class manufacturing accounting practices that support audit readiness and scalability in a USDA/FDA-regulated biologics and pharmaceutical environment. It also leads the month-end close, owns cash forecasting and a dynamic three-statement financial model, and supports broader financial reporting and planning. The VP reports directly to the CEO and serves as a member of the executive leadership team. What You'll Do Cost Accounting & Product Costing • Oversee all cost accounting activities supporting biologics and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations. • Own costing methodologies, including standard cost development, bills of material, routings, and labor and overhead rates. • Lead the annual standard cost roll and quarterly revaluations; explain cost changes by product and driver. • Calculate and maintain overhead absorption, including fixed and variable labor and overhead and capacity-based rates. • Quantify the cost impact of set-ups, change-overs, material yield loss, and shrink. • Account for biologics-specific costing: batch and lot costing, long cycle times, yield and potency variability, and failed or rejected batches. • Build and maintain product-level and customer-level margin analysis (SKU profitability). • Model the cost of new products, product transfers, and new processes before launch and in support of business development. Manufacturing Finance & Operational Partnership • Analyze manufacturing variances (material cost, labor, machine throughput, yield, overhead absorption) and identify operational improvement opportunities. • Serve as the finance and accounting business partner to plant, quality, and supply chain leadership; attend production and S&OP meetings. • Partner with Sales and R&D on RFPs, customer quoting, and pricing, providing product cost builds, margin analysis, and cost-to-serve inputs for new projects, contract manufacturing, and renewals. • Develop, track, and report operational KPIs such as cost per dose, batch yield, capacity utilization, scrap, and conversion cost. • Drive cost-reduction and process-improvement initiatives with measurable P&L impact. • Evaluate capex requests and model business cases, including cash outflows and ROI; track approved project spend, milestones, and post-implementation results. Working Capital Management • Own working capital management across Accounts Receivable, Inventory, and Accounts Payable. • Track and report working capital KPIs such as DSO, DOH, inventory turns, DPO, and cash conversion. • Advise the CEO and leadership team on the working capital impact of operating decisions. • Manage inventory valuation across raw materials, WIP, and finished goods, including the financial impact of capitalizing overhead. • Oversee physical and cycle counts and resolve count variances with operations. • Manage excess and obsolete, expiry, and quarantine/QA-hold reserves in line with product shelf life. • Maintain accounts receivable policies based on customer payment terms, payment history, and creditworthiness. • Establish policies, procedures, and internal controls over working capital accounts that support audit readiness. Close, Reporting & Systems • Lead the monthly, quarterly, and annual close with accurate, timely results under U.S. GAAP. • Serve as primary audit contact for inventory and cost accounting and support the annual external audit. • Optimize ERP costing and inventory modules and drive data integrity between production and financial systems. • Hire, train, and develop cost accounting and plant accounting staff. Cash Forecasting, Modeling & Financial Reporting • Own the 13-week rolling cash flow forecast and day-to-day cash management, with emphasis on inventory, working capital, and cash conversion. • Build and maintain a dynamic, driver-based three-statement model that carries manufacturing costs, volumes, pricing, and inventory decisions through the P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. • Show leadership the cash flow impact of operating decisions, such as building or reducing inventory or buying minimum order quantities, not just the P&L effect. • Contribute cost-of-goods, gross margin, and manufacturing spend inputs to the annual budget and forecasts. • Lead the monthly financial review and quarterly board decks and meetings; contribute cost, margin, cash, and P&L content to board, lender, and private equity sponsor reporting. • Support due diligence and integration of acquired manufacturing sites as needed. What You'll Bring A hands-on accounting leader whose career has been built inside manufacturing companies: someone equally comfortable on the production floor and in the general ledger, who can connect plant-level activity to the P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. • 10+ years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 5 years in cost accounting or plant controller roles. • A career grounded in accounting (cost accounting or audit) inside manufacturing companies, including meaningful time in plants alongside production, procurement, and plant leadership. • Experience costing complex, multi-step manufacturing processes: multi-level bills of materials, multiple WIP stages, fixed overhead allocated across process steps, and clear separation of direct vs. indirect labor and variable vs. fixed cost. • Strong command of inventory accounting, including valuation, reserves, cycle counts, and batch/lot costing. • Track record of driving significant cost and process improvements with measurable margin impact. • Experience leading timely, accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual close under U.S. GAAP. • Advanced ERP experience with costing and inventory modules, including implementation or optimization; advanced Excel and data analysis skills. • Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or business administration. Preferred Qualifications • Strongly preferred: Ability to take manufacturing costs through a full three-statement model, including cash forecasting and working capital management. • Strongly preferred: CPA or CMA. • Regulated manufacturing experience (biologics, vaccines, pharmaceutical, or animal health) and familiarity with USDA-CVB and/or FDA oversight. • Private equity-backed or M&A integration experience. • MBA. Who You Are • Operationally curious; you spend time on the floor to understand how product is made. • Unquestionable integrity; you hold yourself and others accountable. • Proactive in exploring opportunities to create value. • A big-picture thinker with strong attention to detail. • A disciplined, objective problem solver. • A clear communicator who can tell stories with numbers to non-finance audiences. • A team player and developer of talent.