How to hire a manufacturing finance & accounting team

Start with responsibility

Hiring in manufacturing finance & accounting starts with the work your team cannot leave uncovered. Related jobs can require different judgment about manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations. Decide which decisions about accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites this hire must own and which stay with a manager or specialist. That distinction keeps an impressive title from becoming the wrong answer to a vacancy involving manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations.

Build the manufacturing finance & accounting brief with the manager who will use the hire's judgment. Agree the operating conditions and approval limits around manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations before interviews. The roles below help separate responsibility for manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations from responsibility for accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites. Use those differences to design your team, not to assume every manufacturing finance & accounting position must be added.

VP of Finance

In the VP of Finance opening, establish who owns manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations. A candidate can contribute to manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a financial decision connecting plant performance with cash and reporting and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.

The important boundary for VP of Finance is finance leadership versus the controller's detailed accounting ownership. Explain finance leadership versus the controller's detailed accounting ownership in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in manufacturing finance executives with plant and corporate responsibilities may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.

• Read the VP of Finance hiring brief

Division Controller

In the Division Controller opening, establish who owns accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites. A candidate can contribute to accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a consolidation issue traced back to plant costing and accounting practice and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.

The important boundary for Division Controller is division accounting rather than enterprise CFO strategy. Explain division accounting rather than enterprise CFO strategy in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in controllers responsible for several manufacturing entities or sites may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.

• Read the Division Controller hiring brief

Assistant Plant Controller

In the Assistant Plant Controller opening, establish who owns plant accounting work and delegated support for the controller. A candidate can contribute to plant accounting work and delegated support for the controller without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a close issue reconciled against inventory or production transactions and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for plant accounting work and delegated support for the controller, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.

The important boundary for Assistant Plant Controller is delegated accounting responsibility rather than final site finance authority. Explain delegated accounting responsibility rather than final site finance authority in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in plant accountants already supporting manufacturing month-end close may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for plant accounting work and delegated support for the controller, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.

• Read the Assistant Plant Controller hiring brief

Cost Accounting Manager

In the Cost Accounting Manager opening, establish who owns costing methods and the accountants maintaining product cost records. A candidate can contribute to costing methods and the accountants maintaining product cost records without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a cost-roll decision that separated routing changes from unexplained variances and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for costing methods and the accountants maintaining product cost records, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.

The important boundary for Cost Accounting Manager is cost-accounting management rather than all corporate financial reporting. Explain cost-accounting management rather than all corporate financial reporting in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in cost managers in manufacturers with standard costing and controlled inventory may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for costing methods and the accountants maintaining product cost records, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.

• Read the Cost Accounting Manager hiring brief

Senior Cost Analyst

In the Senior Cost Analyst opening, establish who owns complex manufacturing cost investigations and decision support. A candidate can contribute to complex manufacturing cost investigations and decision support without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a variance analysis separating material usage from price and absorption and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for complex manufacturing cost investigations and decision support, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.

The important boundary for Senior Cost Analyst is analysis depth rather than automatic management of the accounting staff. Explain analysis depth rather than automatic management of the accounting staff in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in experienced cost analysts working with plant production and financial records may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for complex manufacturing cost investigations and decision support, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.

• Read the Senior Cost Analyst hiring brief

Choose the handoff and hiring sequence

A move from manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations to accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites is not automatically a seniority ladder. Your organization may need both manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations and accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites, or may divide the work differently. State the handoff for manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations before deciding which vacancy goes first. A candidate should understand who decides when manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations conflicts with accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites. That is a manufacturing finance & accounting team-design question, not something to answer by choosing the more impressive title.

Find the relevant background

The manufacturing finance & accounting search should use a different qualification discussion for each remit. For VP of Finance, start with a financial decision connecting plant performance with cash and reporting. For Division Controller, start with a consolidation issue traced back to plant costing and accounting practice. Then ask whether the person wants responsibility for manufacturing finance leadership and the financial choices supporting operations under your working conditions. Moving from manufacturing finance executives with plant and corporate responsibilities may bring useful experience, but it does not automatically establish division accounting rather than enterprise CFO strategy. Investigate the gap around accounting across a manufacturing division and its operating sites rather than stretching the candidate's title.