The Cost Accounting Manager Role: Key Skillsets
Budget: even the word itself has been known to induce a headache. Project managers often find themselves at odds with competing desires to ensure deliverables exceed expectations, timelines are met and nothing goes over budget. It’s a delicate dance, and finding balance is not easy – and occasionally, impossible. Large-scale projects benefit from having a dedicated team member focus on the budget and meeting goals – a cost accounting manager (CAM).
CAMs typically oversee any specialized accounting teams within a project and are responsible for ensuring accuracy in all financial reports. They’re the point person for monthly budget updates and recommendations on cost-cutting measures and timelines. If your team is hiring a new CAM, there are three key skill sets you’ll want to look for in candidates.
1. A mind for numbers
The heart of the CAM role is numbers: cash flow, inventory, project investments and outputs. There are multitudes of data to sort through each month, and an analytical mindset is critical. A skilled CAM will be able to take reports and numbers and delve into the story and patterns behind them to make smart, successful recommendations.
2. Detail oriented
Given the large amounts of data to sift through, CAMs must be detail focused. The small pieces add up to a bigger story. Seemingly minor details can be indicative of a pattern and could be important in monthly budget decision making. Candidates for a CAM position will need to catch the small things and be able to leverage them in making educated choices.
3. Human centric
Numbers and data offer solid proof for CAMs’ recommendations and offer powerful influence for executives and project leads. However, numbers don’t tell the whole story, and projects involve real people with differing opinions, ideas and needs. CAMs must see beyond the numbers to the people. A certain measure may offer cost savings but could make life difficult for the team. A project delay could be due to individual team member challenges. In all recommendations, CAMS should do a human-cost analysis alongside the fiscal assessment.
CAMs play a key role in the success of a project. When choosing a person for the role, leaders should focus on candidates that have strong data interpretation skills, an eye for detail and a human-centered approach to their recommendations. With the right CAM, projects can execute on time and within budget, without sacrificing quality or team member morale.