Government Cost Accountant

Description

Elevate your career with Detroit Defense. Join a dynamic team dedicated to national security through cutting-edge technology. Detroit Defense has a long history of delivering advanced solutions to the Department of War (DOW). Dive into innovation in Systems Engineering, Combat Vehicle Integration, Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and Software Development. Your journey to impactful work and rapid growth starts now—Behind the Mission Beyond the Challenge!
 

Detroit Defense is seeking a Government Cost Accountant to provide integral, hands-on support to the Controller and Director of FP&A across our cost accounting structure in Deltek Costpoint. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) owns the company's indirect rate structure, cost allowability determinations, and incurred cost submission, with critical input of the Director of FP&A and the Controller; this role provides the analytical and execution support beneath that leadership team – supporting operational accounting as needed, and performing the reconciliations, data checks, and schedule preparation that let the CFO and their team make and defend those calls with confidence. This position focuses on confirming that labor, cost, and organizational data are captured completely, accurately, and consistently as they flow through Costpoint. 

The Government Cost Accountant reports directly to the Controller and works closely with FP&A, Program Finance, Contracts, and other departments to keep our cost structure compliant, reconcilable, and audit-ready.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Cost Pool & Indirect Rate Management (Deltek Costpoint) – Support Role

• Support the Controller/Director of FP&A in maintaining and reconciling the company's indirect cost pools (fringe, overhead, G&A) in Costpoint, ensuring pool cost accounts are mapped to the correct account/organization combinations at the lowest level costs are actually posted.

• Perform the monthly and year-end calculation and reconciliation of actual indirect rates against provisional/billing rates; research variances and bring findings to the Controller/Director of FP&A for review and resolution.

• Provide supporting analysis and data for provisional billing rate development and annual rate budgets, which are set by the CFO with support from the Accounting Team.

• Help confirm the allocation base for each pool (e.g., direct labor dollars, total cost input, modified total direct costs) is applied consistently, flagging any inconsistency for leadership and/or third-party review.

Deltek Costpoint Organization & Department Structure – Support Role

• Provide hands-on support maintaining the Costpoint organization/department structure (home organizations, cost centers, org hierarchy) under the direction of the Controller/Director of FP&A, so that costs post to the correct pool and cost objective from the point of entry.

• Assist in evaluating the downstream cost pool and rate impact of any proposed organizational or account structure change, and raise findings to the Controller/Director of FP&A before a change is implemented.

• Maintain documentation of the current organization/department structure and its relationship to the indirect rate structure for leadership's reference.

Cost Allowability & Compliance – Support Role

• Apply FAR Part 31 cost principles – allowability (FAR 31.201-2), reasonableness (FAR 31.201-3), and allocability (FAR 31.201-4) – to flag and document proposed cost treatment for review and final determination by the Accounting Team.

• Identify and segregate expressly unallowable costs per FAR 31.205 into designated unallowable cost accounts, escalating any ambiguous or edge-case determinations to leadership.

• Apply Cost Accounting Standards (CAS 401, 402, 405, 406, 418) consistently in day-to-day cost treatment, and surface any inconsistency or proposed change in practice to the Accounting Team for review; the CAS Disclosure Statement is owned by the CFO.

• Support maintenance of written cost accounting policies and unallowable-cost determination documentation under the direction of the Accounting Team.

Incurred Cost Submission (ICE Model) – Support Role

• Provide the primary data preparation and reconciliation support for the annual Incurred Cost Submission (ICS), which is owned and filed by the CFO with support from the Accounting Team – building the indirect rate schedules (pools, bases, and calculated rates), the reconciliation of accounting records to claimed direct costs, and contract-level cost detail and over/underbilling schedules using the DCAA ICE model.

• Support DCAA and other audits of the incurred cost submission under the Accounting Team’s direction, including gathering data for auditor requests and preparing supporting schedules.

Data Integrity & Compliance Analytics

• Perform ongoing data integrity reviews of labor, cost, and organizational data flowing through Costpoint – checking completeness, accuracy, and consistent coding rather than financial performance or profitability.

• Design and run periodic data queries/checks to catch costs posted to the wrong organization, pool, or cost objective before they distort rate calculations or contract billings, and route findings to leadership for resolution.

General Cost Accounting Support

• Prepare journal entries related to indirect cost pools, cost allocations, and rate true-ups for review and posting approval.

• Support month-end and year-end close activities within the Accounting Team.

• Assist inter department personnel with rate proposals, budget rates, and ad hoc cost analysis in support of contract pricing and proposal efforts.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret Clearance if required.
• A minimum of five years of cost accounting experience in a government contracting environment.
• Hands-on experience with Deltek Costpoint, including indirect cost pool reconciliation and organization/department structure.
• Demonstrated experience supporting an Incurred Cost Submission (ICE model), such as building schedules or performing reconciliations.
• Working knowledge of FAR Part 31 cost principles and applicable Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), particularly as they apply to allowable/unallowable cost determination and consistent cost pool treatment.
• Experience calculating and reconciling indirect rates (fringe, overhead, G&A) against actual cost pools and provisional/billing rates.
• Strong analytical and data-validation skills, with the judgment to catch data integrity issues (miscoded, misallocated, or incomplete cost data) and escalate them before they affect rates or submissions.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills; comfortable building and reviewing reconciliations and rate schedules from large data sets.
• High attention to detail, good judgment about what to escalate versus resolve independently, and comfort working directly with and reporting to the Controller.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting a DCAA incurred cost audit or accounting system review.
• Exposure to CAS Disclosure Statement content or maintenance.
• Prior experience in the aerospace, defense, or broader federal government contracting industry.

Detroit Defense offers an impressive compensation and benefits package including:

• Medical, Dental & Vision Benefits
• Company Paid Life and AD&D
• Company Paid Short Term and Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending & HSA Accounts
• Legal & ID Shield Services
• 401k with Company Match
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Time Off (PTO)

Why Detroit Defense:
At Detroit Defense, we deliver mission-critical solutions that enhance national security, protect the warfighter, and enable readiness through innovation, technical excellence, and end-to-end lifecycle support. 

Remaining steadfast in our core values of Trustworthy, Mission Driven, Creative, and Agile we are a complex systems integrator for the U.S. Government, Detroit Defense provides solutions to meet the technical and programmatic challenges faced by our customers. Our proven success in multi-domain cross-platform system-of-systems integration results in fielded capability for warfighters. From R&D to production, fielding, and sustainment, Detroit Defense provides services and solutions to Empower Those That protect Us.

Veterans Encouraged to Apply: Detroit Defense proudly supports those who have served. We welcome applicants with military experience, including those transitioning to civilian careers. Your leadership, adaptability, and mission-focused mindset are valued here.   Detroit Defense is a proud recipient of the Hire Vets Gold Medallion Award since 2022.

Detroit Defense is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity or gender expression), age, mental or physical disability, creed, ancestry, citizenship, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, medical condition, genetic trait or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.