A tax senior plays a critical role in the tax department of an accounting firm. They are experienced professionals who supervise tax engagements, manage teams, and ensure quality control over tax preparation and planning work. As a tax senior, you will gain exposure to complex tax issues and transactions while developing leadership, project management, and client relations skills. The role provides great opportunities to advance your tax career.
What are the responsibilities of a tax senior?
A tax senior has a diverse range of responsibilities:
Supervising tax engagements
A key duty is overseeing tax engagements to ensure they are completed accurately and on time. You will assign work to staff, set deadlines, monitor progress, review workpapers, and deal with emerging issues. Strong project management skills are essential to keep engagements on track and identify potential delays or problems early.
Preparing complex returns
As a seasoned tax professional, you will handle the preparation of more intricate tax returns, such as consolidated corporate returns, partnership and trust returns, and high net worth individual filings. You will also prepare complex calculations, such as those relating to tax provisions, deferred taxes, and carryovers.
Tax research and consultations
You will need to research ambiguous or challenging tax situations using your knowledge and resources like the Internal Revenue Code. Clients rely on your expertise to provide guidance on tax planning ideas and solutions to issues. As a tax senior, you will consult on tax consequences of major transactions, proposed structures, M&A deals, and other significant tax matters.
Client interactions
Building relationships with clients is an important part of the role. You will communicate with clients to obtain information required for compliance work, explain tax situations and planning options, address questions, and resolve problems. Tax seniors represent the firm in a professional manner to foster continued engagement.
Managing teams
You will oversee a team of tax professionals, including supervising their work, providing feedback, mentoring staff, participating in performance reviews, and identifying development opportunities. People management skills allow you to bring out the best in your team members.
Tax technical training
As one of the most experienced tax professionals at the firm, you will help educate staff on technical tax matters through formal training sessions, on-the-job coaching, and reviewing workpapers. Strong communication skills are vital to break down complex concepts into understandable components.
Quality control
Ensuring the accuracy of tax work performed is a critical responsibility. You will implement quality control procedures, review filings, spot potential errors, provide constructive feedback to avoid future mistakes, and suggest improvements to processes. Attention to detail is paramount in upholding quality standards.
What are the entry requirements to become a tax senior?
The main requirements to secure a tax senior position include:
– 3 to 6 years of professional tax experience in public accounting
– CPA license is usually preferred or required
– Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field
– Excellent written and verbal communication abilities
– Sharp time management and organizational skills
– Strong research, analysis, and problem-solving capabilities
– High proficiency in using tax software and MS Office
– Knowledge of accounting principles and tax regulations
What skills are needed to be successful as a tax senior?
To excel as a tax senior, these skills and qualities are invaluable:
Technical tax expertise
You need an in-depth understanding of federal, state, and local tax codes, rules, and regulations, and expertise on tax issues for a variety of entities, industries, and transactions. Sharpening your existing tax knowledge and staying updated is essential.
Leadership
Strong leadership skills allow you to effectively manage teams, oversee projects, provide direction, and motivate others to do high-quality work. You need to lead by example.
Communication abilities
From client interactions to team management, you need excellent written and verbal skills to clearly convey technical tax information, explain complex concepts, and provide recommendations in an easy-to-understand manner.
Project management
Juggling multiple tasks and deadlines requires stellar organizational and time management skills. You need to plan engagements efficiently, identify resource needs, delegate work, and monitor progress to keep things on track.
Analytical thinking
With complex tax situations, you need to research issues, understand technical details, consider alternatives, and develop solutions. Strong analytical abilities are a must.
Attention to detail
Preparing accurate tax forms and filings requires meticulous reviewing and quality control procedures. Careful attention to detail helps avoid costly errors.
Teamwork
Collaborating with team members, sharing knowledge, providing mentoring, and working together to resolve issues leads to better engagement outcomes. A team-player attitude is important.
Business development
As a senior professional, you play a bigger role in relationship-building, networking, cross-selling services, and identifying opportunities to grow the firm’s client base. Business development skills become more relevant.
What types of tax work will you be involved in?
A tax senior handles a wide range of tax compliance and advisory work on behalf of clients, including:
– Individual tax returns – Form 1040, related schedules and forms
– Corporation tax returns – Form 1120, 1120S, related schedules
– Partnership tax returns – Form 1065, related schedules
– Non-profit tax returns – Form 990
– Trust, estate and gift tax returns – Form 1041, 706, 709
– International tax reporting matters
– State and local tax returns
– Tax projections and estimates
– Tax planning for major transactions and restructurings
– Researching technical tax matters
– Consulting on tax minimization strategies
– Recommending entity structure based on tax implications
– Tax authority audit support
– Preparing reports summarizing tax issues
– Documentation of workpapers
What is the career path and progression after tax senior?
After advancing to a tax senior position, typical next steps in your career path include:
Manager
As a tax manager, your client engagement responsibilities continue to grow. You manage more complex engagements while mentoring seniors and overseeing multiple projects and teams. Technical knowledge remains critical along with stronger project management and business development skills.
Senior Manager
The senior manager role involves managing large client accounts, attracting new business, and acting as a trusted advisor. You oversee the entire tax function for engagements while maintaining deep technical abilities to handle highly complex matters.
Director
Tax directors have a strategic focus, recommending services, developing new offerings, and identifying expansion opportunities. You oversee development and execution of the tax department’s vision and initiatives. Expect frequent client interactions in a director role.
Partner
As a tax partner, you gain ownership interest in the firm and help drive major business decisions. Partners have deep client relationships and are viewed as a leading authority in the field. Rainmaking, practice leadership, and mentoring junior partners are key partner duties.
What degree do you need to be a tax senior?
While each firm sets its own requirements, these are typical credentials needed to be a tax senior:
Education
You need at least a bachelor’s degree, with accounting, finance, business, or economics majors being most applicable. A master’s degree in taxation can also set you apart.
CPA certification
Most firms expect tax seniors to have an active Certified Public Accountant license which provides credibility with clients and shows your tax competency. Obtaining the CPA requires passing the rigorous four-part exam and meeting other licensure requirements.
Tax training certificates
Voluntary tax courses and certificates like the Enrolled Agent credential can further boost your tax qualifications. These demonstrate your commitment to ongoing learning.
What is the salary range for a tax senior?
According to Robert Half’s 2023 Salary Guide, typical tax senior salary ranges are:
– United States national average: $73,500 – $117,250
– New York City: $85,750 – $135,000
– San Francisco: $94,000 – $152,750
– Chicago: $72,250 – $115,500
– Houston: $67,750 – $108,500
– Atlanta: $72,000 – $116,500
– Los Angeles: $83,000 – $139,500
Salaries can vary based on location, firm size, industry specialization, and credentials like the CPA license. As you progress from senior to manager and director roles, total compensation continues to increase substantially.
What are the working hours like as a tax senior?
Working hours tend to fluctuate during the year based on tax season cycles:
– January to April (busy season): Expect 55-80 hours per week during this crunch period when filing deadlines lead to peak workloads. Weekend work is common.
– May to December: Hours reduce to 40-50 per week on average. You’ll have more flexibility but some weekend work may still occur depending on project needs.
The busy season represents a major time commitment, though some firms are making efforts to promote better work-life balance. The role allows remote work options, but on-site presence is still frequent.
What are the main pros and cons of being a tax senior?
Pros
– Earn a six-figure salary with partner earnings potential
– Prestige of being a senior professional at a respected accounting firm
– Gain exposure to complex tax matters
– Opportunity to specialize in an industry or tax area
– Manage and mentor team members
– Build client relationships and public speaking skills
– CPA certification can be a big asset for career advancement
– Flexible off-peak season hours
Cons
– Intense busy season hours from January to April
– Work can be highly technical and complex
– Stressful deadlines and juggling multiple priorities
– Must keep up with constantly evolving regulations
– Not involved in high-level strategic initiatives
– Work is compliance-focused with limited creativity
What types of people are suited to becoming a tax senior?
People well-suited to being a tax senior often have:
– Strong technical tax knowledge and interest in the field
– Analytical mindset and aptitude for working with numbers
– Comfort dealing with sophisticated tax issues
– Discipline to learn new tax rules and regulations
– Meticulous attention to detail to produce accurate work
– Initiative to research solutions and consult clients
– Strong project management and organizational skills
– Leadership potential and people management abilities
– Professional communication style and presentation skills
– Ability to excel in a deadline-driven environment
– Passion for the accounting profession
How can you progress from staff accountant to tax senior?
Moving up from staff accountant to tax senior in 3-6 years is achievable by:
– Consistently delivering high quality tax work
– Gaining broad experience preparing diverse tax return types
– Mastering widely used tax software like ProSystem fx Tax and Lacerte
– Developing expertise in specific tax areas through certifications
– Seeking opportunities to manage engagements and direct teams
– Taking on informal mentoring and coaching of junior staff
– Actively networking and building relationships with colleagues
– Participating in firm initiatives and taking on leadership roles
– Proactively pursuing feedback and demonstrating learning agility
– Acquiring your CPA license as soon as meeting minimum experience levels
– Communicating your career goals and eagerness for more responsibility
What key takeaways should you know about being a tax senior?
Key highlights on the tax senior role:
– It represents an exciting step for tax professionals to gain more complex responsibilities and lead teams.
– You will prepare intricate tax returns, oversee compliance engagements, manage staff, interface with clients, and maintain quality control.
– Leadership, project management, communication, and strong technical abilities are vital to success.
– The busy filing season requires long hours but off-peak periods offer better work-life balance.
– With large firms, the role provides the platform to continue advancing to manager, director and partner levels.
– Performance metrics focus on utilization, realization rates, client satisfaction, and team development.
– It offers an attractive six-figure salary and progression path to reach upper management levels.
– The work is highly technical so you should have a strong interest in tax matters and aptitude for details.
Conclusion
A tax senior role is perfect for driven professionals seeking more responsibility and career growth in tax accounting. It enables you to elevate your technical skills while developing leadership capabilities and progressing toward partner. Tax seniors enjoy solving complex issues amidst the challenges of busy season. With a proven ability to produce timely, accurate work and manage teams, it represents an exciting step for your professional advancement.