Tax Manager

You have built real depth in tax over the years, and you are ready for a seat where that experience matters day to day. At Barnes Wendling CPAs, a Tax Manager is not a cog in a large machine. You will own client relationships, perform/guide the technical work, and help the people around you get better. We are a regional CPA firm serving businesses and families across Northeast Ohio since 1946.

We are looking for someone who wants to grow here and stay for the long haul.

As a Tax Manager, you are the trusted point of contact for a portfolio of clients and the technical anchor for the teams serving them. You review complex federal, state, and local returns, shape tax planning conversations, and keep engagements moving on time and on budget. Just as important, you coach the staff and seniors working alongside you and help bring in new work through the relationships you build.

It is a role that blends technical leadership, client service, and people development, with room to shape how you spend your time.

• Own client relationships
• Serve as one of the primary contacts for a portfolio of business and individual tax clients, understanding their goals well enough to anticipate issues before they surface – sometimes helping the clients set them.
• Lead planning conversations that go beyond compliance, helping clients make informed decisions throughout the year rather than only at filing time.
• Respond to questions, notices, and curveballs with clear, practical guidance clients can act on or be able to identify the resource you need to contact in order to do so.
• Review complex returns and lead tax planning
• Review individual, partnership, S-corporation, C-corporation, trust, and multi-state returns, catching technical issues and coaching preparers on what you find.
• Research and resolve complicated federal, state, and local tax questions, and translate the answer into plain language for clients and colleagues.
• Develop tax planning and projection strategies that fit each client's situation, from entity structure to timing to credits and deductions.
• Manage engagements and projects
• Plan engagements, set budgets and timelines, and keep work on track across multiple clients at once.
• Balance competing deadlines during busy season without letting quality or communication slip.
• Keep directors, principals and senior managers informed on status, risks, and anything that needs a decision or attention.
• Coach and develop staff
• Give timely, specific feedback on returns and work papers so staff learn in the moment, not months later.
• Delegate thoughtfully, matching assignments to where people are and where they want to grow.
• Hold honest career conversations and advocate for the people on your teams as they advance.
• Improve process and quality
• Look for ways to make the work cleaner and more efficient, from workflow to review approach to use of technology.
• Help maintain the technical quality standards clients count on and the firm stands behind.
• Build business through relationships
• Grow existing client relationships by spotting additional ways the firm can help.
• Build your presence in the Northeast Ohio community and professional networks in a way that feels natural to you.
• Contribute to new business through referrals and relationships rather than hard selling, because the best work tends to come from trust.

Active CPA license in the state of Ohio.

Bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field.

Roughly seven or more years of progressive public accounting tax experience.

Prior experience reviewing returns and leading or mentoring staff.

Strong working knowledge of business taxation (partnerships, S-corporations, and C-corporations) and individual…