Senior Tax Accountant

What if busy season was actually balanced out by a quieter summer?

I’m working with a small CPA firm where some summer weeks can be around 30 hours. And if the work is done, you don’t need to sit at your desk just to make up the hours.

It’s a genuinely flexible approach from an owner who wants to make the firm more efficient, not just ask people to work more.

They’re now looking for someone to become a key part of the business alongside him. Tax is the main focus, with some client accounting mixed in, but the bigger piece is being comfortable building relationships and taking real ownership of clients.

Their client base is a little different from your typical small CPA firm. You’ll work predominantly with successful individuals and privately owned businesses across professional services, entertainment, medical and healthcare. Relationships tend to be long term and personal rather than transactional.

• Preparing individual and business tax returns, with the opportunity to review depending on your experience
• Managing your own client relationships and becoming someone clients genuinely come to for advice
• Supporting some client accounting work, including bookkeeping, payroll and monthly reporting
• Working directly alongside the owner and getting exposure to pretty much everything that happens within the firm

They’re ideally looking for around 3 to 6 years of public accounting experience, although they’re much more interested in finding the right person than ticking off a certain number of years.

CPA or actively working towards your CPA would be preferred.

It’s a small firm, so this isn’t somewhere you disappear into your own little area and wait for work to land on your desk.

They want someone driven and engaged. Someone who asks questions, thinks outside the box and looks at how something could be done better or faster rather than simply doing it the way it has always been done.

You’ll need to enjoy talking to clients too. A lot of the value they provide comes from the relationships they’ve built over years, so being personable, confident and comfortable picking up the phone is important.

The owner wants someone who can become his right hand person as the firm moves forward. For someone ambitious, there is the potential to grow into a much bigger role over time and potentially explore ownership or succession longer term.

That isn’t a requirement though. If you want progression, more responsibility and a close relationship with your clients without necessarily wanting to own a firm one day, that can work too.

They enjoy being together in the office because of the collaboration and quicker learning you get from a small team. The role is mainly onsite, but there is flexibility to work from home when needed.