Our client, a small CPA firm in Mount Kisco, NY is seeking an experienced Tax Manager to lead complex tax engagements for closely held and professional-services businesses, high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, estates, and related entities. This is a hands-on leadership role for a technically strong tax professional who can manage client relationships, review complex returns, provide year-round planning and advisory services, supervise staff, and contribute to the continued growth of the firm.
The ideal candidate will have direct experience advising clients with complex compensation arrangements, practice ownership interests, K-1 income, multi-entity structures, multistate considerations, investment activity, and estate or gift-tax matters.
Client Engagement and Advisory
- Serve as the primary point of contact and trusted tax advisor for an assigned portfolio of clients.
- Build strong, long-term client relationships through proactive communication, responsiveness, and practical guidance.
- Provide year-round tax planning, projections, estimated tax calculations, and strategic advisory services for individuals and business owners.
- Advise on entity selection and conversion, compensation and distribution strategies, ownership changes, buy-in and buy-out structures, partner compensation models, K-1 allocations, succession planning, retirement strategies, and other tax-sensitive matters.
- Identify tax-saving opportunities and planning initiatives across clients' personal, business, investment, and estate interests.
- Coordinate with attorneys, wealth advisors, consultants, and other third-party professionals when client matters require an integrated approach.
- Identify additional tax, accounting, and advisory services that may benefit clients and support client retention and firm growth.
Tax Compliance and Technical Review
- Review and, when necessary, prepare complex federal, state, local, and foreign-related tax returns and filings.
- Review individual returns (Form 1040), trust and estate returns (Form 1041), gift-tax returns (Form 709), partnership returns (Form 1065), S corporation returns (Form 1120-S), C corporation returns, nonprofit returns, investment partnerships, management companies, holding companies, and other related entities.
- Review workpapers, trial balances, general ledgers, tax reconciliations, extensions, estimated payments, amended returns, elections, and supporting documentation for accuracy and completeness.
- Ensure compliance with applicable tax laws, filing requirements, firm standards, and internal quality-control procedures.
- Identify tax risks, filing exposures, technical issues, and planning opportunities during the preparation and review process.
- Address multistate income, nexus, allocation, apportionment, withholding, and pass-through entity tax considerations.
- Conduct tax research; document, summarize, and review conclusions; and prepare technical memoranda and client communications on complex tax matters.
- Stay current on legislative changes, regulatory developments, court decisions, and emerging federal, state, local, and international tax issues.
Tax Notices, Examinations, and Representation
- Review and respond to federal, state, and local tax notices and information requests.
- Communicate with the Internal Revenue Service and other taxing authorities on behalf of clients.
- Assist with tax examinations, audits, appeals, penalty-abatement requests, and collection matters.
- Prepare supporting documentation and recommend appropriate resolution strategies, coordinating with legal counsel or specialty advisors when needed.
Leadership and Team Development
- Manage, coach, and mentor senior accountants, staff accountants, interns, and tax preparers.
- Assign work based on technical complexity, deadlines, team capacity, and development needs.
- Review tax returns, workpapers, research, and planning deliverables and provide clear, constructive, and timely feedback.
- Train staff on tax law, firm procedures, software, research, workpaper preparation, client communication, and professional standards.
- Promote technical development, accountability, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing across the team.
- Participate in performance evaluations, recruiting, onboarding, staffing decisions, and succession planning.
Engagement and Practice Management
- Lead multiple engagements simultaneously and ensure accurate, timely completion of all deliverables.
- Monitor workflow, deadlines, open items, staffing needs, and client expectations; resolve scheduling conflicts and bottlenecks.
- Manage engagement scope, budgets, realization, billing, collections, and changes in service requirements.
- Review client financial statements and accounting records, recommend adjusting entries, and identify accounting issues affecting tax reporting.
- Assist firm leadership with process improvement, quality control, technology adoption, workflow standardization, client retention, and business development.
- Contribute to new-client evaluations, engagement pricing, risk assessment, and the continued development of the firm's tax practice.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting from an accredited college or university required.
- Active CPA license required; an Enrolled Agent designation may be considered based on experience.
- MST, JD, or LLM in Taxation is preferred.
- Seven or more years of progressive public accounting tax experience, including substantial return-review, client-management, and staff-supervision responsibility.
- Prior experience as a Tax Manager, Tax Supervisor, experienced Tax Senior, or comparable role.
- Extensive experience with individual, partnership, S corporation, C corporation, trust, estate, gift-tax, and investment-partnership returns.
- Strong knowledge of federal, state, local, multistate, multi-entity, and pass-through taxation.
- Demonstrated ability to research complex tax issues, document conclusions, and communicate recommendations clearly.
- Proven leadership skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and client engagements.
- Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with strong executive presence and professional judgment.
- High degree of accuracy, discretion, ethics, responsiveness, and commitment to client confidentiality.
- Ability to work in the office a minimum of three days per week and additional hours during tax season and other peak periods.
Technology
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat.
- Experience with professional tax preparation, research, workflow, document-management, and electronic-filing platforms.
- Knowledge of CCH Axcess is preferred; familiarity with CCH, Bloomberg Tax/BNA, RIA Checkpoint, or comparable tax research systems is desirable.
- Experience with QuickBooks or other accounting and general-ledger platforms is preferred.
The compensation for this position ranges from $175,000.00 - $225,000.00. Actual compensation will be dependent upon the specific role, office location as well as the individual’s qualifications, experience, skills and certifications.
To all staffing agencies: PKF O’Connor Davies TalentConnect (“PKFOD TalentConnect”) will not be utilizing agencies to staff this position. Please do not forward resumes to PKFOD TalentConnect recruiters, partners and/or employees at any of our locations regarding this position. Please be reminded, PKFOD TalentConnect is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes will become the property of PKFOD TalentConnect.
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Equal Opportunity Employer
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