Position: Director of Tax Planning and Strategy
Location: Chardon, OH
Status: Full time, in office
Salary: $170K-$180K, plus additional incentives based on contributions to firm revenue
We are an independent tax planning firm that has been guiding pre-retirees, retirees, widows, and businesses throughout Northeast Ohio and nationwide for decades. With broad experience in every aspect of tax management for individuals and business owners, we deliver an integrated plan including tax and estate planning, maximizing social security benefits, investment management and protecting loved ones.
As a tight knit, service-oriented team, we work collaboratively to bring our values to life each day: hard work, humility, integrity, optimism, responsiveness and doing whatever needs to be done to make things right. We are committed to delivering high-quality, high-touch experiences to our clients so that they always feel they are receiving our utmost attention. Being their advocate is the highest honor for us.
We are excited to have an opportunity to welcome a new Director of Tax Planning to our team! If you have extensive experience as a Personal Tax Manager, Tax Planner, or Senior Tax Specialist and love solving problems, we would love to hear from you. We enjoy collaborative efforts and welcome teammates who think analytically and develop strategies.
As a Director of Tax Planning, you’ll be responsible for the management and growth of an already thriving personal tax practice. You will manage client relationships, create holistic tax strategies for clients, prepare tax returns for our highest profile clients, ensure the continued growth of our firm, uphold our commitment to exceptional client service, and supervise and develop a team of accomplished tax specialists. Apply your subject matter expertise in tax planning strategies to advise small business owners and high net worth individuals who wish to minimize their tax liability and maximize the utility of LLC’s, charitable trusts, embedded trusts, and other financial vehicles. You will be responsible for delivering exceptional service for our most complex client cases while contributing to the firm’s continued revenue growth.
The attributes that we look for in teammates include:
- Strong interpersonal skills, quickly connecting with others to build relationships within the firm and across our client base
- Client first attitude
- Problem solving and strategic thinking
- Strong organizational skills
- Desire to be a long-term contributing member of the team
- Strong attention to detail
- Positive attitude and a team player
- A desire to proactively serve clients’ needs rather than reactively whenever possible
- Self-starter who enjoys the energy and possibilities presented by a small office environment
- Ability to think outside of the box
- Commitment to exceeding client and peer expectations
- Entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to participate in the success of the firm
As a Director of Tax Planning, some of your responsibilities will include:
- Managing client relationships, with an emphasis on small business owners and high net worth individuals
- Driving the continued revenue growth of the firm by developing a business development strategy, identifying new service opportunities with existing clients, and earning new client relationships through networking, referrals, or other means
- Prepare tax returns for nearly 100 client entities each year, including corporate, trust, non-profit, and small business clients
- Earning the trust of the team by demonstrating technical mastery of a range of tax advisory topics
- Developing holistic tax strategies which include tax preparation, tax planning strategies, bookkeeping, and more for small business owners and high net worth individuals
- Collaborating with financial advisors and trust attorneys to evaluate clients’ complete financial situations which include retirement accounts, LLC’s, personal trusts, embedded trusts, charitable trusts, and more
- Proactively recommending strategies which maximize tax efficiency based on each client’s unique circumstances
- Serving as an expert resource on bookkeeping, tax reporting, tax analysis, and tax strategy to small business owners and corporate clients
- Supervising, developing, and utilizing the knowledge base of our other tax specialists and client service team
- Building new client relationships through referrals, prospecting, centers of influence, and other means to drive continued growth of the practice’s client base
- Educating clients on the fundamentals of taxation and how sensible tax planning can impact their lives
- Building a detailed understanding of clients’ financial situations and business needs, then proactively offering solutions tailored to their concerns
- Identifying new opportunities to further serve existing clients with a broader range of internally available tax strategy services
- Taking responsibility for the success of an already successful practice and helping it navigate future industry changes
- Evaluating existing policies and procedures and identifying potential improvements wherever practical
- Requirements for this role include:
- Bachelor’s degree required, major in Accounting or Finance a plus
CPA required
- 15+ years of leadership or supervisory experience in the personal tax management or tax planning space required
- Demonstrated history of driving revenue growth through new client acquisition and identifying opportunities to expand services for existing clients
- Proven experience in personal tax analysis and strategy from end-to-end, including initiating new client relationships, leading onboarding and fact-finding meetings, and creation and execution of holistic tax strategies for individuals and small business owners
- Subject matter expertise of the financial planning needs and challenges unique to small business owners and high net worth individuals
- Impeccable follow-through
- Strong emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
- Stellar communication skills, both verbally and over written correspondence
- Demonstrated mastery of tax preparation, personal tax analysis and planning, small business bookkeeping and tax planning, LLC’s, personal trusts, embedded trusts, charitable trusts, and other concepts relevant to tax advisory
- Competency with defining an appropriate solution/tax strategy as well as the tactics carry it out
- General technology skills and familiarity with tax prep/planning software
- Experience in or familiarity with the personal financial planning industry a plus