Senior Tax Manager / CPA

Job Description

Job Description

About the Opportunity

Whalen Financial is a rapidly growing wealth-management firm providing integrated investment management, retirement planning, tax planning, insurance, estate-planning coordination, and family-office services.

Our tax division, The Whalen Group , is an important part of that integrated client experience.

We are not building a traditional tax-preparation business focused on transaction volume. We are building a sophisticated tax advisory capability designed to serve affluent and high-net-worth families, business owners, executives, and retirees who expect proactive advice throughout the year.

Whalen Financial is growing rapidly, adding significant new client assets each year, and we are investing ahead of that growth to build the team required for the business we intend to become.

We are seeking an exceptional CPA and Senior Tax Advisor who can immediately take ownership of complex client relationships, provide proactive planning advice, review sophisticated tax work, and serve as a trusted tax resource within our broader wealth-management team.

This is not an entry-level or developmental position.

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute at a high level from day one with minimal technical supervision.

What Success Looks Like

You are not simply preparing tax returns.

You are reviewing a client's entire financial picture and asking:

• What are we missing?
• Where can we reduce taxes?
• Is the client's entity structure still appropriate?
• Is reasonable compensation being handled correctly?
• Are distributions and basis being tracked properly?
• Are estimated payments appropriate?
• Are there Roth-conversion opportunities?
• Are charitable, estate, business-sale, depreciation, or retirement-plan strategies being overlooked?
• How should today's tax decisions coordinate with the client's investment, retirement, insurance, and estate strategies?

Our expectation is that our senior tax professionals identify opportunities before the client asks about them .

Primary Responsibilities

• Independently manage an assigned portfolio of affluent individuals, families, and business owners.
• Prepare and review complex federal and state tax returns, including:
• • Form 1040 – Individual Income Tax Returns
  • Form 1065 – Partnership Returns
  • Form 1120-S – S Corporation Returns
  • Form 1120 – C Corporation Returns
  • Form 709 – Gift Tax Returns
  • Form 990 – Tax-Exempt Organization Returns, when applicable
• Provide proactive year-round tax planning and advisory services.
• Develop tax projections and estimated-tax recommendations.
• Advise clients regarding:
• • Entity selection and restructuring
  • Reasonable compensation
  • Shareholder and partner basis
  • Distributions
  • Retirement-plan strategies
  • Capital gains and losses
  • Depreciation strategies
  • Charitable planning
  • Multistate taxation
  • Business transactions
  • Gift and estate-tax considerations
• Review complex individual and business returns prepared by other team members.
• Review general ledgers, trial balances, reconciliations, depreciation schedules, retained earnings, equity activity, officer loans, and other supporting documentation.
• Identify discrepancies between bookkeeping records and tax reporting before returns are filed.
• Research complex federal and state tax matters and reach well-supported conclusions independently.
• Respond to IRS and state tax notices and represent clients when appropriate.
• Communicate sophisticated tax concepts clearly and confidently to clients.
• Collaborate with Whalen Financial advisors on integrated tax, investment, retirement, estate, and risk-management strategies.
• Help improve internal tax processes, quality-control standards, and client-service procedures.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to junior tax and accounting personnel.
• Maintain exceptional standards of accuracy, responsiveness, confidentiality, and professionalism.

Required Qualifications

• Active CPA license in good standing.
• Minimum 5 years of recent public-accounting or professional tax experience .
• Demonstrated experience independently preparing and reviewing complex individual and business tax returns.
• Significant experience with Forms 1040, 1065, 1120-S, and 1120 .
• Strong understanding of:
• • Shareholder and partner basis
  • K-1 reporting
  • S corporation taxation
  • Partnership taxation
  • Reasonable compensation
  • Distributions
  • Depreciation
  • Estimated taxes
  • Capital gains
  • Multistate taxation
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, general ledgers, financial statements, reconciliations, and adjusting journal entries.
• Demonstrated experience providing proactive tax-planning advice directly to clients.
• Experience independently managing a client portfolio.
• Ability to review the work of other tax professionals.
• Strong tax-research, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong professional judgment and the confidence to make recommendations.
• Ability to manage multiple complex priorities without sacrificing quality or deadlines.

Preferred Experience

Experience working with:

• High-net-worth individuals
• Business owners
• Executives
• Retirees
• Closely held businesses
• Multistate taxpayers
• Complex investment portfolios
• Family-office or wealth-management clients

is highly desirable.

Who This Role Is Not For

This position is not designed for someone seeking substantial on-the-job tax training.

It is not a seasonal preparation position.

It is not a role for someone who is comfortable simply reproducing what was done on the client's prior-year return.

We are looking for someone who can think independently, identify issues, recommend solutions, communicate confidently with clients, and take ownership of outcomes.

Why Whalen

The Whalen organization is growing quickly, and we are intentionally investing in infrastructure and talent ahead of that growth.

Tax is one component of a broader client relationship that includes investment management, retirement planning, estate coordination, insurance, and family-office services.

That creates an opportunity for the right CPA to do much more than prepare returns.

You will have the opportunity to become a central advisor to successful families and business owners and work alongside financial professionals who are actively implementing the strategies you recommend.

We believe exceptional clients deserve exceptional professionals.

We are looking for people who want to operate at that level.

Compensation and Benefits

• $100,000–$125,000 base salary, depending upon experience
• Performance-based bonus opportunity
• Employer-sponsored benefits
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays
• Full-time, year-round employment
• Established and growing client base
• Continuing education and professional-development support
• Long-term career opportunity within a rapidly growing wealth-management organization

To Apply

Please submit your résumé along with a brief summary addressing:

1. Your experience preparing and reviewing complex individual and business tax returns.
2. The types of clients you currently advise.
3. Your experience providing proactive tax-planning recommendations.
4. The approximate number and complexity of client relationships you independently manage.
5. An example of a meaningful tax-planning opportunity you identified for a client.

We are intentionally selective about this hire.

We are looking for a high-performing CPA who combines technical expertise, client communication, business judgment, and personal accountability and who wants to help build the tax-advisory capability of a growing national wealth-management and family-office organization.

We are looking for a high-performing CPA who wants to help build the tax-advisory capability of a growing national wealth-management and family-office organization.

Company Description

We are looking for a high-performing CPA who wants to help build the tax-advisory capability of a growing national wealth-management and family-office organization.