Tax Associate

Job Description

Job Description

Benefits:

• Bonus based on performance
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Opportunity for advancement
• Paid time off
• Training & development
• Vision insurance

About BW&O CPAs

Beebout, Williams & Olds CPAs is a growing, tech-forward, and mission-driven public accounting firm serving individuals and a range of businesses. We value innovation, team collaboration, and meaningful work.

We're obsessed with:

• Delivering exceptional client service
• Building a team culture of critical and analytical thinking with a growth mindset
• Leveraging technology to work smarter and keep up with the rapidly changing industry

Why this role exists

Our tax practice runs on pods: small teams led by a Tax Manager, staffed with senior associates and associates, including members of our global team, each serving a defined group of clients. This role is where that pipeline starts. From early on, you'll prepare real returns for real clients, sit in on strategy discussions, and get daily coaching from the senior associates and manager in your pod. This is a client-facing role, not a back-room data entry job.

One thing to know up front: everyone we hire into a technical role at BW&O CPAs is on a path to licensure. You don't need your CPA or EA yet, but you do need to be eligible and genuinely working toward one. Our Tax Resolution practice represents clients directly before the IRS, and that work requires credentialed professionals, so licensure is a firm requirement at the manager level and above. If you want a firm that's invested in getting you there, keep reading.

What you'll actually own

Not a task list. Real ownership:

• Prepare real returns. Apply your technical knowledge to individual and business income tax returns, with clean workpapers and growing independence.
• Learn the strategy side. Participate in tax strategy discussions with senior associates and managers, and understand the why behind the returns you prepare. Around here, planning ideas become paid engagements — you'll watch it happen up close.
• Communicate like a professional. Strong verbal, written, and presentation communication with clients, advisors, tax authorities, firm staff, and management. Client-facing work starts early here.
• Be a real part of your pod. Work closely with senior associates, your tax manager, the client support team, and principals to serve a focused client group.
• Own your workload. Handle multiple priorities, clients, and tight deadlines in Karbon, and hit internal firm deadlines (time entry, billing) without being chased. Your numbers — on-time delivery, review notes per return, response times — are visible in Karbon, and you own them.
• Work toward your license. Make steady, visible progress toward your CPA or EA with the firm behind you.

Your first 90 days

• Weeks 1–2: Get inside our systems: Karbon workflows, Lacerte, prep standards, and communication standards. Meet your pod and prepare your first returns with close coaching.
• By day 30: Prepare straightforward individual returns with growing independence. Your workpapers are organized, your questions are good ones, and your deadlines are tracked.
• By day 60: Expand into business returns, sit in on tax strategy discussions, and handle your first client interactions with confidence.
• By day 90: Carry a steady prep workload, catch more of your own issues before your reviewer does, and have a licensure study plan mapped out with your manager.

And by month 12:

• You prepare a range of individual and business returns your reviewer trusts
• You've been through a filing deadline season and come out sharper
• You've made real, measurable progress toward your CPA or EA
• Your pod knows you as reliable, curious, and professional

Who thrives here

• Hungry to learn. You ask good questions, take constructive feedback well, and visibly act on it.
• Detail-oriented. Accuracy matters to you, and it shows in your work.
• Organized. You handle multiple priorities, clients, and tight deadlines without dropping anything.
• A genuine team player. You work collaboratively, keep a professional demeanor with coworkers and clients, and make your pod a better place to work.
• Client-service minded. Strong interpersonal skills; people feel taken care of when they work with you.
• Serious about licensure. Becoming a CPA or EA is part of your actual career plan, not a someday idea.

Qualifications

Required

• BS/BA degree, accounting preferred
• 0–2 years of individual tax preparation experience (new graduates are welcome to apply)
• Eligible to sit for the CPA exam and committed to earning a CPA (preferred) or EA
• Strong Excel and general software skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and attention to detail
• Available to work evenings and weekends during peak tax season on an as-needed basis (paid- this role is overtime eligible)

Bonus points

• Intuit Lacerte tax software experience
• Prior experience at a public accounting or tax firm
• CPA exam sections passed or progress toward the EA exam

Don't meet every single qualification?

After reviewing this job posting, are you hesitating to apply because you don't meet all the listed requirements? At BW&O CPAs, we are dedicated to building a workplace supported by unique perspectives and experiences, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we still encourage you to apply. You may still be the right candidate for this or one of our other roles.

How we work & what we offer

• Full-time, non-exempt role (overtime paid, including during peak season) based in our El Dorado Hills, CA office. Training and daily coaching work best in person, so this role starts fully in-office; hybrid eligibility opens up as you build experience and independence
• Competitive base salary of $55,000–$85,000, depending on experience
• Paid time off, holidays, and comprehensive benefits including healthcare, dental, vision, and IRA with employer match
• Daily on-the-job coaching from your senior associates and manager, plus firmwide learning and development programs
• Real licensure support: CPA or EA exam fees reimbursed, plus a bonus when you pass
• A defined career track from associate to senior associate to manager

How to apply

Send your resume and a brief note to View email address on us.fitly.work with the subject line "Tax Associate – [Your Name]" . In your note, tell us where you are on your CPA or EA path and about a class, internship, or work experience that got you excited about tax. We read every note, and it's the fastest way to stand out.

About the interview

We move quickly. Our process is two conversations, then a decision.

• Video interview with our COO and Owner. We hit the ground running: an in-depth conversation about our firm, our leadership, and our goals for this position, along with a deeper look at your experience and career goals.
• Second interview with our COO, Owner, and tax managers. We go deeper on your technical knowledge and work through situational questions, and you'll meet some of the people you'd work alongside.
• Offer. From there, we're ready to move.

Compensation: $55,000.00 – $85,000.00 per year