Tax Manager (Public CPA Firm)

Job Description

Job Description

TSG Executive Search & Compensation Consulting has been retained by a growing, owner-led CPA firm in the Dallas–Fort Worth area to fill a Tax Manager position.  Candidate must be based in Texas, preferably the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

This is a newly created seat driven by growth, not a backfill. Our client's name is withheld at their request and is disclosed in the first conversation — we respond to every applicant either way.

The firm serves business owners and their families: entity work, individual returns, and the planning that connects the two. It is independent, not on an acquisition path, and building rather than maintaining.

About the Role

This is a hands-on Tax Manager seat. You would own final review of complex returns, direct the work of the preparation team, and carry real responsibility for how the tax function is built as the firm grows.

We will be direct about the shape of it, because it is not right for everyone. The team is lean and flat. Return preparation is handled by an offshore group, and this role reviews that work in detail — line by line, not from a distance. There is no layer of senior staff beneath you to absorb the technical load. What you get in exchange is unusual: very little structure above you, real authority from the start, and a direct hand in building the division out. Candidates who want a large support structure and a defined lane will not enjoy this. Candidates who genuinely like the technical work tend to thrive.

Responsibilities

• Final technical review of complex individual, partnership, S corporation, and C corporation returns, including multi-state.
• Direct review of work produced by the offshore preparation team — substantive, detailed review, not sign-off.
• Own workflow through the season: assignment, capacity, deadlines, and quality standards across concurrent engagements.
• Coach and develop the preparers, giving feedback specific enough to raise the quality of what reaches you.
• Resolve complex tax issues and technical questions as they arise, and decide when an issue warrants escalation or outside expertise.
• Review tax strategies developed for clients, and identify planning opportunities the returns surface.
• Improve how the tax function runs — workflow, checklists, and the handoff between preparation and review — as volume grows.
• Communicate directly with clients on technical matters, in writing and on calls, in plain language they can act on.

Requirements

• CPA license (active and in good standing).
• 6+ years in public accounting, including at least 2 years in a review capacity.
• Depth with complex pass-through and individual returns — partnerships, S corps, and the K-1 activity that flows to owners. Multi-state exposure required; C corp experience valued.
• Demonstrated ability to review detailed work product and give feedback that improves it.
• Comfort operating in a lean structure with limited hierarchy, and the judgment to make calls without escalating every question.
• Strong written and verbal communication — this role is client-facing.
• Genuine interest in the technical work. The people who do well in this seat are the ones who find tax interesting, not the ones managing their way out of it.

Preferred, Not Required

• Experience reviewing work produced by an offshore or outsourced preparation team.
• Background at a small or mid-sized firm, or a deliberate move from a large firm to a smaller one.
• Private client, family wealth, or closely held business advisory exposure.
• Comfort with tax technology and workflow tools, and interest in improving how the work gets done.

At most firms, being very good at this work earns you a longer line of people ahead of you. Here the structure is the opposite — there is almost nothing between this seat and firm leadership. The person who takes it will shape how the tax function operates and will grow as the firm does rather than waiting for a seat to open.

Company Description

At most firms, being very good at this work earns you a longer line of people ahead of you. Here the structure is the opposite — there is almost nothing between this seat and firm leadership. The person who takes it will shape how the tax function operates and will grow as the firm does rather than waiting for a seat to open.