Senior Tax Accountant

Barnes Wendling CPAs; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 95,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Barnes Wendling CPAs seeks a detail-oriented Senior to join our tax team, delivering accurate, timely services to clients year-round. You will manage complex returns, mentor staff, and drive process improvements while maintaining client relationships and high-quality work products.

The role emphasizes collaboration with managers and directors, planning, and staying ahead of deadlines during tax season and beyond. A CPA credential is required.

Qualifications

• Prior experience working in a CPA firm.
• Strong understanding of tax returns.
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• CPA certification.

Responsibilities

• Serve clients and build relationships, responding to questions with appropriate escalation.
• Prepare and review individual, partnership, S‑corp, C‑corp, trust, and multistate returns.
• Review staff work, catch issues, and provide timely feedback.
• Partner with managers on complex returns.
• Identify planning opportunities and research federal, state, and local questions.
• Own assigned work, manage budgets and timelines across multiple clients.
• Mentor staff and share knowledge to help others grow.
• Improve workflows and maintain high technical quality standards.
• Recognize opportunities to deepen client relationships and growth.

Skills

Attention to detail

Organizational skills

Deadline management

Communication skills

Tax knowledge

Education

CPA certification

Tools

Microsoft Office

CCH Axcess

XCM

Safesend

Job description

We are seeking a detail-oriented and highly organized Senior to join our tax team in delivering accurate and timely services to our clients. This role is critical to maintaining efficient workflow during tax season and throughout the year.

Key Responsibilities

Serve clients and build relationships

Build trusting relationships with the business and individual clients you support

Respond to client questions, pulling in a manager or director when a matter is unusually complex.

Keep clients informed and comfortable throughout an engagement, so there are little to no surprises at the finish line.

Prepare and review returns

Prepare and review individual, partnership, S-corporation, C-corporation, trust, and multistate returns as assigned, applying care and sound judgment to each.

Review work prepared by staff, catch technical issues, and give feedback that helps preparers improve.

Partner with managers and directors on more complex returns rather than carrying them alone.

Support planning and research

Identify issues as they surface and perform research into federal, state, and local tax questions, then translate what you find into plain language.

Flag planning opportunities and risks you notice in the course of the work so the team can act on them.

Own your work and keep engagements moving

Manage your assigned work, budgets, and timelines, and keep engagements progressing across multiple clients at once.

Balance competing deadlines during busy season while trying to not let the quality or communication slip.

Keep managers informed on status, open items, and anything that needs a decision.

Coach and collaborate

Mentor and review staff, giving timely, specific feedback so they learn in the moment

Share what you know, answer questions patiently, and help create stretch opportunities for the people around you.

Work closely with the rest of the team

Improve process and quality

Look for ways to make the work cleaner and more efficient, from workflow to review approach.

Stay curious. Help maintain the technical quality standards clients count on and the firm stands behind.

Contribute to growth through relationships

Recognize when a client could use more help and raise it with your manager, so the firm can serve them well.

Take part in the professional community in a way that feels natural to you as your career develops.

Required Qualifications

• Prior experience working in a CPA firm
• Strong understanding of tax returns
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
• CPA

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with CCH Axcess is preferred
• XCM, Safesend

Tax expertise matters. But what sets our professionals apart is curiosity, empathy that strengthens relationships, clear communication that inspires confidence, and the accountability and trust that helps build a great team.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Barnes Wendling provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.