Senior Tax Accountant

Distinct | North America; Oakbrook Terrace (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Overtime pay for hours >40

9% 401(k) contribution

Lifetime client referral commission (

Job summary

Distinct | North America in Oakbrook Terrace, IL seeks a tax professional with broad experience across individuals, families, privately held businesses, trusts and estates. The role blends compliance with planning and adviser discussions, offering growth without losing independence.

Ongoing benefits include overtime pay for hours over 40, a 9% 401(k) contribution, and a 15% commission on lifetime client introductions. CPA preferred; strong client relationship development encouraged.

Qualifications

• CPA preferred; experience in trust and estate tax and individual tax.
• Experience handling high-net-worth clients and advising on planning.
• Experience across business tax helpful.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and review personal and business tax returns.
• Advise on tax planning and cross-adviser discussions for high-net-worth clients.
• Collaborate with partners to expand client relationships.

Skills

Individual tax

Trust & estate tax

Business tax

Education

CPA certification preferred

Job description

There's a big difference between knowing your clients and knowing their tax returns.

At this firm, you'll work with individuals, families and privately held businesses, getting involved in the wider picture rather than being boxed into one particular area of tax. There is trust and estate work here, so previous experience in that area is important, but it certainly won't be all you do.

The idea is that, over time, you become someone clients actually call when they need advice. Not just someone they hear from once a year when there's a return to sign.

The firm has been around for almost 100 years and has no intention of selling or taking private equity investment. They're growing, including bringing smaller firms into the business, but want to do that without losing the independence or culture they've built over the years.

There are also some benefits here that are a little unusual (but good).

Every hour you work over 40 is paid. You can either bank those hours and use them as additional vacation or take the cash payout at the end of the year.

The firm contributes 9% into your 401(k), regardless of whether you contribute yourself, something they've consistently done for more than 20 years.

And if you ever introduce a client to the firm, you'll receive 15% commission for the lifetime of that client. There's no expectation to bring a book of business, but if you do help grow the firm, you actually share in the value you've created.

Day to day, you'll work across individual and business tax, alongside trusts and estates, with a mix of preparation and review depending on your experience. You'll work directly with high net worth clients and, importantly, be involved in planning and conversations with their other advisers rather than spending all of your time purely on compliance.

It's a 15-person team, so you're also going to be much closer to the Partners than you might be at a larger firm. There's room to take on more responsibility, build your technical knowledge, and develop the client side of your career without disappearing into one very narrow specialism.

They'd like someone who already has some trust and estate tax experience alongside a good individual tax background. Business tax experience would be useful too, although they're not expecting you to walk through the door knowing absolutely everything. A CPA is preferred, and there's support available if you're still working towards it.

They do value having people together in the office because of the way they train and develop their team, but they're pragmatic when life happens, and flexibility is needed.

If you like tax but don't particularly fancy spending the next ten years becoming known as the person who only does one type of return, this could be a good middle ground.

You can keep the trust and estate experience you've built, broaden what you do, and become much more involved with the people behind the numbers.

We support the CPA firms we partner with in building diverse, inclusive and equitable workplaces, so even if your experience doesn't align perfectly. If this position isn't quite right, it's highly likely we'll have other public accounting positions that could be a good fit for you.