Senior Tax Manager

Distinct | North America; Chattanooga (TN); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4 weeks PTO

July 4th week off

BCBS healthcare

90% employee healthcare costs covered

HSA and PPO options

401(k) with 4–5% match

Flexible working arrangements

Strong long term progression

Job summary

Distinct | North America in Chattanooga offers a Senior Tax Manager role with ownership of client relationships and tax practice development. You’ll work directly with Partners on complex matters, providing judgment and strategic guidance while mentoring staff and shaping how services are delivered.

The firm values independence and organic growth, with a culture focused on relationships, quality, and career progression. Competitive compensation and benefits accompany this opportunity.

Qualifications

• Senior tax professional with governance and oversight experience.
• Ability to mentor and develop staff for growth.
• Strong client relationship management and advisory abilities.

Responsibilities

• High level review and technical oversight of tax engagements.
• Tax planning and advisory for clients.
• Developing Managers, Supervisors and Seniors.
• Working with Partners on complex matters.
• Improve workflow and quality across the practice.
• Identify opportunities to provide additional client value.
• Contribute to growth of the firm.

Tools

CCH Axcess

Blue J

Job description

At Senior Manager level, a bigger firm doesn’t necessarily mean a bigger career.

Sometimes it just means a bigger org chart.

If you’ve reached the point where you want more influence, stronger client relationships and a genuine say in how a tax practice develops, this is a very different proposition.

You’d be joining an independent Tennessee CPA firm of around 75 people that’s growing quickly enough to turn work away, but deliberately doesn’t want to become another enormous accounting business where decisions happen three states away.

They want growth.

They just don’t want growth at any cost.

For the right Senior Tax Manager, that creates a rather interesting seat at the table.

Why this role is different

They don’t need someone to simply supervise compliance.

They need someone clients trust.

At this level, you’ll have significant ownership of relationships and work closely with Partners on the continued development of the tax practice. You’ll be involved in technical work when your experience is valuable, but your bigger contribution will be judgement: knowing what matters, knowing when something needs attention and helping both clients and staff make better decisions.

That means your role will span:

• High level review and technical oversight
• Tax planning and advisory
• Developing Managers, Supervisors and Seniors
• Working directly with Partners on complex matters
• Helping manage workflow and quality across the practice
• Identifying opportunities to provide clients with additional value
• Playing a visible role in the continued growth of the firm

It’s the kind of position where your opinion starts influencing how the practice operates, rather than simply how an engagement operates.

The clients are already coming

This is where the opportunity gets particularly attractive.

The firm isn’t hiring a Senior Tax Manager because somebody has produced an ambitious five year growth chart in PowerPoint.

They’re already busy.

The Chattanooga market is strong, the practice continues to grow and they’re currently turning work away because they refuse to solve demand by endlessly loading more onto existing staff.

So you’re not being asked to manufacture an opportunity.

You’re stepping into one that already exists.

That means you can spend more of your energy improving relationships, developing people and doing better work, rather than desperately trying to prove there’s enough work to justify your position.

Independent. And intending to stay that way.

Plenty of successful regional firms are currently asking themselves who they should sell to.

This one is asking how it should grow.

There’s an important difference.

Leadership is committed to remaining independent and growing organically, which means the people running the firm continue making decisions around clients, culture and investment.

For someone at Senior Manager level, that gives you considerably more proximity to those decisions.

You can have an idea and actually discuss it with the people capable of saying yes.

No national committee.

No twelve month approval process.

No mysterious person in another office deciding how your local clients should be serviced.

Big enough to have resources. Small enough to notice you.

That’s probably the sweet spot.

At around 75 people across two Tennessee offices, the firm has enough scale to provide interesting clients, good technology and proper career opportunities without becoming anonymous.

The tax team uses CCH Axcess, alongside Blue J for AI assisted tax research, and leadership continues investing in ways to improve how the team works.

But the bigger attraction is cultural.

Quality matters more than quantity. Relationships matter. People know each other.

And there’s an interesting little piece of evidence behind that: they’ve had people leave for major firms and later choose to come back.

You can write several paragraphs about culture.

Sometimes somebody returning tells you more.

A Senior Manager role that still leaves room for a life

The package reflects the level of responsibility, with a salary around $150,000 to $190,000 depending on experience, alongside a strong benefits offering.

That includes:

• 4 weeks PTO as standard
• The entire week of July 4th off
• Blue Cross Blue Shield healthcare
• Around 90% of employee healthcare costs covered
• HSA and PPO options
• 401(k) with roughly 4% to 5% contribution/match
• Flexible working arrangements
• Strong long term progression

There’s also a wealth management partnership connected closely with the firm, giving senior tax professionals access to broader conversations around clients’ financial lives rather than viewing every situation purely through a tax lens.

Who this suits

This probably isn’t for someone who wants to disappear into a huge organisation and manage everything through layers of people.

It’s much better suited to someone who likes being visible.

Someone who enjoys knowing their clients properly, developing staff and having enough experience to know that the best answer isn’t always the most complicated one.

You’ll need a strong public accounting tax background, significant review and client management experience, and the confidence to operate as a senior voice within the practice.

But perhaps most importantly, you’ll want influence.

Because at this point in your career, another title isn't particularly exciting on its own.

Having somewhere worthwhile to use your experience is.