Tax Manager

Distinct | North America; Merrillville (IN); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Distinct | North America is seeking a Tax Manager in Merrillville, Indiana. You will take ownership of complex tax work, review returns, and become a key contact for clients. The role offers autonomy to manage your workload with experienced partners available for guidance.

You will mentor junior accountants and contribute to client relationships and tax planning as you grow with the firm. A CPA or EA is preferred, with 7+ years of public accounting tax experience.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of public accounting tax experience required.
• CPA or EA certification preferred.
• Must be able to review complex returns and manage key client relationships.
• Ability to mentor junior accountants and develop staff.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of more complex tax work and reviews.
• Act as a key client contact and manage relationships.
• Develop junior accountants and support staff growth.
• Contribute to tax planning and client service strategy.

Skills

Tax planning

Client relationships

Review complex returns

Mentoring juniors

Workload management

Education

CPA or EA

Job description

There’s something slightly depressing about getting through tax season, only to realise you’ve got another one waiting around the corner.

This firm decided that one was enough.

Once April is done, the pace genuinely changes. There’s no second busy season in September or October, you’re back to a 37 hour week outside of busy season, and from Memorial Day through Labor Day, you’ll have every other Friday off.

Which means summer can actually feel like summer.

The firm itself is well established, with a 10-person tax team and some long-standing senior people who are starting to think about retirement. So they’re not hiring because someone walked out or because the team is drowning. They’re thinking a few years ahead and want someone who can gradually take on more responsibility as the team evolves.

You’d be joining at Tax Manager level, taking ownership of more complex tax work, reviewing returns, and becoming a key point of contact for clients. You’ll have the autonomy to manage your own workload and make decisions, with experienced partners around you when you need them.

The work is pretty varied. Individuals, partnerships, corporations, and multistate returns make up the bulk of it, alongside a smaller amount of trusts, estates, and nonprofit work. If you like being a generalist rather than becoming the person who only ever sees one tiny corner of tax, there’s plenty here to keep things interesting.

You’ll also have a hand in developing the junior accountants on the team.

And I liked the way they described that part.

When you’re reviewing someone’s work, the expectation isn’t just to correct it and send it back. Their partners and senior staff actually explain why something needs changing, so people learn from review notes rather than making the same mistake six months later.

It sounds obvious.

Apparently it isn’t everywhere.

At Manager level, you’d be expected to take that same approach, helping the team improve while making sure the work gets done properly. There’s also the opportunity to become more involved in client relationships and tax planning as you settle into the firm.

They’d ideally like someone with 7+ years of public accounting tax experience, who's confident reviewing complex returns, managing client relationships, and supporting less experienced staff. A CPA or EA is absolutely fine.

You don't need to be someone who wants to become a Partner tomorrow, either. There's room to grow into a more senior position as the existing leadership team approaches retirement, but they're equally interested in someone who enjoys managing clients and people and wants somewhere they can settle for the long term.

There's some flexibility too. Once you’ve been there for a year, you can work from home two days a week. They also seem to have a fairly sensible attitude towards the fact that occasionally you have a dentist appointment, a delivery turns up at the worst possible time, or life generally refuses to schedule itself outside working hours.