Tax Manager

Distinct | North America; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 95,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Distinct North America’s Nashville office is seeking a Tax Manager to lead small business tax engagements for privately owned and closely held clients. You’ll focus on S corporations and partnerships, offer advisory insights, review complex returns, and mentor staff.

You’ll work with owners to understand goals, structuring, and tax outcomes, while leveraging the firm’s resources and network. This role emphasizes building relationships with clients, providing practical tax advice, and evolving

Qualifications

• Public accounting tax background with Manager level readiness.
• Experience with privately owned and closely held businesses.
• Ability to advise on structure, planning and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead partnership and S corporation engagements for privately owned businesses.
• Review complex tax returns and manage engagements and deadlines.
• Develop Seniors and junior staff and mentor client relationships.
• Provide tax planning and advisory services to business owners.

Skills

S Corporation experience

Partnership experience

Client relationships

Job description

There’s something quite nice about working with businesses where you actually know who owns them.

Not just a name on an engagement letter.

You know what they’re trying to build. You know when they’re thinking about growing, buying another business, bringing someone into it or eventually stepping away.

And ideally, they call you before they make the decision.

That’s really what this Tax Manager opportunity is about.

I’m working with a large, established public accounting firm in Nashville that’s looking to add a Manager to its Small Business Tax team.

You get the resources, specialists and career opportunities that come with a substantial firm, but the clients themselves are much more personal.

Privately owned businesses. Closely held companies. Entrepreneurs and families who actually want to know the person advising them.

The role

You’ll predominantly work with privately owned and closely held businesses and their owners, with plenty of S Corporation and partnership work.

There’s obviously compliance involved. It’s tax, after all.

But at Manager level, they want someone who can look beyond getting the return out the door.

You’ll be involved in:

• Partnerships and S Corporations
• Closely held and privately owned businesses
• Business owners and their individual tax needs
• Tax planning and advisory
• Reviewing complex returns
• Managing engagements and deadlines
• Developing Seniors and junior staff

The interesting part is becoming someone your clients actually call.

Should we restructure?

Should we buy this?

What happens if I sell?

How do I eventually get myself out of this business without creating a tax headache?

That sort of thing.

A bigger firm without feeling miles away from the client

This is probably the biggest attraction.

You’re joining a substantial public accounting firm, so when something complicated lands on your desk, there are specialists and technical resources around you.

You’re not expected to know absolutely everything.

At the same time, the work is focused on businesses where you can genuinely understand what’s happening behind the numbers.

You can know the owners.

Understand what they’re trying to achieve.

And become more of an advisor as your relationships develop.

For someone who likes the resources of a larger firm but doesn’t particularly fancy disappearing into one tiny corner of enormous engagements, it’s a pretty good middle ground.

What they’re looking for

You’ll need a solid public accounting tax background and enough experience to operate comfortably at Manager level.

They’re particularly interested in people who understand privately owned businesses and flow through taxation properly.

Ideally, you’ll bring:

• Strong S Corporation and partnership experience
• Closely held or privately owned business exposure
• Confidence working directly with clients

More than anything, they want someone who enjoys the relationship side of tax.

Someone who wants to understand the business rather than just review its return.

Why I think it’s worth a conversation

Because a move at Manager level should actually change something.

Maybe you want better resources behind you.

Maybe you want more advisory exposure.

Maybe you want a bigger platform and more room to progress, without losing the relationships you’ve spent years learning how to build.

Or perhaps you’re not desperately trying to leave at all.

That’s fine too.

Some of the best career moves start with simply finding out what else exists.

You don’t need an updated resume to have that conversation either.