Tax Supervisor

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

Benefits offered by this job

4 weeks PTO

July 4th week off

Blue Cross Blue Shield healthcare

HSA and PPO options

401(k) with match

Flexible hybrid working

Professional development

Job summary

Distinct in Chattanooga seeks a Tax Senior/ Supervisor to lead engagements, own client relationships, review complex returns, and mentor junior staff while remaining hands-on technically.

You will collaborate with Managers and Partners, manage workflow across engagements, and leverage CCH Axcess Tax/Blue J to boost efficiency. A flexible hybrid schedule and strong professional development are offered.

Qualifications

• Strong tax knowledge across business and individual returns.
• Ability to review complex tax returns and advise on planning.

Responsibilities

• Lead engagements and own client relationships.
• Review work and mentor junior staff.
• Coordinate with Managers and Partners on deadlines and priorities.
• Manage workflow across multiple engagements.

Skills

Tax expertise

Mentoring

Client management

Work reviews

Tools

CCH Axcess Tax

Blue J

Job description

There’s a slightly backwards thing that happens when you become a really good Tax Senior.

You become indispensable.

Which sounds lovely, until you realise “indispensable” can sometimes mean doing Manager level work without the title, influence or salary that should come with it.

This opportunity is for someone ready to change that.

You’d be joining a growing, independent CPA firm of around 75 people where the tax practice is busy for the right reason: clients want to work with them. In fact, they’re currently turning some work away rather than piling it onto an already stretched team.

That tells you quite a lot about how they think.

Why they're hiring

The firm is growing organically across Tennessee and wants to add another experienced person who can become an important part of the Tax team.

They aren’t trying to become enormous. They’re deliberately staying independent, keeping decisions close to the people actually running the firm and growing at a pace that doesn’t destroy the culture along the way.

For a Tax Supervisor, that creates quite a nice opportunity. You get the resources, client variety and progression of a substantial regional practice, but you’re still somewhere your contribution is visible.

There aren’t seven layers between you and the people making decisions.

What the role actually looks like

This is the step where your job starts becoming less about how many returns you can personally get through and more about how well you can make the whole engagement run.

You’ll still stay technically involved, but you’ll also start taking greater ownership of clients, reviewing work and helping develop the people around you.

Expect a mix of:

• Business and individual taxation
• Complex return review
• Tax planning and advisory conversations
• Client relationship management
• Mentoring and developing junior staff
• Working closely with Managers and Partners
• Managing workflow and deadlines across engagements

The firm uses CCH Axcess Tax and has also invested in newer technology such as Blue J for tax research. It’s a good example of the wider mindset here: use technology to make good accountants better, rather than simply finding new ways to make everybody busier.

Independent by choice

This is probably one of the more interesting parts of the opportunity.

There’s no desire to sell out to private equity or disappear into a huge platform. Leadership wants the firm to remain independent and continue growing organically.

That means decisions around clients, people and investment remain much closer to home.

It also means growth can actually create opportunities for the people already inside the firm.

And there is plenty of growth.

The Chattanooga market is particularly active, the firm has continued climbing industry rankings and there’s enough incoming work that they can afford to be selective about what they take on.

That’s a much nicer growth problem than desperately chasing revenue.

The culture has some evidence behind it

“Friendly culture” is easy to write on a careers page.

Retention is usually more interesting.

People have built long careers here, and they’ve even had employees leave for much larger firms before deciding the grass wasn’t particularly greener and coming back.

There’s a strong emphasis on quality rather than sheer quantity, with leadership trying to preserve the feel of a local firm even as the business becomes larger.

You’ll have experienced people around you, but enough autonomy to start developing your own style with clients and staff.

And yes, there’s a life outside April 15th

The benefits are strong, particularly for an independent firm.

You’ll receive:

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

Four weeks PTO from the outset is good.

An entire firm deciding nobody particularly needs to be answering emails during July 4th week is even better.

Where this could take you

The obvious next step is Tax Manager, but the bigger attraction is joining while the firm is actively growing.

You’re not waiting for somebody above you to leave before there’s room to move. New clients, new work and continued organic growth naturally create more responsibility for people who want it.

If you’re already reviewing, mentoring, answering client questions and becoming the person others rely on, this is an opportunity to turn those things into an actual career step.

Being promoted is nicer.

Outside of work, balance for me is Pilates to reset, travel to explore, and skiing to recharge. Because the truth is, you don’t slog through hours for the love of a spreadsheet. You do it for the freedom it buys you. Same principle here.