What are the responsibilities and job description for the Administrative Assistant / Tax Preparer position at Financial Planning & Tax Center?
Administrative Assistant & Tax Preparer
First off, I expect to train you in all aspects of the position. Attitude is more important than experience. I want to work with someone that is fun, willing to take feedback and learn from it, and loves helping people.
Second, you do not have to be good at math calculations. Our software does that. Tax preparers need to recognize when a number on the return doesn’t add up when double checking their work. Our most successful tax preparers learn the tax code, how to properly enter it into the software and can explain the results to our clients in an understandable way. We can teach you the tax preparation process, but we cannot teach you to enjoy helping people. Your career will evolve every year as we learn to navigate the new rules enacted by the IRS.
Third, you must be able to pass a Federal FBI background check. That means no felonies. Also, because we are trusted financial professionals, we will look at your credit report to make sure you have no recent bankruptcies, liens, or other negative financial disclosures.
Financial Planning & Tax Center LLC is a local firm that provides year-round service to our clients. Yes, tax season is hectic. However, we reward our staff for the rest of the year with increased flexibility and generous time off (up to 10 weeks paid). From February 1st through April 15th, this role will consist of preparing tax returns with the remainder of the year focusing on caring for financial planning client needs. Overtime is expected during tax season.
For approximately 42 weeks of the year, you will be supporting the financial planning team. Your primary job functions will include:
1. Coordinating staff calendars / schedules
2. Preparing client files prior to a meeting
3. Processing client files & paperwork after a meeting
4. Assisting clients with questions or concerns regarding service work, such as taking a withdrawal, updating beneficiaries or address changes
5. Taking care of the little things that ultimately come up in every office
During Tax Season, you will meet with clients, collect their information, enter the information into our tax software. I will come in and review your work and help explain the results to the clients.
We have designed a training program to give you experience working on 200 different tax returns with nearly as many scenarios before ever working with a client. We want you to be comfortable and succeed. Once the basic training aspects of each scenario are taught, you’ll work on each case in the unit at your own pace and have your work immediately reviewed. You get timely and appropriate feedback to correct any knowledge deficiencies before advancing. While you will be working one-on-one with clients this upcoming February, I will be part of the meeting process to ensure that the returns are completed correctly, and nothing is filed erroneously. While everyone learns at different speeds, I do expect it to take up to three years until you are comfortable with your knowledge base and experience preparing tax returns, so I am needed less in your meetings.
If I like your resume, I will call or email you to schedule a 5 to 10-minute phone call. If you are ready to talk, it can happen at that time. This call is to answer any questions you may have and give me a chance to learn a little bit about you that a written resume may not convey well.
If we both like what we hear, we’ll schedule a more formal interview. We’ll discuss your requirements to work with me and your career goals. I’ll lay out more formally our corporate vision, advancement opportunities, benefit packages and let you meet your potential future co-workers to ask them any questions you may have.
If you are not hired, I will let you know. I think it is rude to not give you closure.
Because many applicants blindly click “apply”, when I call you, I am going to ask you for the keywords “Smokey the Bear”. This helps me find out who is excited about the position and read this entire job description.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $22.00 - $30.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
Work Location: In person
Salary : $22 - $30