What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Tax Manager position at The Agency?
Position Title: Senior Tax Manager
Location: Birmingham, AL (35209)
About the Role
Our client in Birmingham is seeking a Senior Tax Manager to serve as a primary technical lead. This person will own the technical quality of the firm's work product, serve as a trusted advisor to clients, and help develop the next generation of junior staff on the team. Business development is explicitly not a requirement of this role, the focus is entirely on technical excellence, client experience, and staff development. The Senior Tax Manager works in close partnership with a Team Leader who owns workflow and production, allowing you to focus purely on quality, technical judgment, and client experience rather than scheduling or capacity.
Key Responsibilities:
• Serve as a senior technical presence and trusted advisor across client engagements, delivering a consistent, high-quality experience
• Lead proactive, timely client communication throughout the engagement process so no client is left wondering where their work stands
• Deliver tax planning and advisory conversations that add value beyond compliance
• Serve as the firm's technical authority on federal and state tax matters, including individual, corporate, partnership, and trust returns, as well as GAAP and bookkeeping standards
• Act as the final quality gate before any deliverable reaches the client, maintaining a rework and filing error rate below 1% on signed returns and reviewed deliverables
• Review and sign tax returns as CPA of record with full due diligence and documented review, taking responsibility for the accuracy, compliance, and defensibility of signed returns
• Ensure all engagements comply with applicable standards including IRC, GAAP, and SSARS where applicable
• Review reconciliations, financial statements, and journal entries for completeness and accuracy, and own the technical correctness of month-end close and client accounting deliverables
• Mentor and develop staff and senior accountants into stronger technicians through review feedback and coaching, serving as the team's go-to technical resource
• Identify and cultivate at least one high-potential team member on an ongoing basis
• Keep firm SOPs and technical best practices current as standards evolve
Required Qualifications:
• Active CPA license required; experience as CPA signor of record preferred
• Several years of progressive public accounting experience with a strong tax focus
• Expert-level command of complex tax structures, compliance requirements, and GAAP
• Experience reviewing and signing individual, corporate, partnership, and trust returns
• Proficiency with UltraTax CS, QuickBooks, TaxDome, or comparable software
• Strong judgment on risk, position, and documentation, with the ability to escalate appropriately
• Ability to translate technical complexity into clear guidance for both clients and staff
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, seasonal workflow, with the ability to steady a team under deadline pressure
• Self-directed and accountable, willing to both coach and be coached
What Makes This Opportunity Different:
• A role built entirely around technical excellence and client experience, with no business development quota or personal book requirement
• A firm that has sustained client retention above 90 percent through consistency and quality of work rather than individual relationships
• A clearly defined partnership with a Team Leader who owns production and workflow, freeing the Senior Tax Manager to focus purely on technical judgment and staff development
• A culture built around reliability, transparency, integrity, excellence, and genuine investment in developing people
This is a strong opportunity for a technically driven CPA who takes pride in the quality of their work, enjoys developing people, and wants to operate as a true leader within a firm that values reliability, integrity, and excellence above all else.
For immediate consideration, please contact Gatlin Johnson or Gage Plueger directly.
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