Tax Manager jobs

Keeping up to date with new tax laws and regulations. Completing and optimising tax returns. Providing solutions to key tax-related business challenges. As a tax manager, your responsibilities will touch on all of these areas and more, because all sorts of organisations (even charities and not-for-profits) may need to pay tax. You could be working for any size of employer, and in any industry.

Expected job role tasks
Organisations can face substantial fines if they do not comply with their tax requirements, such as by submitting returns late, or making errors that misrepresent their tax liability. As such, the tax manager’s responsibilities are very important, and many tax managers are seen as trusted advisers to senior leaders throughout the organisation. Specifically, your role as a tax manager revolves around ensuring compliance with all relevant tax regulations. This can include tasks like compiling and submitting accurate data on time, and offering advice on matters related to tax planning. As well as this, you may need to implement specific tax planning arrangements. 

You may be required to contribute to, or complete, monthly or quarterly reports on taxation and present your insights to decision-makers within your organisation. You will also play a part in year-end reporting, ensuring that the group tax rate can be forecasted accurately and on time, and that all necessary documents are completed and filed to deadline. Furthermore, you may play a part in signing off on remuneration packages. Because the role touches on all areas of organisational policy, you may find yourself communicating with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including accountants, tax advisers, and solicitors.

Primary function
Your main function as a tax manager is to ensure your organisation complies with its tax requirements, submitting documents accurately and on time, and reporting to all relevant stakeholders. You will also identify ways to minimise your organisation’s tax bill where possible, while remaining compliant with all necessary legislation.

Necessary hard/soft skills
Your organisation will almost certainly use a range of accounting and tax-related tools, such as Oracle Hyperion Tax Provision, the SAP Global Tax Management Suite, and CorpTax. As a tax manager, you will be expected to be familiar with these tools, using them to extract and reconcile the necessary data. You will also need strong knowledge of tax legislation, much of which can be highly technical. Not everyone in your organisation will share this knowledge. As such, you need to be able to effectively communicate the key points of tax law to people from non-tax backgrounds, giving them the information they require to make strategic decisions. Given the financial penalties for failing to submit accurate tax returns on time, you will need to be comfortable with working to tight deadlines and managing your workload at peak times. Strong understanding of key business principles and an ability to focus on outcomes will enable you to identify solutions and offer advice in the most impactful way.

Qualifications required
The majority of employers will favour candidates who hold a relevant qualification from a body such as ACCA or ACA. In addition, you will need strong accounting skills; in the UK, this includes knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). 

Related jobs
If you prefer an alternative role in the same field, then there are a range of related jobs to choose from. These include:

• Tax assistant
• Tax Senior