Employers

Tax managers are employed at large corporations as in-house tax managers. Those who work for large companies may be employed by the Big Four, the major accounting firms in the U.S.: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG. They may also work for business and financial consulting companies such as Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, and Oliver Wyman, among others. Tax managers also work at small- and medium-sized tax management companies, managing the taxes for companies' clients. They also work for government organizations and nonprofits. Others are independent consultants who provide tax management services for their own client base. Approximately 1.44 million accountants and auditors and 698,000 financial managers are employed in the United States, according to the Department of Labor.

Starting Out

Many tax managers get a foot in the door through an internship at an accounting or financial management company while in college. Your school's career services office can help you locate opportunities. Also search the career sections of tax management and financial consulting companies for current employment openings. Professional associations also offer career development resources and job listings for tax managers; many have sections specifically geared to students. For example, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has a career path section that students where high school students can find helpful resources: https://www.startheregoplaces.com. Tax managers also find job listings through Web sites like Robert Half, CareerBuilder, Glassdoor, Indeed, Monster, and SimplyHired, among many others, and through LinkedIn.

Tax managers who work full time for large companies may advance to become senior-level managers and department heads. Those with many years of tax management experience, with successful experience in consulting for large clients, may move up to become chief financial officers, financial vice presidents, or presidents of corporations. They may leave their full-time jobs to start their own tax management consulting companies. They may also expand their knowledge through an advanced degree or certification.

An internship or part-time job at a tax management company will help you gain experience and learn more about this profession. Ask your school's career services office for help with finding opportunities that are a good fit for you.

Read industry associations' publications to learn more about tax management news and keep up with tax regulations and practices. For example, visit the National Association of Tax Professionals publications section on its Web site: https://www.natptax.com/Publications.

Attend industry-related events to meet tax managers and other tax professionals and start making valuable connections. Find event listings on professional associations' Web sites, such as https://www.afponline.org/events and https://www.natptax.com/EventsAndEducation.

Keep up to date on tax regulations and changes by regularly reading the news posted on the IRS's Web site, https://www.irs.gov/newsroom.