Giving Thanks on ThanksgivingWednesday, November 26, 2008
Thanksgiving today for many of us means enjoying the company of family along with a feast of turkey and cheering for your favorite football team on the TV. And although Christmas music is already being played over speakers at the mall, it is important to slow down and ponder the true meaning of Thanksgiving. While it is a time to be thankful for everything that we have been given, it is also, just as importantly, a time to help those in need, especially in today's climate. To me, this seems to be the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
~Tony
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How to Utilize an Achievement Addendum with a Traditional ResumeMonday, November 24, 2008
The purpose of this blog is to demonstrate how to develop an achievement addendum to pair alongside your resume. In these difficult times, you need to be sure and stand out from the competition and an achievement addendum will show a prospective employer that your accomplishments are in-line with the expected deliverables of the position.
Before adding the addendum, be sure your resume includes the following:
1) A description of your educational background.
2) A description of your work history, which should include, in chronological order, a summary of your major job responsibilities in each of those positions.
3) A brief description of each company and how it is structured, so that the reader can get a sense of the complexity of the company from a tax point of view.
4) Titles of who you reported to, as well as the number of people you supervised & managed.
Once your resume is ready it’s time to create the achievement addendum which is essentially a list of representative projects and accomplishments that you highlight. The addendum can be broken down into three subsets of data that can educate the hiring authority on accomplishments in your background that match the employer’s needs.
The three addendum subsets are:
1) Technical Expertise
2) Leadership and Project Management Skills
3) Communication and Teamwork Skills
In each of these addendum subsets, you should try to identify the value that you created, i.e. increasing shareholder value through effective tax rate reduction, increase in cash planning, reducing risk mitigation through statutory compliance or perhaps reducing the time to complete statutory compliance etc.
The key to properly structuring an achievement addendum is to first capture as much information about what the employer wants to accomplish (deliverables) in the new hire. This process is easier if you utilize a recruiter who can inform you directly on what the priorities of the position are as well as what main deliverables need to be covered. Remember to align the achievement addendum to the major deliverables that the company is looking for. For example, if the company is very interested in technical areas, those areas need to be highlighted and brought out in the achievement addendum. You can go a step further and quantify the results in what you achieved by noting exactly what value was created by your achievements.
When considering or being considered for a position, remember that due diligence is a key factor on both sides of the table. Communicate with the company by reaching out and speaking to someone in human resources or the tax department, or if it’s a Chief Tax Officer position you seek, reach the CFO or controller. Any homework that can be done on the front end to find out the company’s major deliverables can pay huge dividends on the back end. Reaching out to the tax advisory firm (CPA or Audit Firm) to capture some of that information may be helpful as well.
In some cases you will need to use all three of the subsets (Technical Expertise, Leadership/Management Skills and Communication/Teamwork Skills) in the achievement addendum. In other cases, the hiring authority might not be as interested in your leadership accomplishments as the position may not be a leadership role. They may be interested in only your communication skills and technical expertise. The key is not to only describe your expertise but to explain how in a specific project, your expertise created some value to the company or shareholders for example by lowering the risk mitigation or improving the effective tax rate or by improving cash planning or internal efficiencies i.e. getting the tax return done in a shorter period of time with less resources.
In summary, it is important to perform your due diligence, that way you will know if it is necessary to use all three subsets of the achievement addendum or just focus on one or two of them. This depends primarily on what is critical to the position that you are interested in filling. Find out what the company is looking to achieve and then align your addendum to highlight those accomplishments. This will give you a competitive edge on paper and provide the company with the confidence that you may be the person best suited for the position.
Look out for next week’s blog where we will provide you with more details and links to samples.
~Tony
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Thank You VeteransTuesday, November 11, 2008
It seems to me that on Veterans Day, one should take time to reflect upon the environment, opportunities and freedoms that we have to enable us to conduct business in a country like ours. Unlike certain industries, such as engineering, IT, legal, etc., the tax profession has not had the opportunity or luxury to recruit professionals directly from the armed forces. That being said, many of our practitioners have served in other capacities outside of tax, while in the armed forces. To those, we want to pass along our sincere thanks and appreciation, as well as to those veterans outside of the tax profession.
While some might feel that taxation is not analogous to freedom, we must always remember, that in this country, the majority of the taxes that we pay are still based on an honor system, and that through the representatives that we vote into office, we are empowering those representatives to determine the level of taxation necessary, so that our country might still prosper and grow.
Today, take time to thank those who participated in helping defend this country and honor them today in any capacity that one individually chooses to.
~Tony
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TaxDiversity Premiers its First Campus Outreach EventFriday, November 7, 2008
A group of us spent last Saturday morning at Clark Atlanta University participating in TaxDiversity’s first ever Campus Outreach Event. Students from over 16 area universities attended the program along with sponsors from the Tax Executives Institute, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche, KPMG and UPS.
The audience was comprised predominantly of racial minorities along with a noteworthy representation from the female gender population. There was a large percentage of African American students, which was a great thing to see, especially since our profession is so dismally represented in that racial make up. The feedback from the students has been overwhelmingly positive.
During the event, students were able to hear Mr. Keith Ruth, the National Diversity Partner for PwC, speak on the tremendous need for tax professionals overall and the extreme low supply coming from the minority populations. He also outlined the demographic impact of the baby-boomer generation moving towards retirement years and the increased work load being created by the continuous government regulations being imposed on companies. Four young tax professionals, Aariel Godfrey, Tax Sr. Associate at PwC, Daniela Cottle, Tax Manager at UPS, Valencia Jennings, Revenue Agent at the IRS and Mysha Lewis, Senior Consultant at Deloitte & Touche, each spoke about their unique experiences within the tax field. A healthy question and answer period followed after each speaker. Maurice Agresta, Tax Counsel and VP of Public Affairs at UPS, wrapped up the session with a very entertaining and enlightening presentation of how attitude is the key to success within any field, but in particular within tax. He proceeded to present a power point presentation of a Merger and Acquisitions Due Diligence & Analysis project from a refreshingly unique perspective (hint: envision Angelina Jolie shopping her assets and eventually targeting Brad Pitt as her acquisition target)!
The session concluded with an hour and a half networking session in which each of the students had extensive interface with our sponsors and were given a chance to apply for internships with each of the sponsors. Maurice Agresta collected resumes for a number of additional corporate in-house internships which he will submit to those local companies through the Tax Executives Institute. There were three scholarships being offered and the students were very active in ensuring that they applied for these scholarship offerings.
It was a very exciting event. Next year, TaxDiversity intends to host Campus Outreach programs in the New York tri-state area, San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. As those details are firmed up, I will make everyone aware of the dates of these events. There will be a video link on www.TaxDiversity.com in the next few weeks giving everyone an opportunity to view the presentations in their entirety. Keep an eye out for these and we will notify everyone via this blog as well.
In summary, I cannot stress enough on how critical it is that we engage and educate a diverse population of students about the wonderful opportunities in the tax profession. This event was an amazing starting point and again I want to send my appreciation to PriceWaterhouseCoopers for being a Platinum Sponsor and also to TEI for contributing 2 of the iPhone® giveaways that were offered to the students and were definitely highly appreciated by those who got to take them home!
~Tony
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Tax Professionals C Y AThursday, October 30, 2008
Cover Your Assets
Corporate tax departments have never been as challenged as they are today. To weather the storm, tax departments should focus on:
- Risk mitigation
- Keeping ETR as low as possible
- Increasing cash tax savings
- Keeping budget expenditures low
How can a person who runs a tax department do all of this in a climate where the workload is increasing, the talent pool is shrinking and the economy is tanking?
The answer is simple: you can’t! Something has to give, and you will be the one to blame if you do not prepare for this inevitable Catch-22 situation. Be the messenger before the “stuff” hits the fan. If management does not provide you with the budget needed to protect the shareholders in regards to risk mitigation, have an email audit trail that verifies you warned them of the increased risk created because of the lack of resources being allocated. Ensure that the auditors or other third-party advisors have commented on those emails.
Years ago, I had a VP of Tax at a Fortune 500 company call me regarding a situation similar to this, and that person followed this advice. When the company ran into a SOX compliance issue, the management of the company blamed this person. After lengthy meetings with the head of HR and walking her through the email audit trail—which clearly showed that the VP of Tax had been repeatedly ignored in his request for the needed additional resources—the termination was rescinded, and a generous two-year payout was negotiated. Within 75 days, this person (who chose to resign) located a new VP of Tax position with a 20 percent increase in compensation in a much lower-cost-of-living city.
The lesson here is to always document everything when you are put into an extreme “no-win” situation and explicitly communicate the potential risks. I do not want to encourage anyone to take this to an absurd level and start crying “fire” every time one has a challenging situation. This is only reasonable to do when we realize that the situations created by management are clearly unrealistic and your team is being set up for failure.
~ Tony
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What's Next?Monday, October 20, 2008
By now, enough questions have been asked as to which way the markets will turn and what the stability & job market might look like for tax professionals. While some might claim that this current market situation is different and unprecedented, I believe in hind sight that we will think differently. History tends to be our best learning tool and if this recession is similar to the prior four recessions that we have had in the last 30 years, we should be able to have a pretty good idea of what’s coming. With that in mind, lets see what has happened in the past and use it to predict what we believe will happen in the future.
Number one, professional service firms in the past have been the first to layoff tax personnel. The primary asset and cost for every professional service firm in the tax consulting business is its people. It is logical that when times are economically difficult and costs need to be cut, that cut-backs in staff have been inevitable. Expect to start to hear of layoffs throughout the public accounting firms and some of the law firms. Who is at most risk will be those who either do not have rainmaking skills or deep relationships with key clients. If you can sell, you are less likely to be viewed as a cost-center in this current climate. Also, if you have deep relationships with key clients, this can provide you with job security since the firm would be hesitant to alienate those clients. Those most at risk will be the senior level personnel that have neither of the two things mentioned above and come with a heavy price tag. Individuals with expertise in particular industries or technical expertise that is predominantly utilized in specific industries that are having difficult economic times (i.e.: financial services & automotive, on the industry side and M&A, partnership and financial products, on the technical side) are obviously at risk at all levels. In the public accounting area those individuals with strong tax accounting, FAS 109 skills, transactional, international, State & Local tax and audit/controversy skills should be the most stable. On the law firm side, those with strong Sub-C and controversy/litigation skills should also have the supply & demand factors in their favor.
Second, as far as government agencies go, those at the federal level should be less worried about cutbacks in contrast to those at the state level. History indicates that the federal government is the least likely to respond to the economic downturn while the states will be impacted more directly. On that note, states tend to shift the risk to the newer hires as they have a more seniority based mind-set. Therefore the younger tax professionals will be more at risk than those at the more senior level, even though their salaries are considerably less.
Lastly, we come to the corporate in-house tax departments which tend to be by far the most stable and resilient during down-turns in the economy. We tend to see limited layoffs in this group other than when the company itself is in jeopardy of existence. The reasons tend to be that most in-house tax departments tend to be staffed lean to start with and secondarily, the work load does not decrease in any measurable way when economic activity or sales are decreasing. You still have compliance, audit and operational planning activities going forward and ironically, transactional planning occurring as the opportunities to grow externally potentially increase as competitors become potential target acquisitions. In contrast to booming times, this work will tend to be held in house rather than being passed on to the service providers that I mentioned above. In fact, all of the layoffs from the two groups above have been absorbed by in-house tax departments in the past and I see no reason for that not to occur in this cycle.
I encourage every tax professional to be aware of where they sit in alignment with what I have described above. Take precautions if you are in a high-risk area. For those that are not at risk, take advantage of the market conditions and increase your value to your employers and the overall market by working on improving both your technical skill sets, and equally, if not more importantly, your interpersonal and strategic skill sets.
~Tony
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A Time to PerformMonday, October 13, 2008
There is no question we are in a serious financial crisis as a nation and international community. For many in the financial services industry, this is a time of shattered nerves and unpredictable futures. For tax professionals, it is a potential time of job stability and even growth as our nation will now be faced with changes in political powers and a strong need to generate revenues to offset the significant expenses we have incurred as a nation.
Within this new political and economic climate, there are three areas that we can predict will come as part of our current situation and our future needs. The first is that you can certainly expect an increase in regulations and for both the private and public sectors. With all that has happened with bailouts and government interjection of capital, you can be assured that scrutiny and accountability will become the new norm for quite some time. Secondly, we will see increased revenue demands from international, federal, state and local governing authorities. The need to generate new lines of revenue will be a reality which either party will have to address quickly. The question is just how far they will go to get it. The last predictable area is that the political powers to be will inevitably use the tax code to increasingly promote their targeted industries of growth (i.e. alternative energy, domestic drilling etc.) The push to generate additional government revenue will be balanced against the reality for the need to grow the U.S. business base. Therefore new tax incentives for expansion and business creation will inevitably create a more complex taxing environment.
Individually, it is important to take this time and refocus your own skills, attitude and performance to a new level. Rather than become absorbed in the doom and gloom, try to push your work ethic and be sure to stay at the top 20% of performers in your group. If there are going to be changes in your organization to address the industry trends, you want to make sure that you are viewed in the very best light possible. Bottom line, this a time to perform so push in as many positive directions as possible.
~Tony
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The Pathways to Working for an In-House Corporate Tax DepartmentFriday, October 3, 2008
One of the most appealing and sought after tax field professions involves working in a for-profit, in-house corporate tax department. But scoring a job in an in-house corporate tax department is highly desired and difficult, and here’s why:
1. Most companies with an in-house tax department are large in size—with revenues exceeding $100 million in sales—and 80% of those companies are $1 billion size and above. Because of their size, they tend to have more attractive benefits packages and a better balance of life environment. Additionally, they offer more opportunities to become instrumental in broader business responsibilities within the organization.
2. Those in corporate tax positions get to see the workflow from beginning to end, as opposed to third-party providers, who may work on one area for a short time period and then move on to the next client or project.
3. Being part of an in-house corporate tax department can provide many other opportunities— from involvement in company equity plans to advancement outside of pure tax jobs and into more business-oriented job openings within the company. These jobs include Treasurer, CFO, M&A, Legal Counsel and other business operations and management positions.
4. Blending a career in an in-house corporate tax department can be a rewarding path to both financial and lifestyle rewards that don’t always exist in other tax entities (public accounting firms, law firms, non-profits and government).
Here are paths that can lead you to a corporate in-house tax department:
1. Direct From School. The chances of going directly from school to an in-house corporate tax department are not likely. That’s because it costs too much to train a recent graduate. Only a few Fortune 20 companies can hire young talent, and even then, they get the top recruits from the best schools.
2. From Public Accounting Firms. The probability of this particular path directly reflects the firm’s scale and the client’s size. The bigger the provider and the larger the work portfolio, the greater chance you have.
3. From Law Firms. Moving from a law firm to an in-house corporate tax department is feasible; but once again, it depends on the size and complexity of the clients you have served and the specializations you have developed in your career path.
4. From the Federal Government. Making the move from the Federal Tax position to a corporate in-house tax department is similar to the accounting and law firm paths, where tax complexity and specialty determine much of your market value. Corporate in-house tax departments want to see large-scale work on complex subject areas that show you have the experience and stamina to handle significant work.
5. From State Revenue Departments. If you’re in this area, get as much experience in the fields of 1) state income, 2) sales and use and 3) property so that you can better serve a larger company.
No matter what path you choose, certain factors are always consistent in determining your entry—and success—in an in-house corporate tax department:
· The size of the companies you’ve worked for.
· The complexity of work you’ve done.
· The school you attend and the grades you make there.
· The amount of specialized knowledge and experience you have, especially in areas like state and local or international tax, accounting practices or M&A.
To maximize your advancement opportunities after you have joined an in-house corporate tax department, you have to:
· Possess exceptional communication skills. Strong writing, speaking and general business communication abilities are the million-dollar skill set.
· Be a solid business person and have business savvy.
· Have a unique desire to learn and participate in business strategy.
· Learn how to blend technical and business skills together.
· Become a leading communicator who can translate technical information into terms that others in the organization can use toward the common goal of making and keeping money within the company.
If you’re not currently aligned to get a corporate in-house position, at least now you have a base understanding of how to get there. Good luck.
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One Turbulent Time - Hold the OverreactionThursday, September 18, 2008
Ladies and gentlemen in the tax world, though it may seem once again that we are in an economic state of doom and gloom you can rest assured that the world is not coming to an end, especially for you. For those of us that have been around the economic cycle block, you may recall some of the last four or five recession tailspins where turbulence was coupled with this false type of fatalist thinking. In reality, these times require stamina, tolerance and the opportunity to examine and react to the current circumstances with a counterintuitive perspective.
To make my case, let’s look at several past domestic economic downturns. In the early 80’s the gas and oil markets were in complete turmoil. In the late 80’s it was the financial services markets that shut off lending and recalled billions in loans. In 1991 and ’92, it was the Gulf War that caused a ripple effect through the markets. In the late 90’s, we encountered the end of a huge dot com bubble which turned back the progress of a promising but unsubstantiated technology industry. In 2001 with the delivery of 9/11 and the psychological chaos it created, we saw tremendous market apprehension and overall economic panic. Today, we sit in the middle of mortgage lending collapse, government bailouts of institutional financial services companies and a market that is clearly operating from a fear factor position.
It is true that with every significant downturn, there are certain markets that are going to have casualties; however, the key is simply not to overreact. When looking at these turbulent market cycles from a tax perspective, it is clear that in most cases the tax industry and those professionals working in the field are generally sheltered from the direct effects of the downturns. One reason for stability for tax professionals is that Tax has the ability to make companies money even when those companies are not making money. No matter what economic downturn you examine, you have yet to see any large pool of unemployed tax people.
It’s times like these that require non-traditional thinking. Though it may seem like it’s the right time to run to the hills from certain industries, it is proven that stamina in turbulent times can pay off. Those people that stayed in the financial service meltdown in the late 80’s went on to be part of a huge economic boom for the rest of the decade. Those people that weathered the lending crisis and Gulf War impact went on to be part of the largest technical boom in history. Those people that stayed in technology after the crash into the new millennium have reaped large rewards as the tech space continues to fuel our economy in so many ways. The point is, don’t allow fear and the doom and gloom thinking to direct your career path. Sometimes the bottom is only a representation of the beginning of the top. It’s true that the financial services market is in a difficult state but don’t imagine a world without financial services. It just won’t happen.
The good news for tax professionals within any industry is that you have options. Your flexibility, business skills and technical skills will always be of value in the market so if you are looking to make a move, do the homework and make it a power move. Examine your options, do the appropriate research on the company you are looking to join and remember that much of the success of tax professionals is based on their own individual abilities and work ethic.
One thing that I can assure you of is that if our government is going to “print money” and continue bailouts, the need to collect tax revenue will increase as well which means further job security for those of us in the tax industry. For now, keep your head high and don’t get caught up in the doom and gloom thinking.
~Tony
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The Top Tax Career Interview MistakesFriday, September 5, 2008
Recently, Business Week published its worst mistakes that candidates can make in the interview and job hunting process. The advice is sound and is worth a read if you are in the market for obtaining a position in this new digital marketplace. I thought it would be a good idea to elaborate more on this topic by adding some of the worst things a tax professional can do in their journey to secure a position within the industry. There are many things you should not do in finding a tax position and here are what I would consider to be the top mistakes I have seen over many years in the business.
Divulging Too Much
Saying too much about things you have done for other companies can breech confidentiality, but one of the biggest mistakes candidates make is discussing specific tax planning strategies they have worked on that might be construed as tax sheltering. Furthermore, make sure you scrub your resume by taking off any companies or engagements with companies that have been spotlighted or could be exposed by the IRS with tax issues. I have seen candidates promote their tax work with companies on resumes that are under serious financial scrutiny and being identified with them does nothing for your historical work value.
Missing the Boat on the Details
There are so many types of tax positions and each one requires a specific set of key qualifications. The problem is, many candidates looking for specific tax positions end up exposing their weakness in the interview process specifically for that type of position. For example, if you are looking at a tax planning and research position, you’ll need to prove, in the interview, that you have already done homework on the company you are soliciting for a position. You need to prepare for the interview(s) by researching the company 10K’s, 10Q’s and even annual reports. Many candidates go into tax research interviews without having done any background work and that becomes evident in the interview. If you are looking at a tax compliance position, be sure that your resume, correspondence and all of the materials you submit are thorough and accurate. You are looking for a job where detail is key and you better start with cleaning up all of the facts and avoiding errors in anything you supply to the company throughout the interview process.
Don’t Feed the Stereotype
The perception of tax professionals is not usually a compelling individual. Tax professionals are assumed to be introverted, dry and very rigid in their overall demeanor. Do not feed the stereotype by being a wallflower in the interview. Ask intelligent questions that go beyond the technical world. Ask about the company’s direction, their culture and what type of individual does well in the organization. Simple things matter too. If the company dresses casual, don’t show up for the interview dressed in a three piece suit. Likewise if they are more formal, then be sure to look and fit the part. Show your prospective employer that you are well rounded and not only a linear thinker. Diversity in ability is a strength that should come out in your interview process.
Don’t Rest On Your Laurels
After the interview process, don’t just have a wait and see attitude. Be a bit more aggressive and show the employer that you really are excited about the position. Follow up with some sort of reference, homework or idea that you uncovered after the interview. Chances are that in your conversation there were a few areas where you could actually take the initiative and deliver some free insight or research that demonstrates your interest in working with the company.
Obtaining a tax job is not unlike many other positions; however, there are certain things you can address in the interview process that are specific to the field. I encourage you to email me if you are in the process of interviewing and I will be glad to help tailor your job search strategy specifically to the type of tax job you are looking for. Good luck in your search!
~Tony
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