THIS IS #3 OF A SPECIAL 12 WEEK BLOG SERIES: HOW TO DEVELOP A LEADING AND PRODUCTIVE TAX ORGANIZATION IN 2016. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE A PDF OF ALL POSTS IN THIS 12 POST SERIES, PLEASE Register Here

For many of you who have been following my client companies for years, you know that my background is in helping tax professionals and tax organizations be more successful. This is precisely why I built www.taxconnections.com… to continue to help tax professionals by building a tax media network that would set our members apart in professional media. Thousands of members from more than 100 countries are now utilizing TaxConnections to build tax brand identity, attract new clients, attract new members to associations wanting to build memberships, utilizing our technology to find tax expertise all over the world. TaxConnections started because of all the changes that occur within tax organizations annually. We will highlight the three major changes you should plan for each year.

The first change to expect is turnover in your tax organization and you will have it because this is the nature of any business. Do you know what? It is never a good time to lose a great performer in your tax organization. However, people leave for primarily for the following reasons: 1) no upward growth potential in the organization (i.e. their boss is not going anywhere, they will likely retire there); or another reason may be 2) management and culture is not the right fit for them (i.e the boss or upper management is making their life more stressful);

3) there is one person in the tax organization who is just making everyone’s life miserable(you would be very surprised how much turnover one bad hire can create); 4) parents want to spend more time with family; 5)medical reasons ( i.e. having babies or ailing parents or a disease); the list can go on and on. In the case of tax associations or memberships are dropping because the next generation wants better technology (we now offer organizations the use of TaxConnections technology). Plan for the turnover as this is life as we all know it.

The second change to plan for is a change in executive management. Having kept track of all the CFO emails for many years, I am astounded at the turnover rate as they change companies. CFOs have a very tough job and when something goes wrong they often get blamed and move on; or they just decide to move on to a better situation. Either way, it is so surprising to those of us in the trenches to see so many CFOs turn over so quickly and often with 2-3 years. If you are in a company you never know who your next boss may be and if they know anything about tax.

It is great if they have respect for tax expertise or tough on you if they do not think it is important enough to pay attention to a tax organization. Just like Forrest Gump said “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get!

The third change to plan for is a transaction; it may be a merger or an acquisition. If your company is active they are looking at deals all the time. What does that do? It makes everyone in the tax organization nervous. They are all thinking “How will this affect my current role in the organization? Will I have a job? Will they even tell me what is happening? After thirty years working with tax organizations, I can tell you that some of you will have 2 week notice, some 2 months and some a bit more. This is the life of a corporate tax organization. Here is my advice for you and I do hope you will listen. Get noticed for your tax expertise now! Do not wait for tomorrow when it comes to your tax reputation. Fight for it today as these days are different with social media. Stop hiding behind the scenes of a corporate tax organization or a national firm; stop making people pay to find you on other sites! Control your tax expertise and identity and traffic by becoming part of the tax media network that is promoting you to an audience interested in finding your tax expertise.

Allow me share with you a little insight as to what you are faced with today. Here is a great

example:

1. Go to Google Search Bar and Type in the words “tax professional Ireland”.

2. Now go to https://www.taxconnections.com/search/findtaxprofessional  and type in the word

Ireland.

3. Look at all the clutter and you will see why tax professionals now have better options today at

https://www.taxconnections.com/membership/tax-professionals

 

—We Recommend You Read The Previous and Forthcoming Blogs In This Series—