While working with a client recently, I invited them to join me in looking at my private desktop computer screen at all of the candidates that had been contacted on the search. I wanted them to see all of the research we conducted for them and the list of Tax Manager candidates we contacted for this particular role. It is an extraordinary body of work by our team. It brought back memories of the McKinsey Study in 1997 on the War For Talent.
For anyone familiar with the Study, it was an eye-opening discussion of the lack of available talent and how the war for talent is a critical driver of corporate performance. The war for talent in corporate tax organizations is in a full scale combat today because the talent for highly sophisticated tax expertise is more scarce than ever this time around.
Recognizing the importance of human capital in any tax organization should never be underestimated. Tax professionals that are well trained save companies millions of tax dollars that would otherwise be lost. Having said that, appropriately compensating corporate tax executives is the secret behind the scenes battle breaking out in company human resource departments every day. Many human resource professionals are benchmarking with compensation surveys for tax professionals that are inaccurate and should never have been published for public consumption! It is not their fault because the information is very difficult to obtain. TaxConnections is in the business of providing a solution for corporate tax departments who need accurate information to make more informed hiring and retention decisions.
Compensating your tax organization appropriately is very good business! Then why is it that we see such inequities in compensation for corporate tax organizations on published surveys? The answer is simple: Most of the data published online regarding the salaries of corporate tax executives and their teams is inaccurate because these folks are grouping tax with other roles such as accounting that do not match or fit. How do I know? For more than three decades, I have been retained by multinational clients to research corporate tax departments and ask tax professionals for compensation information. This is why I can tell you with confidence the information we see on most publications is inaccurate. Having said that, I can also attest to the fact that corporate tax professionals do not give out the information easily; they will provide the facts to people they trust. I have built trust within the tax profession over many years. As a result, I have maintained a longstanding record of collecting this valuable information through private calls and conversations.
TaxConnections is currently conducting a confidential compensation survey that provides base salaries, incentive compensation, total cash compensation, equity based compensation, pay and benefits practices and job descriptions for the tax profession. We spend a lot of time to get it right for clients who want accurate information. Knowing that many corporate tax organizations need qualified tax professionals and they are fighting to get this talent, it makes good business sense to have accurate compensation information. Our goal in providing tax compensation information is assisting decision-makers in making more informed hiring decisions that improve retention of the well trained tax professionals you currently employ and to help you win the current war for this talent.
If you are a corporate tax executive who wants to participate in this study, please send a message to kat@taxconnections.com.
Kat Jennings, TaxConnections, CEO and Founder and Advisory Team provides three areas of services: 1) Internationally recognized, retained executive search services for multinational corporations, public accounting firms, and law firms; 2) Introductions of sellers to buyers of small and medium size accounting firms; and 3) Provide brand building and education services that support and prepare accounting firm owners to buy/sell an accounting practice. We focus on educating the journey to sell a practice and how to increase firm revenue prior to any sale. Our program ensures you start years prior to a sale by learning what is expected of you during the selling process, and introducing firm Partners to cross selling opportunities that are easy to implement and reduce your workload at the same time. We introduce you to value added connections to smartly grow revenue in your accounting practice.
Kat Jennings has been retained by organizations worldwide to locate tax professionals with highly specialized tax knowledge and expertise. She has a thorough understanding of the tax business community, with a proven record of stellar performances matching professionals with organizations. Bringing two parties together to work successfully is the art of understanding personalities, cultural fit, expectations by both parties, flexible or inflexible work environments, understanding what drives and motivates each party, and revolves around the personality and ethics of each executive team.
Kat is a widely recognized expert in high level, tax executive search, as well as connecting buyers and sellers of accounting firms. TaxConnections provides and educates small to medium size accounting firms owners and Partners how to prepare and sell their firms so they can build a succession plan for their retirement. With larger firms seeking to acquire smaller accounting practices, there is a real need to help firm owners prepare to be acquired. Most firm owners are unaware they are not ready to sell when they decide to retire. TaxConnections educates firm owners’ what they need to do years in advance of selling an accounting firm practice.
Senior tax executives expect the utmost privacy when being introduced to multinational organizations about a new tax opportunity under consideration. Having said that, companies searching for a new head of tax expecting tax executive candidates to submit their resume through a resume portal, will never see a full slate of outstanding tax executives available due to a candidates’ desire for greater privacy. This is why privacy focused Uber Tax Recruiters consistently outperform in-house recruiters on tax executive searches.
We offer our clients a Performance Retainer Agreement arrangement so their HR department can still recruit and compete with the tax candidates we present on Head of Tax searches. The client pays us a partial fee upfront, and if they find a candidate they deem better than we introduce to them, we forfeit the final fee. Most of the time, they love and prefer our private introductions to tax executive candidates better than what they source through their own resume portals.
When we represent selling/buying small to medium-sized firms, firm owners/partners also demand greater privacy when considering the sale of their practice. TaxConnections provides a safe place to discuss their business needs, elevate their practices’ online reputation, and increase revenue through new streams of business development by outsourcing work and partnering with other firms. Over three decades, we have worked tirelessly to build relationships between firm owners most organizations rarely have access to in the world of tax. There are numerous possibilities you may never have considered previously to bolster the value of your practice and service offerings.
As a globally recognized consultant to multinational organizations, accounting firms, and law firms searching for tax expertise, Kat has been retained by public accounting firms, law firms, and corporations worldwide including Apple Computer, AC Neilson, Accenture, Agilent Technologies, Allergan, Alza, American Express, American Media, Aon, Baker & McKenzie, Barclays Bank, Bechtel, Cargill, Carl Zieuss Vision, Century Aluminum, Chevron, Clorox, Citigroup, Commercials Metals, Constellation Energy, Countrywide, Del Monte, Deloitte Touche, DFS, DLA Piper, E&J Gallo Winery, Electronic Arts, Ernst &Young, Fox Entertainment, Fremont Investments, General Electric,General Motors, Herbalife, Hewlett Packard, Hyatt, Intel, Jones Lang LaSalle, Kimco Realty, KLA Tencor, Koch Industries, KPMG, Levi Strauss, Liberty Mutual, LKQ, Loews, Logitech, Lucas Film, Maersk, McKesson, Nalco, Newell Rubbermaid, Nissan, Oracle, Orbitax, Pacific Gas & Electric, PwC, QAD, SAIC, SanDisk, Sanmina, Sempra Energy, SONY, Synopsys, Ticketmaster, Trimble Navigation, Toyota, Univar, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, Vertex, Yahoo, Xilinx, and many more not listed here.
Contact Kat at 858,999.0053 Office/858.232.4415 Cell or kat@taxconnections.com to request a private consultation regarding the sale of your practice, adding top talent to your organization, or merging your practice with another firm owner with a book of business. The possibilities are endless; if you have a dream of a new vision for your professional life; we will scout opportunities throughout the market to make it happen.
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