Overview:
The goal of ABS is to provide support and assistance to Ankura’s client facing business groups. All of Ankura’s ABS groups work together to achieve a common goal, which is to create innovative solutions for our clients. Ankura Business Services (ABS) includes Finance, Legal, IT Services, Marketing and Communications, Real Estate, Conflict Check, Operations & Workplace Services (OWS), and the People Office. Collaborative lateral thinking, hard-earned experience, expertise, and multidisciplinary capabilities drive results. Together, Ankura’s ABS groups work in harmony to Protect, Create, and Recover Value for our clients.
Role Overview:
Our Accounting & Finance team culture is highly collaborative. We prioritize a continuous learning environment, focused on skill development and career growth. A successful candidate is someone with strong accounting knowledge, and a growth mindset, who is focused on innovation and process improvement. This role can be hybrid based from an Ankura office or potentially remote based. The ideal candidate is in the US Eastern zone but we are also open to Central time hours.
Ankura is a private equity-backed professional services firm with a growing domestic and international footprint. Our legal structure spans a partnership with disregarded entities alongside several corporations, and our tax obligations span US federal, state, and local jurisdictions along with a range of international jurisdictions. We are looking for a Director of Tax to lead our global tax function, oversee our tax advisors, and serve as a partner to the business, working closely with finance leadership, the firm's partners, and the PE sponsor.
The role owns the full compliance cycle and directs the work performed by our external tax advisor. Success requires both hands-on ownership of the function and enough technical depth in partnership and international taxation to review, challenge, and manage complex work prepared by others.
You will lead the firm's tax function during a period of real growth and have direct influence on how partners are served and how the business scales internationally. You will work closely with senior leadership and a sophisticated PE sponsor, with real ownership of the function and the mandate to make it better.
Responsibilities:
Lead the tax function
- Own and continuously improve the firm's tax strategy, controls, and processes across its US and international obligations.
- Lead and develop the tax team, setting priorities across a recurring monthly, quarterly, and annual compliance cycle.
- Own the tax filing calendar and payment calendar, maintain the tax payment sheets, and coordinate payments for all tax filings.
- Serve as the primary point of accountability for all tax matters, translating technical issues into clear guidance for the CFO, partners, and the PE sponsor.
- Maintain and scale the operating model as the firm grows organically and through acquisition.
Own income tax and partnership compliance
- Prepare and review US federal and state income tax workpapers, along with income tax workpapers for international jurisdictions.
- Prepare and review the partner listing and standing that supports the K-1 process, and coordinate federal and state extensions.
- Prepare and review the tax provision workpapers and the return-to-provision (RTP) schedule.
- Prepare and review workpapers supporting US and international financial statement audits.
- Coordinate information gathering and preparation of quarterly estimates, including sales apportionment schedules by project and by location, and workpapers for state gross receipts taxes.
Own state, local, and indirect tax
- Prepare and review sales and use tax accruals and international indirect tax accruals (for example, GST and VAT), along with the supporting workpapers.
- Prepare and review other SALT workpapers, including personal property tax, excise tax, and sales tax.
- Prepare reports for business license renewals, and maintain resale and exemption certificates, the listing of tax ID registrations, and W-9s.
- Maintain the payments sheet and coordinate payments across jurisdictions.
Own transfer pricing
- Prepare transfer pricing reports supporting the firm's international returns.
- Coordinate with the external tax advisor on the official transfer pricing reports and the financial analysis supporting management fee charge-outs.
Manage and oversee the external tax advisor
- Direct the external tax advisor across the full compliance cycle, including preparation and e-filing of federal, state, local, and international income tax returns, estimated payments, extensions, withholding and composite returns, and the K-1s.
- Review returns and other deliverables prepared by the external tax advisor for accuracy and consistency with the supporting workpapers, bringing enough technical depth to challenge and refine the work rather than accept it passively.
- Oversee the external tax advisor's partnership tax work with sufficient understanding to review it, including Section 704(c) rollforwards, the Section 704(b) tax distribution waterfall and income and loss allocations, disguised sale analysis, Section 743(b) step-up and Section 755 allocations, Section 751 hot asset analysis, Section 752 liability allocations, and redemption and recapitalization analysis.
- Oversee the external tax advisor's international tax work, including foreign earnings and profits, Subpart F, GILTI, BEAT, FDII, foreign tax credits, and the related federal international forms (1118, 5471, 5713, and 8858).
- Oversee the external tax advisor's federal and state depreciation calculations, business personal property renditions and notices of value, sales and use tax filings, and international indirect tax and income tax returns.
- Oversee the external tax advisor's tax provision assistance, including provision schedules and footnotes, current and deferred taxes, uncertain tax positions, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and valuation allowances.
- Oversee the external tax advisor's transaction support, including asset allocation statements (Form 8594), step plans for new entities, and diligence on complex matters.
- Manage the external tax advisor's scope, deliverables, deadlines, and budget, and hold the engagement to a high standard.
Provide research, planning, and business support
- Conduct tax research across topics and jurisdictions and prepare written summaries of the tax consequences.
- Address tax notices from various jurisdictions, and coordinate and manage tax audits, including support for ongoing state audits.
- Support partners with requests such as tax certifications and proof of sales tax.
- Prepare budgeting and forecasting reports, and census reports required by US government agencies, working with the People team.
- Communicate regularly and clearly with the team, the external tax advisor, and the auditors.
Requirements:
- 8 or more years of progressive tax experience, ideally combining Big 4 or large regional firm experience with in-house leadership.
- Deep, hands-on knowledge of partnership taxation: Subchapter K, partnership returns, K-1 reporting, allocations, and partner tax distributions.
- Working knowledge of complex partnership computations sufficient to review advisor work, including Sections 704(b) and 704(c), 743(b) and 755, 751, and 752.
- Familiarity with US international tax concepts sufficient to oversee advisor work, including Subpart F, GILTI, BEAT, FDII, and foreign tax credits.
- Experience with ASC 740 tax provisions, including current and deferred taxes, uncertain tax positions, and related financial statement disclosures.
- Solid grounding in state, local, and indirect taxes, including sales and use tax, personal property tax, and gross receipts taxes.
- Experience coordinating multi-jurisdiction compliance across US and international jurisdictions.
- Experience managing outsourced or co-sourced tax engagements.
- Experience in a PE-backed, multi-entity, or professional services environment strongly preferred.
- CPA required. An MST, JD, or LLM in taxation is a plus.
- A genuine team player who builds trust quickly and works well across finance and the broader business.
- Proactive and self-directed, comfortable taking ownership and improving processes.
- Comfortable overseeing and reviewing technical work prepared by others, asking the right questions even where you are not the preparer.
- Engaging and clear in communication, able to make complex tax matters understandable for non-tax stakeholders.
- Detail-oriented without losing sight of the bigger picture, and calm under the pressure of deadlines and change.
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