Scope of Work
The Senior Tax Accountant & Small Business Advisor serves as a senior technical reviewer and trusted advisor to individuals and small to mid-sized businesses. The position's primary accounting responsibility is to review bookkeeping and tax-preparation work completed by other team members-not to function as the day-to-day bookkeeper. The successful candidate must identify errors, issue clear correction instructions, return deficient work to the preparer, and verify resolution before financial statements, tax returns, or related deliverables are released. The role also interprets financial results and converts accurate accounting information into practical client advice.
Responsibilities
Tax Preparation, Research, and Advisory
• Prepare and review complex individual income tax returns, including Form 1040 with Schedules C and E, as well as business returns for partnerships, C corporations, S corporations, trusts, and estates.
• Perform a detailed technical review of individual and business tax returns and supporting workpapers prepared by tax preparers. Confirm accuracy, completeness, consistency with source documents, and compliance with applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
• Evaluate client source documents, identify missing information, prepare organized workpapers, assess results for reasonableness, and communicate outcomes clearly.
• Develop proactive tax-planning strategies and calculate quarterly estimated tax payments to support compliance and minimize lawful tax liabilities.
• Explain tax balances, refunds, tax-saving opportunities, and the effect of business activity on each client's individual tax position.
• Research complex federal, state, and local tax matters and document conclusions for client files.
• Represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities in connection with notices, audits, and inquiries, as authorized.
Bookkeeping Review, Financial Reporting, and Quality Control
• Review full-cycle bookkeeping completed by assigned bookkeepers for a portfolio of small-business clients. The work reviewed includes accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank and credit card reconciliations, payroll, sales tax filings, Form 1099 reporting, and general ledger maintenance.
• Examine the general ledger, reconciliations, financial statements, and supporting documentation to identify misclassifications, unreconciled differences, duplicate or missing transactions, unsupported entries, unusual balances, cutoff issues, and other departures from established accounting procedures.
• Evaluate month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close work for completeness and accuracy, including account reconciliations, adjusting journal entries, and the readiness of the books for financial reporting and tax preparation.
• Prepare clear, specific review notes that identify what is incorrect, explain the required treatment, and direct the responsible bookkeeper to make the necessary changes within the established timeline.
• Follow up on review comments and verify that corrections are accurate and complete before approving the work for client delivery, management reporting, or tax preparation.
• Provide constructive coaching to bookkeepers, identify recurring quality issues, and reinforce consistent procedures, documentation standards, and review checklists.
• Resolve or escalate complex and material accounting matters when they exceed the bookkeeper's authority or technical capability.
• Maintain the technical ability to perform bookkeeping and adjusting work when necessary; however, the position's primary responsibility is to review, direct, and approve work prepared by others.
Client Advisory and Relationship Management
• Interpret balance sheets, profit and loss statements, cash-flow information, and supporting schedules to assess profitability, liquidity, operating performance, expense patterns, tax exposure, and emerging financial risks.
• Translate financial results into clear business insights, explain the drivers behind material changes, and provide practical recommendations that support cash management, tax planning, profitability, and sustainable growth.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for client accounting and tax questions and lead advisory discussions with business owners and decision-makers.
• Explain material bookkeeping adjustments and their effect on financial statements and tax outcomes when client communication is warranted.
• Onboard new bookkeeping and tax clients by assessing the condition of their records, establishing sound accounting workflows, and supporting software integrations.
• Identify opportunities to improve client workflows, automate repeatable processes, strengthen internal controls, and improve the reliability of financial information.
Education
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field is required.
Experience
• Seven to ten years of combined experience in public accounting, tax preparation, full-charge bookkeeping, and client advisory.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex tax and accounting assignments with limited oversight and competing deadlines.
• Proven success reconciling disorganized accounts and resolving multi-year tax compliance matters.
• Demonstrated senior-level experience reviewing bookkeeping work, financial statements, tax returns, and supporting workpapers prepared by bookkeepers and tax preparers. Experience must include issuing review notes, directing corrections, and validating the revised work before release.
Certifications
• Active Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) is required.
• Enrolled Agent (EA) credential or Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license is strongly preferred.
Specific Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Advanced knowledge of individual and business taxation, including S corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, pass-through entities, and complex individual returns.
• Advanced proficiency with QuickBooks Online or Desktop, Xero, or a comparable accounting platform.
• Experience with professional tax software such as UltraTax CS, Drake Tax, ProConnect Tax, or Lacerte.
• Experience with TaxDome or a comparable practice-management platform is preferred.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel capability, including pivot tables, XLOOKUP, and financial modeling, together with proficiency in cloud-based document-management platforms.
• Advanced ability to interpret financial statements, identify performance trends and accounting anomalies, explain the business implications, and convert findings into practical client recommendations.
• Ability to shift accurately between detailed bookkeeping work and broader tax-planning and advisory considerations.
• Ability to apply consistent review standards, pinpoint accounting errors and unsupported tax positions, communicate precise corrective instructions, require timely remediation, and confirm that revised work is accurate and complete.
Personal Attributes
• Client-focused communicator who enjoys educating entrepreneurs and explaining the reasoning behind financial and tax outcomes.
• Analytical problem-solver who brings structure to complex accounts and follows issues through resolution.
• Adaptable and dependable professional who learns new technologies quickly and performs effectively during peak tax season.
• Self-directed team member who manages deadlines independently, communicates proactively, and contributes ideas that support a growing firm.
• Detail-oriented reviewer who exercises sound judgment, holds work to defined quality standards, and addresses errors directly, constructively, and consistently.
Location and Work Arrangement
• This is a hybrid, Atlanta-based position. Candidates must reside in the Atlanta metropolitan area.
• The selected candidate will work from Moon Advisory's Buckhead office approximately two to three days per week, with flexibility to work remotely on the remaining days.
Compensation
• Competitive salary commensurate with experience, together with performance-based and tax-season bonus opportunities.
