WHAT DOES A TAX DO?

Published: Dec 18, 2025 - The Tax Professional is responsible for preparing and filing tax returns, ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal regulations for individuals or organizations. This role involves analyzing financial records, identifying deductions and credits, and providing strategic tax planning to optimize clients' financial outcomes. The individual also stays updated on changes in tax laws, communicates with tax authorities as needed, and supports audits or other tax-related inquiries.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Tax

1. Tax Accountant Responsibilities

  • Tax Consultation: Provide consultations on the Federal/State income tax implications of financial decisions/transactions
  • Tax Research: Research and analyze various Federal, State, and local, and International income tax issues
  • Audit Support: Provide support and documentation for external and internal audits on Federal, State and local, and international tax filings
  • Intercompany Review: Monitor intercompany transactions for accuracy of transfer pricing and tax effects
  • Data Aggregation: Aggregate financial data for external parties in preparation of Federal and international income tax returns
  • Return Preparation: Prepare multiple State and local sales/use and property tax returns, including all related analysis and support
  • Tax Provisioning: Record provisions for income and property taxes in accordance with GAAP
  • Budget Preparation: Prepare annual budgets, as they relate to taxes, including advising internal customers on taxes within their budgets
  • Customer Coordination: Coordinate with external and internal customers regarding the applicability of sales/use tax to a variety of purchases of goods/services across multiple taxing jurisdictions
  • Database Management: Manage internal databases on vendors and capital assets to comply with associated tax filings
  • Informational Reporting: Prepare annual Federal informational returns
  • License Filing: Prepare periodic and annual business license applications

2. Sales Tax Accountant Accountabilities

  • Audit Strategy: Monitors and develops Sales Tax audit defense strategies to reduce exposure and mitigate assessments.
  • Tax Research: Research prevailing sales tax law changes, court decisions, and current accounting and auditing procedures as they relate to the Oil and Gas industry.
  • Appeals Support: Attend and assist with presenting the company’s position in the appeals process and tax redetermination hearings.
  • Auditor Response: Provide trial balances, accounts of interest, data downloads, and complete other requests received from the State Auditor.
  • Compliance Auditing: Assist with scheduling, planning, and performing sales tax compliance audits.
  • Record Examination: Examines Division's records, prepares spreadsheets, and provides documents to support exemption or refund.
  • Department Interaction: Interact with Legal Department and Division Controllers to retrieve purchase agreements, revenue/expense downloads, and additional informative documents related to the audit.
  • Data Analysis: Analyze data to ensure the integrity and accuracy of information received from divisions.
  • Rights Understanding: Understand taxpayers’ rights with respect to the audit and taxing jurisdiction statute of limitations.
  • Settlement Assistance: Assists with negotiating audit settlement offers and agreements.
  • Issue Reporting: Report anomalies and provide audit findings to the Tax Audit Manager.
  • Conference Support: Assist with addressing several key areas and approaches during the initial audit conference.
  • Asset Review: Fixed asset review for Use tax.
  • Exemption Review: Exemption certificate review and approval.

3. Senior Tax Accountant Functions

  • Compliance Coordination: Collaborate with internal and external parties to coordinate, monitor, and review Senior Tax Accountant compliance and planning activities
  • Provision Support: Assist with the quarterly and annual global tax provision processes
  • Technical Development: Build on technical competence by keeping up to date on trends, developments, and technical authorities, and apply them to complex situations
  • Professional Conduct: Consistently maintains a professional demeanor and communicates in a respectful and collaborative manner
  • Financial Modeling: Conduct research and financial modeling related to various international, federal, and state local issues
  • International Operations: Assist in all aspects of the international income tax operations, including data collection, compilation, analysis, and IRS Form 5471, 8858, and 8865
  • Return Coordination: Coordination of returns prepared by outside consultants
  • Manager Support: Assist the Senior Tax Manager in the day-to-day operations of international income tax
  • EandP Tracking: Tracking and maintenance of E&P, Stock Basis, and Inside Asset Basis of CFCs
  • Transfer Pricing: Assist with worldwide transfer pricing and reporting requirements
  • Tax Memo Preparation: Perform tax research on international tax issues and prepare memos
  • Project Assistance: Assist with special projects, including coordination with other departments and foreign offices

4. Senior Tax Analyst Overview

  • Return Preparation: Prepare federal and multi-state corporate income tax returns, extension requests, and estimated tax filings in compliance with federal and state tax laws.
  • Tax Research: Perform research on federal and state tax issues relevant to the preparation of corporate income tax returns.
  • International Assistance: Assist with international aspects of federal and state income tax filings.
  • Audit Support: Assist with federal and state income tax audits, notices, and related matters, including responses to tax authorities and dispute resolution of audit issues.
  • Law Monitoring: Monitor current and proposed federal and state tax laws and regulations to identify and assess impact on Fiserv.
  • Tax Analysis: Assist in the preparation of quarterly and annual tax account reconciliations, effective tax rate analysis, and deferred tax analysis.
  • Staff Leadership: Serve as a Leader to less experienced tax department staff by providing tax technical and career development mentorship.
  • Planning Support: Identify and assist with the implementation of tax planning opportunities, tax technology initiatives, process improvements, and risk minimization strategies.
  • Project Participation: Participate in projects including R&D credit, mergers and acquisitions, and other projects as they arise.
  • Business Assistance: Assist domestic business units regarding tax issues and other special projects.
  • Information Collaboration: Collaborate and facilitate efficient information sharing across organizational functions to meet tax and compliance requirements.

5. Tax Associate Details and Accountabilities

  • Skill Development: Develop tax technical skills by participating in formal training programs as well as on-the-job training while working on challenging assignments
  • Tax Services: Provide high-quality tax services to a variety of clients in various industries.
  • Return Preparation: Help prepare federal, state, and local tax returns
  • Issue Research: Research a variety of tax technical issues to support tax positions and provide consulting services to clients
  • File Documentation: Document client work papers and organize tax files in electronic format
  • Accounting Review: Prepare and review income tax accounting work papers
  • Audit Coordination: Work directly with the Audit Team to assess the reasonableness of the presentation and disclosure of the tax accounts in a client’s financial statements
  • Due Diligence: Assist with tax due diligence on a potential acquisition
  • Professional Conduct: Display teamwork, responsibility, and integrity.
  • Team Collaboration: Work with team members, contributing ideas to the team as well as listening to the views of others
  • Client Relations: Establish productive working relationships with client personnel and colleagues to help ensure the efficient flow of information between the client and the Tax Team.
  • Client Interaction: Interact with clients professionally and competently, keeping a strong client focus

6. Sr. Tax Associate Tasks

  • Return Preparation: Prepare federal and state income tax returns and workpapers
  • Provision Management: Preparation and review of quarterly provision in ONESOURCE Tax Provision
  • Account Reconciliation: Prepare tax account reconciliations
  • Tax Research: Research complex tax issues
  • Audit Coordination: Work closely with the audit and planning team to assist in their information gathering and to ensure audit findings are properly incorporated in future compliance filings
  • Consultant Collaboration: Work closely with internal and external consultants
  • Authority Resolution: Resolve minor issues directly with the IRS and other tax authorities
  • Management Reporting: Perform research and ad hoc reporting for the management team.
  • Process Improvement: Identify and implement process improvements
  • Procedure Documentation: Assist with tax department process and procedure documentation
  • Calendar Maintenance: Maintain the direct/indirect tax compliance calendar
  • Tax Matrix Maintenance: Maintain sales and use tax matrix and exemptions

7. Tax Consultant Roles

  • Customer Engagement: Engage with customers and deployment partners to understand, define requirements, and guide the customer through the implementation process for OSV tax services
  • Application Configuration: Configure the TaxEx application in accordance with customer requirements
  • Needs Analysis: Identify and analyze tax needs and data requirements
  • Issue Resolution: Work with the customer to identify/resolve all issues that could impact the project scope or the delivery of service
  • Implementation Leadership: Lead the tax implementation process from start to finish
  • Data Consulting: Consult with customers on data integrity issues
  • Project Checkpoints: Conduct checkpoints with the customer for the timely delivery of tax service and any outstanding project documents
  • Customer Communication: Conduct customer calls in a clear and concise manner
  • Project Monitoring: Ensure customer projects are planned and properly monitored

8. Director Tax Additional Details

  • Compliance Accuracy: Ensure completeness and accuracy of tax compliance and reporting for U.S. federal, state, local, GAAP, and SEC requirements by maintaining current knowledge of laws, regulations, accounting, and reporting standards, while advising management on needed actions
  • Provision Oversight: Oversee quarterly and year-end tax provisions and disclosures
  • Compliance Oversight: Oversee all aspects of domestic compliance and audits, including federal, state, and local income tax returns and other filings
  • Landscape Monitoring: Monitor the tax landscape, research and interpret, and assist with the ongoing analysis of tax positions and internal controls to identify and address potential tax burdens and risks
  • Forecast Analysis: Analyze business and financial forecasts to provide insights on future effective tax rates and cash taxes
  • Tax Optimization: Identify, recommend, and implement opportunities to optimize Adobe's tax position and improve tax efficiency
  • Strategy Partnership: Partner with the tax management team to establish and implement Adobe's short and long-term tax strategies
  • Transaction Support: Provide support for mergers and acquisitions, proposed and contemplated transactions, audits, and ad hoc projects
  • Function Improvement: Improve tax function by identifying and implementing standard methodologies and tools
  • Cross Collaboration: Actively partner across the organization to stay current with business developments and identify, assess, and communicate related tax implications
  • Team Development: Develop, encourage, and inspire the domestic tax team

9. Tax Manager Essential Functions

  • Book Analysis: Review and analyze the accounting books and reconciliation for tax purposes.
  • Team Coordination: Coordinate with accounting and other teams to obtain related accounting books, invoices, etc.
  • Return Processing: Prepare, submit, and pay (end-to-end process) of the tax returns and save digitalization records.
  • Tax Registration: Support the tax registration before the national and territorial authorities.
  • Invoice Implementation: Implementation of Electronic Invoices in the countries.
  • Payable Assistance: Assist with accounts payable for tax effects in their daily transactions.
  • Rate Monitoring: Monitor effective tax rate and ensure adequate current tax accrual and deferred tax positions.
  • Process Automation: Identify and implement tax digitalization and automation processes.
  • Project Participation: Participate in new projects of implementation.
  • Continuous Learning: Committed to continuous learning and improvement.

10. Senior Tax Manager Role Purpose

  • Function Oversight: Ensure the effective operation of the tax function across all locations
  • Risk Management: Identify ongoing and emerging tax risks and mitigate
  • Rate Management: Manage the overall effective tax rate/loss of the group
  • Stakeholder Advisory: Provide/manage the provision of accurate tax advice to key stakeholders
  • Control Implementation: Implement appropriate control frameworks and policies
  • Regulation Compliance: Ensure compliance with all regulations and filing requirements
  • Authority Relations: Build relationships with appropriate tax authorities
  • Team Development: Work with the Senior Indirect Tax Manager to manage and develop the tax team, including recruitment, setting goals, and managing individuals and team performance
  • Business Relations: Build relationships with the various functional business heads, overseas offices, tax offices, and professional advisory firms to ensure a cohesive approach to managing tax issues
  • Restructuring Advisory: Provide advisory and tax input to group-wide corporate restructuring projects
  • Transfer Pricing: Implement and manage the group's transfer pricing policy and methodology