WHAT DOES AN INTERNATIONAL TAX MANAGER DO?

Updated: Nov 12, 2025 - The International Tax Manager oversees global tax compliance by managing external advisors, coordinating cross-functional tax matters, and ensuring accurate preparation of international filings and transfer pricing documentation. This role supports audits, prepares tax provisions under ASC 740, and manages reconciliations, forecasts, and reporting for consolidated financial statements. The manager also provides technical tax support for business initiatives, international office set-ups, and expat programs while ensuring adherence to global tax regulations.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for International Tax Manager

1. International Tax Manager Duties

  • Audit Defense: Supporting on appropriate strategies for the defence of audits as well as other contentious tax disputes in an efficient and considered manner
  • Dispute Management: Coordinate and manage information relevant to the disputes as well as become the expert on the technical and factual details of a given matter (including the financial impact)
  • Process Improvement: Advising and recommending improvements to systems, processes and approaches to tax matters as a result of audit experiences
  • Policy Support: Support Vodafone’s initiatives in the telecoms sector and the wider tax community in external public and/or governmental tax policy fora
  • Tax Techniques: Leverage complex tax techniques to achieve business objectives
  • Tax Research: Interpret, research and analyze tax laws to provide management with recommendations and opinions
  • Tax Planning: Work with inside and outside counsel to develop tax planning strategies
  • Staff Mentoring: Mentor and guide junior staff
  • Project Leadership: Quarterback of complex tax matters in any current project, with a deep understanding of the business and raising the right questions
  • Advisor Relations: Manage all external tax relationships with counsels and professional firms, including recurring matters such as annual audit and updates in the transfer pricing model
  • Indirect Tax: Connect with business leaders and assess the product line’s indirect tax framework to assist the Control group in building the reporting processes
  • Payroll Compliance: Work closely with the payroll department to ensure appropriate taxation and remittance set-up for all employees
  • Fiscal Optimization: Contribute to the development and implementation of controls to reach fiscal optimization

2. International Tax Manager Details

  • Compliance Management: Manages complex compliance assignments, ensuring timely and accurate filings of tax returns, including forms 5471, 8865, 926, and foreign tax credits
  • Tax Review: Reviews research, memoranda and supporting documentation prepared by staff for routine and complex tax technical and income tax accounting issues
  • Management Reporting: Presents findings to senior management
  • Tax Provision: Approves tax-related financial statement calculations including analytics, entries and disclosures for the global income tax provision process
  • Staff Oversight: Provides guidance and oversight to staff/supervisors on monthly financial reporting tasks
  • Regulatory Response: Reviews and assigns requests from the IRS or regulators to ensure timely and accurate responses while proactively identifying issues
  • Project Management: Manages moderate to complex projects, ensuring adequate resources and capabilities are available to deliver results
  • Problem Solving: Recommends solutions to business, resource, or technical obstacles
  • Process Improvement: Identifies, develops, and leads the implementation of process improvements
  • Legislation Monitoring: Monitors key legislative, regulatory, and/or tax litigation issues
  • Executive Communication: Identifies and communicates developments relevant to the Company to senior management
  • Performance Management: Manages all aspects of staff performance including engaging and motivating employees through honest feedback and coaching
  • Talent Development: Effectively manages performance and talent cycles
  • Tax Planning: Identifies and supports the implementation of timely, cost-effective tax planning strategies designed to create value and enhance the Company's worldwide tax position
  • Transaction Support: Participates in tax planning projects, which could include transactional planning, audits, and tax return implementation
  • Business Advisory: Provides tax guidance to strategic business units and other corporate departments and collaborates with them to analyze and implement proposed strategies

3. International Tax Manager Responsibilities

  • Account Reconciliation: Maintain and reconcile all international direct tax accounts
  • Tax Accounting: Prepare and document international tax accounting of income taxes under ASC 740 and statutory tax filings
  • Regulation Monitoring: Monitor, research, analyze and implement existing rules and regulations relating to accounting and reporting of international aspects of income taxes
  • Audit Management: Manage local country income tax examinations and notices
  • Tax Planning: Participate in international planning activities to manage the effective tax rate and cash taxes
  • Cross-Border Support: Assist with matters related to cross-border transactions and tax reporting
  • Process Documentation: Maintain documentation relating to the tax process and controls
  • Transfer Pricing: Prepare quarterly transfer pricing calculations and prepare/review annual transfer pricing documentation
  • Tax Filings: Prepare and/or review local country income tax filings
  • Form Review: Prepare and/or review work papers for international forms included in the tax filings
  • Tax Payments: Prepare tax installment calculations and payments
  • Withholding Tax: Respond to customer inquiries on withholding taxes, permanent establishment
  • Fixed Assets: Oversee tax fixed asset data and depreciation for inbound disregarded entities
  • Business Support: Respond to inquiries from business units on international tax matters
  • Process Improvement: Identify and implement continuous improvements while pursuing operational efficiencies

4. International Tax Manager Job Summary

  • Tax Provision: Review assigned foreign tax packages every quarter for the Company’s quarterly and annual income tax provision process
  • Risk Mitigation: Assist the International Tax Director with the identification and mitigation of potential tax exposure on international tax matters, including quarterly review for new, current, and potential release of uncertain tax positions related to foreign locations
  • Documentation Management: Maintain and retain proper documentation associated with the Company’s uncertain tax positions related to international tax matters
  • Tax Calculations: Assist International VPs and International Directors with the preparation and review of quarterly estimated international tax calculations, examples are GILTI, BEAT, Subpart F, FDII, etc.
  • SOX Compliance: Assist the International Director, Tax Reporting, on SOX documentation and compliance
  • Audit Support: Assist the International Director, Tax Reporting, on document requests from external auditors
  • Staff Mentoring: Mentor team members, especially International Sr. Tax Associates
  • Legislation Monitoring: Stay abreast of changes to current tax legislation and consider potential effects on Dentsply
  • Provision Support: Assist with additional provision requests on an ad-hoc basis

5. International Tax Manager Accountabilities

  • Tax Compliance: Coordinating all aspects of the non-US tax compliance, such as the review of tax return work papers and ensuring there is proper documentation
  • Tax Review: Reviewing tax returns prepared by internal staff members and tax advisors, supervising tax payments and responding to audit inquiries
  • Tax Planning: Coordinating and participating in meetings/conference calls for tax planning purposes
  • Client Communication: Communicating with the client, outside advisors and various teams within Geller
  • Workload Management: Proactively manage workload because of the multiple deadlines associated with monthly tax deliverables
  • Tax Concepts: Understanding and applying accounting and tax concepts to assigned projects
  • Issue Analysis: Analyzing issues and suggesting viable solutions
  • Notice Response: Reviewing responses to tax notices to tax authorities and/or advisors
  • Tax Payments: Reviewing tax payment calculations and requests
  • Tax Provision: Reviewing current and deferred tax provisions for both GAAP and statutory financial statements
  • FAS 109: Reviewing tax provisions including FAS 109 calculations, to determine deferred income tax expense
  • Financial Disclosure: Reviewing tax accounting and financial statement disclosures
  • Staff Management: Training, managing and supervising staff
  • Communication Skills: Demonstrate strong communication skills in both writing and speaking
  • Collaboration Skills: Collaborating with team members (internally and externally) on various tax consulting and non-consulting matters
  • Decision Making: Collaborating in the decision-making process for various complex tasks

6. International Tax Manager Functions

  • Tax Advisory: Provide high-quality (inter)national tax advice and support to the business
  • Transfer Pricing: Design, implement and maintain transfer pricing policies and documentation
  • Cross Collaboration: Actively cooperate with other (legal, finance and IT) departments
  • Project Support: Cooperate in a wide variety of projects
  • M&A Support: Mergers, acquisitions and integrations
  • Regulation Implementation: Implementation of newly introduced (international) compliance regulations in IMCD’s tax control framework
  • Tax Provision: Review fiscal financial consolidations and calculate current tax positions and deferred tax assets and liabilities
  • Advisor Relations: Cooperate with external advisors and international colleagues on international tax-related matters
  • Tax Authority: Communicate with tax authorities

7. International Tax Manager Job Description

  • Tax Compliance: Review federal and multi-state returns and projections for individuals, corporations, partnerships, trusts, and estates
  • Foreign Reporting: Use knowledge of FBAR and foreign reporting forms to ensure compliance
  • Issue Resolution: Ensure the proper identification and resolution of complex tax issues through self-directed and firm-sponsored training
  • Colleague Communication: Communicate findings to colleagues
  • Team Leadership: Lead teams, provide feedback, and mentor individuals to ensure excellent work product
  • Staff Mentoring: Mentor staff in all facets of work, including workflow and project management
  • Client Relations: Communicate status to partners and maintain positive relationships with the client
  • Client Advisory: Advise the client on tax planning and income tax issues
  • Risk Evaluation: Recognize, evaluate, and communicate potential risks in a strategic fashion

8. International Tax Manager Overview

  • Tax Analysis: Prepare and review computations and analysis of the Company’s international tax profile, including all provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
  • Tax Compliance: Assist with tax compliance for the Company’s non-entities, including preparing 5471, 8858, Subpart F, E&P and foreign tax credit calculations for CFCs
  • Project Compliance: Assist with tax compliance for tax projects, such as Sec 338(g) elections, SS-4, Form W-8BEN, etc.
  • Income Compliance: Manage and support foreign income tax compliance
  • Transfer Pricing: Assist with maintaining global transfer pricing policies and calculations
  • TP Studies: Review and implementation of transfer pricing studies
  • CBC Reporting: Assist with Country-by-Country Reporting
  • Audit Defense: Support foreign and international tax audit defense and tax notices and inquiries
  • SOX Compliance: Support 404 internal control testing and maintain SOX documentation and processes related to international taxation

9. International Tax Manager Details and Accountabilities

  • Indirect Research: Researching advanced international indirect tax issues
  • Authority Liaison: Working with taxing authorities and outside advisers as part of a tax team involved in support of business initiatives
  • Planning Support: Assist with developing and evaluating planning opportunities, providing benefits to the company
  • Work Plan: Assist with developing strategic and operational implementation work plans and the ability to measure results against plans
  • Strategy Implementation: Assists with the implementation of agreed-upon indirect tax strategies and projects
  • Program Management: Managing and coordinating tax requirements for existing and new program launches
  • Tax Guidance: Managing tax positions by providing relevant tax guidance to appropriate businesses and working to build a relationship and understanding with the business so that adherence is maintained
  • Financial Review: Reviewing financial data for proper application of tax laws and advising on the development and maintenance of accounting systems that provide tax information to be reported
  • Law Monitoring: Maintaining and communicating knowledge of past, present, and potential future tax laws, regulations, rulings, procedures and court decisions
  • Consultant Relations: Assisting with managing relationships with outside tax consultants and regulatory authorities on an ongoing basis

10. International Tax Manager Tasks

  • Advisor Management: Manage the Company’s outside tax advisors in the preparation and filing of international tax returns
  • Audit Support: Assist in international, federal and state and local tax audits
  • Cross Coordination: Coordinate tax matters on cross-functional initiatives with other departments, locations and business units to ensure proper compliance
  • Tax Research: Perform international, federal and state and local tax research
  • Notice Response: Assist in responding to all international and domestic tax notices
  • Foreign Reporting: Manage preparation of foreign reporting for consolidated income tax return, including Form 5471 and Form 8858
  • Tax Support: Provide international and domestic tax support to the bid and proposal teams and divisions
  • Tax Management: Manage international, federal and state and local tax matters including the preparation of transfer pricing documentation, transfer pricing calculations, tax planning and international office set-up
  • Provision Management: Manage foreign tax provisions and tax account reconciliations for local statutory audited financial statements
  • ASC 740: Assist with the preparation of the Company’s quarterly and annual tax provision work papers in accordance with ASC 740 for the client’s consolidated statutory audited financial statements
  • Rate Forecast: Assist with the preparation of the global income tax rate forecast
  • Financial Statements: Participate in the preparation of international and domestic statutory audited financial statements
  • Expat Program: Assist the Senior Manager, Tax, with the Company’s expat program including working with outside tax preparers as well as assisting the Human Resource Department with tax-related issues as they arise
Relevant Information
What Does An International Tax Director Do?