Manager, Severance Tax
Merit Advisors (Dallas TX, Katy TX, Tulsa OK, or OKC OK)
Merit Advisors is a team of expert consultants committed to crafting holistic solutions that improve your cash flow and add profit back to your bottom line. With a track record spanning over 20 years, Merit offers deep experience in energy, heavy industry and construction, and works with companies across the commercial sector.
We are seeking a Severance Tax Manager who will join our team working with our clients to plan for and manage various severance tax needs. The right person brings experience, expertise, and an unrelenting drive to improve cash flows for clients. You will need to have a self- driven, conscientious mentality with a commitment to high-quality work.
What Your Day Will Look Like
This is a consulting position, and your work with us will include assisting clients in various capacities related to severance tax matters. Our client projects include severance tax refund claims, compliance, process reviews, and training. You will be supported by and work directly with the Leadership team to ensure introductions to clients and be given the opportunity to utilize your technical, analytical and soft skills while working with our clients. You will have an opportunity to build and grow your team with internal resources or recruiting externally. In general, you can expect to:
- Manage and deliver all severance tax engagements as well as building a team to assist you with the delivery of severance tax services
- Participate in client meetings and clearly articulate the service offerings and value to the client
- Perform detail reviews of client data to determine proper severance tax deductions and/or taxes due to quantify refund claims and/or reductions to audit assessments
- Severance tax/gross product compliance experience in multiple states preferred, particularly in TX, OK, CO, WY and UT
- Experience with marketing cost qualification and calculations
- Experience utilizing severance tax incentives to reduce or recover taxes paid
- Manipulate and analyze client data from various accounting and reporting systems
- Research tax issues in multiple states and help develop tax planning strategies
- Research and analyzes state severance tax issues and communicates to management
- Gather data, performs data entry, and performs detailed calculations
- Work with data and various firm technology including but not limited to excel, access and Alteryx to prepare refund claims
- Perform review of client data necessary to substantiate credit applications and refund claims
- Perform company research for utilization in proposal and prospect development initiatives
- Continuously develop tax expertise, analytical capabilities, and soft skills
- Contribute significantly to the development of a dynamic and growing consulting practice
- Hybrid work arrangement available
- Desire to build and grow a robust severance tax practice
- A fundamental understanding of severance laws and regulations
- Excellent organizational skills and strong self-motivation; must be able to work effectively with minimal direct daily supervision
- Ability to apply your technical expertise to varied client issues/needs and provide creative, insightful analysis
- Ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple projects, activities and deadlines
- Software proficiency, including Excel/Access and Powerpoint and experience with financial accounting systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Navision
- Ability to anticipate new situations and/or changing demands and respond proactively
- Some travel out of town will be required, overnight for internal or client meetings and/or conferences
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or similar field
- Five to ten years of severance tax experience (with a consulting firm a plus)
- Strong technology skills utilizing access, excel, Alteryx, etc.
- Experience using CCH/AnswerConnect or other tax research tools
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate clearly, effectively and persuasively
- Willing and able to develop client relationships and work effectively in a team environment
- CPA or CMI a plus but not required
What We Do
Merit Advisors provides our partners in the energy industry with the best financial solutions and vision to uncover overlooked savings. The team at Merit is built on decades of experience and insight throughout the entire energy value chain. Our strategic approach combined with our expertise, proprietary technology and data makes Merit Advisors the best at extracting trapped value and improving cash flow for our partners. When you partner with Merit Advisors, you get experienced energy professionals who are focused on delivering results so you can stay focused on your business.
Initially founded in 1998 as an appraisal and property tax consulting firm based in Gainesville, TX, Merit is constantly evolving to better serve its clients. This client-focused nature is demonstrated by various service lines and offices in geographically strategic locations (Dallas and Houston, TX and Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK).
Our 350+ clients range from publicly traded corporations to individual small business owners and are serviced by a team that combines engineers, appraisal and valuation experts and seasoned tax and consulting professionals that bring together the perfect balance of high quality and diverse solutions of a larger firm while not foregoing the “high level touch” customer service of a boutique firm.