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If you are Head of Tax (HOT) in an organization, you may be thinking “All these tax deadlines and tax projects are keeping me awake at night. How can this team accomplish everything we need to do in this quarter? Did I miss anything that will cost the company money? Here I am working all weekend again to meet these deadlines.” The late-nineteenth century French mathematician, Henri Poincare (1854-1912) studied the Theory of Chaos. Poincare explained,  “It may happen that small differences in the initial conditions produce very great ones in the final phenomena. A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter. You can imagine what can go unnoticed on a complex corporate tax return!

After consulting to tax executives who are understaffed and overwhelmed and awake at night worrying about these very matters, I want to offer you ideas in these situations.

Let’s discuss what I describe as the “circle of decision-makers”. As a leader of a tax organization, you, upper management and human resources are involved in hiring decisions. As (HOT) Head of Tax, your needs revolve around more staff, upper management has the job to adhere to strict budgetary constraints to meet projections, and human resources has the job to stay within targeted salary ranges for each position. (75% of the HR’s compensation ranges are off for tax professionals, mostly because they attempt to group tax with finance). In order to get what you need for your tax organization, the process involves a circle of decision-makers working together for the greater success.

Allow me to share what I have encountered over the years; know these can exist anywhere and anytime. An understaffed tax organization is low hanging fruit for International, Federal and State Tax Authorities who are searching for tax revenue. Companies who have understaffed their tax organizations leave lots of windows open for mistakes to happen. The generally unknown secret in running a tax organization that when you are understaffed, focus on what is the biggest cost to the bottom line (if you even have time to figure out what it is).

Senior executives who pay attention to the needs of their tax organization will benefit the most. These  very tax organizations are saving millions of tax dollars each year as they are fully staffed. They realize an added set of eyes to the tax department can provide some very golden revenue eggs. When tax leaders work closely with upper management teams the results are simply amazing for the company and investors.

The 3rd group in the circle of decision-makers are human resource professionals who support the Executive Compensation Committee. They are involved in the hires for the organization and set the salary band levels of tax professionals. You must understand that they want to help you but the bottom line is the top line of the organization tells them what to do.

Working smart within this circle of decision-makers is the key to getting what you need in staffing your team. It is a team effort and although it may feel like you may be chasing a dogs tail it is the reality you must work with each day. Here are 3 ideas to assist you in obtaining the tax team you need to operate successfully:

• Plan for 20% turnover in your tax department annually. The world changes constantly and so do people’s lives. Put more money aside in your annual budget to address this natural turnover.

• Meet and engage with potential hires (candidates) throughout the year, even when you are not looking. Be ready to pull the trigger with people in line for the next job.

• Insure your tax team is paid according to market. Collect information from tax recruiters to gain a better sense of  fair market salaries. People will leave an organization if they feel underpaid or overworked and it costs a lot less to keep them.

One of the services we provide every client is a list of all the interested candidates and their salary ranges so they can provide this information to their Compensation Committee. Check out our Executive Search Services:

https://www.taxconnections.com/search_services/clients

THIS IS #2 OF A SPECIAL 12 WEEK BLOG SERIES: HOW TO DEVELOP A LEADING AND PRODUCTIVE TAX ORGANIZATION IN 2016

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE A PDF OF ALL POSTS IN THIS SERIES, PLEASE Register Here:

 

 

—We Recommend You Read The Previous and Forthcoming Blogs In This Series—