What Happened To My Corporate Tax Department? The Compensation Question

While working with a client recently, I invited them to join me in looking at my private desktop computer screen at all of the candidates that had been contacted on the search. I wanted them to see all of the research we conducted for them and the list of Tax Manager candidates we contacted for this particular role. It is an extraordinary body of work by our team. It brought back memories of the McKinsey Study in 1997 on the War For Talent.

For anyone familiar with the Study, it was an eye-opening discussion of the lack of available talent and how the war for talent is a critical driver of corporate performance. The war for talent in corporate tax organizations is in a full scale combat today because the talent for highly sophisticated tax expertise is more scarce than ever this time around.

Recognizing the importance of human capital in any tax organization should never be underestimated. Tax professionals that are well trained save companies millions of tax dollars that would otherwise be lost. Having said that, appropriately compensating corporate tax executives is the secret behind the scenes battle breaking out in company human resource departments every day. Many human resource professionals are benchmarking with compensation surveys for tax professionals that are inaccurate and should never have been published for public consumption! It is not their fault because the information is very difficult to obtain. TaxConnections is in the business of providing a solution for corporate tax departments who need accurate information to make more informed hiring and retention decisions.

Compensating your tax organization appropriately is very good business!  Then why is it that we see such inequities in compensation for corporate tax organizations on published surveys?  The answer is simple: Most of the data published online regarding the salaries of corporate tax executives and their teams is inaccurate because these folks are grouping tax with other roles such as accounting that do not match or fit. How do I know? For more than three decades, I have been retained by multinational clients to research corporate tax departments and ask tax professionals for compensation information. This is why I can tell you with confidence the information we see on most publications is inaccurate. Having said that, I can also attest to the fact that corporate tax professionals do not give out the information easily; they will provide the facts to people they trust. I have built trust within the tax profession over many years. As a result, I have maintained a longstanding record of collecting this valuable information through private calls and conversations.

TaxConnections is currently conducting a confidential compensation survey that provides base salaries, incentive compensation, total cash compensation, equity based compensation, pay and benefits practices and job descriptions for the tax profession. We spend a lot of time to get it right for clients who want accurate information. Knowing that many corporate tax organizations need qualified tax professionals and they are fighting to get this talent, it makes good business sense to have accurate compensation information. Our goal in providing tax compensation information is assisting decision-makers in making more informed hiring decisions that improve retention of the well trained tax professionals you currently employ and to help you win the current war for this talent.

If you are a corporate tax executive who wants to participate in this study, please send a message to kat@taxconnections.com.

TaxConnections is where to find leading tax experts and technology around the world. Discover tax professionals who offer you a wide range of tax expertise and be more informed about the technology that supports them in operating efficiently and successfully.

TaxConnections connects tax professionals with new tax clients and tax jobs around the world. Tax Professional Members establish higher visibility online so prospective clients and employers can find our members easily. Each members also receives a Virtual Tax Office which is the most valuable online real estate available today! TaxConnections makes a difference in your professional life.

We offer a Special Membership rate to tax professionals out of work.
https://www.taxconnections.com/special-membership

Kat Jennings, CEO
TaxConnections
858.999.0053
kat@taxconnections.com

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