Firm Operations Manager

Skyelia•Ambler, PA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Firm Operations Manager oversees the firm’s administrative operations, client workflow, staff scheduling, production tracking, technology coordination, and internal process improvement. This is an operational leadership role rather than a traditional administrative support position, with responsibility for helping client work move efficiently from onboarding through completion, billing, and delivery. The role works closely with firm leadership, tax professionals, bookkeepers, administrative staff, IT providers, software platforms, and AI-enabled workflow tools. It supports productivity, accountability, internal controls, and client service across individual and business tax preparation, bookkeeping and accounting, tax resolution, and tax notice response work. The manager oversees workflow and production, improves processes and controls, coordinates technology and automation, supervises administrative staff, manages client onboarding and service coordination, and monitors billing, collections, and engagement budgets. Success includes better workflow visibility and accountability, fewer missed steps and bottlenecks, improved turnaround times and reporting, and more effective use of technology and AI-enabled tools.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing workflow in a CPA firm or tax preparation environment.
Experience with tax-season deadline management.
Experience supervising administrative or professional staff.
Experience with client onboarding and engagement-letter processes.
Experience with billing, accounts receivable, work in process, or budget tracking.
Experience implementing or improving practice management software.
Experience working with AI tools, automation tools, or technology-enabled process improvement.

Responsibilities

Oversee firm workflow across individual tax preparation, business tax returns, bookkeeping and accounting services, tax resolution, and tax notice response work.
Track active client engagements, including status, assigned staff, due dates, internal deadlines, budgets, open items, review status, billing status, and completion status.
Assign and monitor internal due dates, milestones, and staff responsibilities; balance workloads with firm and department leaders and reassign work as needed.
Monitor output against statutory deadlines, internal targets, budgets, and client expectations; identify bottlenecks and recommend solutions.
Coordinate workflow meetings and prepare weekly and seasonal production reports for partners and managers.
Develop workflow checklists, status codes, project templates, routing rules, and deadline tracking systems.
Evaluate administrative and production processes and recommend improvements.
Create, implement, and monitor controls for client intake, document collection, workflow routing, review readiness, e-file authorization, billing, and project closeout.
Standardize procedures and develop tracking for realization, turnaround time, budget-to-actual performance, delays caused by missing information, and staff capacity.
Help improve tax-season, extension, bookkeeping, and notice-response procedures, and design repeatable workflows for recurring services.
Act as an internal liaison for practice management and tax software, client portals, document management, e-signature tools, communication platforms, and related applications.
Coordinate with IT providers and software vendors to resolve operational issues and improve system use.
Assist with implementation, testing, and refinement of technology tools; maintain templates, automated task lists, recurring workflows, dashboards, reports, and system permissions.
Coordinate the use of AI agents and automation tools; monitor AI-enabled workflows for human review, data privacy, accuracy, and compliance with firm procedures.
Identify automation opportunities and train staff on firm systems, workflow tools, portals, and automation processes.
Supervise and coordinate administrative staff handling client communications, document collection, engagement letters, billing support, collections, tax-season preparation, scanning, portal activity, and other office functions.
Establish administrative team responsibilities and accountability; coordinate schedules, workload assignments, and recurring deadlines; assist with onboarding and training administrative personnel.
Facilitate staff meetings, follow up on action items, and liaise among professional staff, administrative staff, leadership, vendors, and IT providers.
Oversee new-client onboarding through setup in firm systems, including engagement letters, client information, prior-year records, portal access, billing arrangements, and service expectations.
Coordinate annual tax-season preparation, including organizer distribution, engagement-letter tracking, client document requests, and follow-up procedures.
Monitor missing client information and ensure timely follow-up; help establish client communication templates and procedures for reminders, document requests, and status updates.
Help ensure a consistent and professional client experience across firm service lines.
Coordinate timely billing of completed work and monitor engagement budgets against work status and completion.
Track work in process, completed-but-unbilled projects, unpaid invoices, and past-due balances; support payment-before-release procedures where applicable.
Report billing status, collection issues, and budget overruns to firm leadership.