Principal Tax Advisor

Aston Carter•Minneapolis, MN

2d•$135,000 - $160,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal Tax & Business Advisor serves as a high-level, client-facing trusted advisor to entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, and closely held businesses. The role owns key client relationships, leads strategic tax planning, and delivers comprehensive business and financial advisory services throughout the year. It emphasizes proactive guidance that helps clients make informed tax and financial decisions before they occur, rather than traditional compliance-only tax services. The advisor leads tax planning, evaluates business and investment decisions, reviews complex tax returns, and provides insights on clients’ financial performance. The role also manages engagements and client expectations, coordinates with internal teams and external professionals, identifies opportunities to expand advisory services, and contributes to colleagues’ technical development and improvements in advisory processes and client experience.

Requirements

Active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.
35+ years of public accounting experience with strong knowledge of federal taxation and pass-through entities.
Proven experience in tax planning and advisory services for business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors.
Strong tax planning and analytical skills, including evaluating complex scenarios and proposing effective strategies.
Ability to independently manage multiple client relationships, engagements, and priorities.
Proven client relationship management skills and ability to build trust and long-term partnerships.
Excellent communication skills, including explaining complex tax and financial concepts in practical, understandable terms.
Strong organizational, problem-solving, and project management skills, including managing timelines and deliverables.
Experience with business advisory services such as cash-flow projections, budgeting, forecasting, and profitability analysis.
Ability and desire to work in a client-facing, advisory-focused role rather than a purely compliance-focused tax position.
Comfort engaging frequently with clients through meetings and discussions and taking on relationship-building responsibilities.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a small to mid-sized public accounting or advisory firm.
Experience supporting small business owners, real estate investors, real estate agents, restaurant owners, franchises, or similar closely held businesses.
Interest in or experience with business development, particularly in growing or less-established markets.
Ability to identify and articulate opportunities to expand services and deepen advisory relationships.
Comfort participating in discovery meetings, proposals, scoping, and pricing discussions.
Strong interest in continuous learning and staying current with tax law changes and advisory best practices.
Ability to contribute to process improvements, technology adoption, and enhancements to the client experience.
Desire to work collaboratively and serve as a technical resource to colleagues on complex tax and advisory matters.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted advisor and primary contact for an assigned portfolio of business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors.
Build and maintain long-term client relationships by understanding clients’ business models, finances, goals, and challenges.
Lead client meetings and offer ideas, questions, and recommendations that deliver value and strengthen advisory relationships.
Explain complex tax and financial concepts in clear, practical, actionable terms.
Coordinate with attorneys, financial advisors, lenders, and other external specialists on integrated client solutions.
Lead year-round tax planning and develop strategies aligned with clients’ business and personal financial goals.
Analyze tax impacts of business and investment decisions and advise clients before decisions occur.
Advise on entity structure, acquisitions and dispositions, owner compensation, depreciation, real estate strategies, estimated taxes, multi-state issues, and other tax planning opportunities.
Prepare or oversee tax projections and planning analyses.
Stay current on tax law and identify client opportunities and risks arising from legislative and regulatory changes.
Review complex individual and business tax returns and related work prepared by others for accuracy and planning opportunities.
Identify additional planning and advisory opportunities through compliance work and client interactions.
Analyze client financial information for trends, risks, and opportunities involving cash flow, profitability, and overall financial health.
Participate in forecasting, budgeting, cash-flow analysis, profitability reviews, and other business advisory projects.
Connect financial performance and key metrics with clients’ tax and business strategies and long-term goals.
Provide meaningful insights and actionable recommendations, not just reports or deliverables.
Manage client engagements from planning through completion, ensuring quality and timeliness.
Manage priorities, timelines, deliverables, and expectations across concurrent engagements.
Coordinate internal team members to complete work accurately, efficiently, and on schedule.
Monitor client needs and proactively communicate changes in priorities, scope, or circumstances.
Own client issues through resolution and maintain a high level of client satisfaction.
Identify and develop opportunities to expand services and transition clients from compliance-focused work to ongoing advisory relationships.
Participate in proposals, discovery meetings, scoping discussions, and pricing conversations.
Contribute ideas to improve advisory processes, technology use, and the client experience.
Serve as a technical resource to colleagues on complex tax and advisory questions and support knowledge sharing.
Participate in relationship-building activities such as client events, social outings, and informal meetings.
Focus on professional growth and business development, especially in markets where the firm is expanding.