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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for an Indirect Tax Analyst

💰 $65,000 - $95,000

FinanceAccountingTax

🎯 Role Definition

An Indirect Tax Analyst is a crucial member of the finance and accounting team, acting as the organization's specialist in transaction-based taxes like Sales & Use Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), and Goods and Services Tax (GST). This role is far more than just filing returns; it's about safeguarding the company from financial risk, ensuring seamless compliance across numerous jurisdictions, and serving as a strategic partner to the business. A successful Indirect Tax Analyst combines meticulous data analysis with a deep understanding of ever-changing tax law to optimize processes, support business growth, and protect the bottom line. They are the go-to experts for questions on taxability, the champions of process automation, and the key liaisons with tax authorities.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Staff Accountant or General Ledger Accountant
  • Tax Intern or Co-op
  • Accounts Payable / Receivable Specialist with tax exposure

Advancement To:

  • Senior Indirect Tax Analyst
  • Indirect Tax Manager
  • Tax Technology Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Direct Tax Analyst
  • Tax Technology Consultant
  • Financial or Treasury Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Prepare and file multi-jurisdictional indirect tax returns, including Sales & Use, VAT, GST, and property tax, ensuring complete accuracy and timely submission.
  • Perform detailed monthly reconciliations of transaction tax general ledger accounts to identify and resolve any variances or discrepancies.
  • Manage the company’s tax exemption certificate lifecycle, from validating customer-provided certificates to ensuring they are correctly applied in our billing systems.
  • Conduct in-depth research on complex state, local, and international tax laws and regulations to determine taxability of new products, services, and revenue streams.
  • Act as a primary point of contact during indirect tax audits, expertly gathering requested data, preparing supporting schedules, and drafting responses to auditor inquiries.
  • Proactively analyze transactional data to pinpoint potential tax risks, compliance gaps, and opportunities for tax recovery or savings.
  • Maintain and configure the rules and logic within the company's tax calculation engine (such as Vertex, Avalara, or Sovos) to ensure accurate tax determination.
  • Collaborate with the Accounts Payable team to review and determine the correct use tax accruals on vendor invoices and capital expenditures.
  • Handle and resolve all incoming notices and correspondence from various tax authorities, ensuring issues are addressed efficiently and effectively.
  • Partner with internal business units, including Sales, Procurement, IT, and Legal, to provide clear guidance on the indirect tax implications of their initiatives.
  • Prepare and maintain meticulously organized workpapers and supporting documentation to create a clear audit trail for all tax filings and positions.
  • Assist in the development and implementation of tax process improvements, focusing on automation and leveraging technology to increase efficiency.
  • Monitor and analyze new legislative and regulatory changes in the indirect tax landscape, summarizing their potential impact on the company's operations.
  • Process and manage tax-related payments, ensuring funds are remitted to the correct jurisdictions on or before their due dates.
  • Support the month-end and quarter-end financial close process by preparing and booking tax-related journal entries, accruals, and reserves.
  • Conduct reverse audits and data analysis to identify and recover overpaid taxes, subsequently preparing and filing refund claims.
  • Validate and reconcile tax data from various source systems (ERP, billing platforms) to ensure its accuracy and completeness before it's used for reporting.
  • Participate in testing and validating system changes or upgrades within the ERP or tax engine that affect tax calculation and reporting.

Secondary Functions

  • Support special projects as they arise, which may include M&A due diligence, legal entity restructuring, or new country/state entry analysis.
  • Assist in developing and delivering training materials on indirect tax fundamentals and best practices for non-tax departments.
  • Contribute to forecasting indirect tax liabilities and cash flow impacts to support the company's budgeting and financial planning process.
  • Help enhance and document internal controls, policies, and procedures related to indirect tax to ensure SOX compliance and operational consistency.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep proficiency with tax research platforms such as CCH, BNA, or Thomson Reuters Checkpoint to interpret and apply tax law.
  • Hands-on experience with tax compliance and automation software, particularly Vertex, Avalara, Sovos, or similar tax engines.
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel skills are a must, including pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, SUMIF, and the ability to manage and analyze large datasets.
  • A strong foundational knowledge of U.S. Sales & Use Tax, Canadian GST/HST, or international VAT principles and their practical application.
  • Experience navigating and extracting data from large ERP systems like SAP, Oracle, or NetSuite, with an understanding of their tax-related modules.
  • Solid understanding of general ledger accounting principles and a proven ability to perform complex, multi-variable account reconciliations.
  • Familiarity with data analysis and visualization tools (e.g., Alteryx, Power BI, Tableau) is a significant advantage for identifying trends and insights.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy, as small errors can have large financial consequences.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a natural curiosity to investigate discrepancies and find the root cause of an issue.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex tax concepts into clear, understandable guidance for non-tax colleagues.
  • Proven ability to manage multiple competing priorities and strict deadlines in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
  • A proactive and intellectually curious mindset, demonstrating a strong desire for continuous learning and professional development in the tax field.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative spirit, enabling you to build effective working relationships across different teams and levels of the organization.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • A Bachelor's degree is required.

Preferred Education:

  • A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is highly preferred. A Master’s in Taxation (MST) or a relevant professional certification is a strong plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2-5 years of direct, relevant experience in an indirect tax role. This experience can come from a corporate tax department or a public accounting firm.

Preferred:

  • Experience in a complex, multi-state, or multi-national corporate environment is highly desirable. Experience with tax technology implementations or process improvement projects is also a significant advantage.
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