Indirect Tax Manager - Sales and Use Tax Audits

Overview

This role supports the design, implementation, and defense of indirect tax strategies and positions, with a focus on managing and defending domestic non-income tax audits. Key audit areas include sales and use tax, business license tax, gross receipts tax, and other indirect taxes.

The successful candidate will investigate and respond to tax authority challenges involving large volumes of transaction records, tracing audit issues back to individual invoices, product classifications, exemption determinations, sourcing decisions, and operational processes. The position provides technical leadership, supports process improvements, and helps mitigate indirect tax risk across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Support and manage state and local tax audits by evaluating information requests, identifying audit exposure areas, and developing fact-based strategies to defend company tax positions.
• Conduct detailed transaction-level analyses across large datasets to identify patterns, exceptions, root causes, and audit defense opportunities.
• Investigate individual taxability determinations, exemptions, sourcing decisions, and product or service classifications to support audit responses and resolve complex tax issues.
• Prepare comprehensive audit responses supported by transaction detail, exemption certificates, data reconciliations, technical research, and audit-ready documentation.
• Perform detailed reconciliations and analyze significant volumes of transactional data to substantiate tax positions and quantify potential audit exposures.
• Develop well-supported tax positions and technical memoranda addressing complex indirect tax issues using statutes, regulations, administrative guidance, case law, and audit methodologies.
• Assist in managing audit resolutions, including settlements, appeals, and protests, by preparing defensible workpapers and ensuring conclusions are supported by clear technical authority and factual analysis.
• Represent the organization in discussions with tax authorities, articulating transaction-specific positions and supporting documentation under guidance from senior leadership.
• Collaborate with tax, accounting, FP&A, IT, legal, and operational stakeholders to gather information, understand business processes, and resolve audit inquiries.
• Collaborate with internal and external personnel on audit responsibilities related to mergers, acquisitions, and dispositions.
• Prepare and manage indirect tax audit accruals and coordinate with FP&A and accounting teams on related entries.
• Respond to business partner questions regarding indirect tax matters by researching issues, identifying underlying drivers, and providing practical, risk-based recommendations.
• Summarize audit findings and communicate technical conclusions to tax and non-tax audiences while educating stakeholders on compliance implications and required process changes.
• Contribute to process improvement initiatives that enhance audit readiness, documentation quality, data accessibility, and indirect tax compliance.
• Support the development and implementation of policies, controls, and procedures designed to reduce indirect tax risk and improve operational efficiency.
• Mentor team members and contribute to a collaborative, inclusive, high-performing team environment.
• Participate in special projects and other duties as assigned.

Critical Skills

• Ability to analyze complex tax issues by drilling into underlying transaction details and identifying the facts that drive tax outcomes.
• Exceptional attention to detail, with the ability to evaluate individual transactions while maintaining a broader view of overall audit risk and strategy.
• Strong investigative mindset, including the ability to ask probing questions, challenge assumptions, identify root causes, and develop technically sound conclusions.
• Ability to work effectively with large datasets and navigate hundreds of thousands of transaction records to isolate issues and substantiate tax positions.
• Documentation excellence through clear, organized workpapers, comprehensive audit support, and well-defended technical positions.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain complex indirect tax concepts and audit findings to both tax and non-tax stakeholders.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Degree or equivalent and typically requires 7+ years of relevant experience directly leading sales and use tax, gross receipts tax, and business license tax audits.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a multi-corporate, multi-state environment; distribution or healthcare industry.
• 3–5 years of directing the work of, or mentoring, other tax professionals.
• Strong technical background in indirect tax audit techniques and resolution.
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• B.S. in Accounting or Finance or related relevant experience; CPA and CMI preferred.
• Graduate degree in Business, Accounting, or Tax a plus.
• Candidates located in the DFW Metroplex are preferred.

Additional Knowledge & Skills

• Experience with compliance activities, data analysis, and reporting.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office; SAP and Vertex preferred.
• Familiarity with exemption certificate management systems and tax research tools (CCH, RIA, TTR).
• Ability to work cross-functionally and influence outcomes without direct authority.
• Ability to meet deadlines with accuracy in a fast-paced environment.

Compensation & Benefits

• Target salary: $125,000
• Bonus: 15% for candidates in DFW or similar sized markets
• Additional compensation may be offered, such as an annual bonus or long-term incentive opportunities, and total compensation is determined by factors including performance, experience and skills, equity, job market evaluations, and geographical markets.

Location

• Candidates located in the DFW Metroplex are preferred.
• Bonus eligibility: DFW or similar sized markets.