Aprio is seeking a Managing Director to lead the State Income Tax (SIT) practice within the Specialty Tax organization. This individual will be responsible for driving the strategic growth, operational performance, client service excellence, and talent development of the practice while serving as a market-facing leader in multistate income tax compliance and consulting.
The Managing Director will collaborate closely with Tax Leadership, Specialty Tax Leadership, Finance, Operations, and Resource Management to expand the practice, improve profitability, and strengthen Aprio's position as a leading provider of State Income Tax services. This role combines technical expertise, business development, operational leadership, and people leadership.
Responsibilities:
- Lead and execute the strategic vision for the State Income Tax practice.
- Develop and implement initiatives to drive revenue growth, profitability, and market expansion.
- Partner with Specialty Tax and SALT leadership to identify emerging market opportunities and service offerings.
- Develop annual business plans, revenue forecasts, staffing plans, and growth initiatives.
- Serve as a key leader within the Specialty Tax organization and contribute to department-wide strategy.
- Serve as executive relationship leader for key State Income Tax clients.
- Advise clients on complex multistate income tax issues, including:
- Nexus determinations
- State apportionment methodologies
- Unitary and combined reporting
- State tax planning strategies
- Compliance and filing requirements
- State tax controversy and audit matters
- Oversee the quality, consistency, and technical accuracy of all client deliverables.
- Function as a subject matter expert on multistate income tax developments and emerging regulatory changes.
- Support high-risk and highly visible client engagements.
- Drive organic revenue growth through new client acquisition and expansion within existing client relationships.
- Develop and execute business development strategies for the State Income Tax practice.
- Identify cross-selling opportunities throughout Aprio's Tax, Advisory, and Managed Services practices.
- Build and maintain relationships with referral sources, industry organizations, and strategic partners.
- Participate in presentations, webinars, conferences, and thought leadership initiatives.
- Own revenue growth, realization, utilization, backlog, and margin performance for the State Income Tax practice.
- Monitor key performance indicators and develop action plans to address operational challenges.
- Partner with Finance and Operations leadership to:
- Improve leverage
- Optimize staffing models
- Increase realization
- Reduce bottlenecks
- Improve client experience
- Develop scalable processes and workflows that support continued growth
- Lead, coach, and mentor Directors, Senior Managers, Managers, and emerging leaders.
- Build a strong leadership pipeline within the practice.
- Support recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and retention efforts.
- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Drive team engagement, technical excellence, and career development initiatives.
Qualifications:
- CPA required; MST, JD, or advanced tax degree preferred.
- 12+ years of progressive State and Local Tax experience within public accounting, consulting, or professional services.
- Deep technical expertise in:
- Multistate income tax compliance
- Apportionment
- Nexus studies
- State tax planning
- ASC 740 state tax considerations
- Tax controversy matters
- Demonstrated experience managing large client relationships and complex engagements.
- Proven success leading high-performing teams in a professional services environment.
- Strong business development track record with measurable revenue generation experience.
Exceptional communication, leadership, and relationship management skills. - Experience managing practice financial performance, including revenue, realization, leverage, and profitability.
- Revenue growth and new business generation.
- Improvement in practice profitability and realization.
- Team retention and leadership development.
- Client satisfaction and expansion.
- Successful execution of strategic growth initiatives.
- Development of scalable operational processes that support continued growth of the State Income Tax practice.