Senior Manager, Taxation

Career Opportunity

Role Title

Senior Manager, Taxation

Purpose of role

The Senior Manager, Taxation is responsible for tax returns, quarterly/year-end provision, compliance and control processes, audits, as well as research and analysis. This individual will also participate in various tax and tax-related projects as required.
This position requires the incumbent to deliver strong accounting and tax research skills, technical and analytical corporate, premium, sales and indirect commodity tax knowledge and expertise; to demonstrate the ability to read and understand complex instructions and guidance, to possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, to possess organization skills to be able to prioritize responsibilities and to meet tight deadlines with little to no supervision and experience in a variety of tax operations and the ability to drive process improvements. The role requires strong analytical and problem skills along with being detail oriented.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

Tax Returns:

• Prepare and /or review working papers to support corporate tax and information returns and complete tax forms and supporting documentation for these returns on a timely basis
• Prepare and/or review working papers to support filing of the premium tax, monthly provincial sales tax and monthly and annual indirect commodity tax returns
• Review working papers for monthly HST returns and filing on a monthly basis
• Review Segregated Fund working papers for trust information and tax returns, non-resident tax returns and tax slips and summaries prepared inhouse and those prepared by third-party service providers  
• Review Foresters Segregated Fund trust information and tax returns and review tax summaries and tax slips
• Prepare and/or review non-resident withholding tax working papers, tax slips and returns including those prepared by third-party providers
• Assist with US and UK compliance requirements, including FBAR filings, review of FATCA and CRS forms, VAT, etc.
• Assist with Policyholder tax filings
• Prepare and/or review CbCR reporting forms and assist with Pillar Two related compliance requirements.

Tax Compliance and Tax Control Processes

• Prepare and/or review quarterly and annual tax provisions as required
• Requisition all installments, and payments for taxes, on a timely basis
• Prepare and/or review working papers for current and deferred tax on a quarter and annual basis including return to tax provision/assessment
• Preparation of year end and interim financial statement tax notes and supporting documentation as required
• Maintain effective control procedures over all aspects of the tax process including preparation of various monthly, quarterly and annual tax reconciliations to government statements.
• Identify opportunities for process efficiencies through automation and work paper simplification
• Prepare and/or approve tax journal entries and supporting documentation  
• Review and/or prepare annual contemporaneous transfer pricing documentation.
• Ensure that tax compliance and tax process documentation and tax models are kept up to date on a timely basis   

Audits: 

• Manage the process for the year-end external tax audits and other audits by tax authorities, including the preparation of working papers, analysis and supporting documentation to respond to auditors on a timely basis
• Manage the international tax audit regarding annual contemporaneous transfer pricing documentation
• Provide working papers and liase with external auditors

Research, Planning Analysis: 

• Research, analyze and provide recommendations on a variety of legislative and regulatory Canadian and U.S. federal and provincial/state income tax, policyholder tax, commodity and retail sales tax issues. Some co-ordination with outside consultants may be required.
• Assist with tax structuring
• Prepare tax cash flow and budgeting analysis
• Keep abreast of changes in tax legislation and analyze the impact of those changes to capitalize on changes in tax legislation. Conduct and present tax research.
• Understand changes to financial reporting standards and analyze the impact for tax filings purposes, including impact of IFRS 17
• Respond to internal tax related queries from other cross functional areas and/or senior management

Key Qualifications

• Education: University degree in Business
• In-depth tax course or equivalent
• CPA required; CA preferred
• Experience (minimum required): 8-10 years progressive post graduate tax experience (life industry preferred)
• FLMI an asset
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Excellent computer skills, particularly complex Excel spreadsheets and database models
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written
• Must be comfortable with written and oral presentations to various levels of staff and management
• Excellent analytical, research and problem-solving skills
• Strong knowledge of the insurance industry and the unique rules associated with accounting and tax reporting
• A strong level of initiative with the ability to evaluate existing processes and procedures and identify more effective ways of operating
• Team player
• Adaptable to change
• Must thrive in a fast-paced environment and work well with all levels of the organization
• Well organized with a high level of attention to detail, able to manage several complex processes/tasks with a high level of accuracy
• Ability to manage priorities in a demanding and deadline-oriented environment
• Advanced knowledge and experience of Microsoft applications, especially in Excel (incl. macros and pivot tables), PowerPoint and Word
• Advanced knowledge and experience using Canadian Tax Return software such as Tax prep and Insur Tax (or similar)

#LI-Hybrid

Equal Opportunity Employment and Inclusion – at Foresters Financial, we are committed to sustaining an equal opportunity environment for all job applicants. We embrace Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE) as a core strategic objective for building strong, innovative teams in which all our employees can show up wholly and authentically as themselves.

Foresters Financial strives to provide an accessible candidate experience for prospective employees with different abilities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodations during the recruitment process, please email [email protected] in advance of your appointment.

Thank you for choosing Foresters. Only those candidates who will be selected for further consideration will be contacted by our Talent Acquisition Team.