Senior Tax Accountant

Company Profile:Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.Description:The Finance and Strategy group is responsible for implementing and maintaining operating procedures designed to ensure rigorous stewardship of the foundation&os;s financial resources. We oversee the business processes that govern the foundation’s basic grantmaking and risk management; evaluate and improve the impact of the foundation&os;s grantmaking; and produce accurate and transparent financial analyses and reports. We also coordinate public-private partnerships across the different grantmaking areas to optimize effectiveness and share best practices, and we drive a number of special initiatives related to planning for substantial increases in long-term payout and overall growth.

The Senior Tax Accountant has significant responsibility in the guiding of tax activities for the foundation’s expanding U.S. and worldwide operations.  This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the tax reporting and compliance activities for the entities of the foundation, and work  with Legal, Human Resources and others on tax and regulatory matters. This position participates in the evaluation and development of new tax, regulatory and accounting processes and systems in support of anticipated growth. Primary responsibilities are listed below.

Deliver accurate and timely tax and regulatory filings and ensure compliance with domestic and international regulations in all jurisdictions in which the foundation operates. Act as liaison and oversee international financial matters, including regulatory filings, financial audits, and tax return filings including:• Assure compliance with regulatory reporting requirements.  Manage the regulatory checklist assuring all filings are completed in a timely manner.• Prepare the business & occupation (B&O) tax returns for the foundation’s three entities.• Work with the foundation’s outside CPA firm to prepare and review state unrelated business income tax (UBIT) filings.• Prepare Form 1042 and monitor foreign vendors for U.S. tax withholding.• Analyze new revenue streams to determine taxability to the foundation for B&O, UBIT, excise tax, etc.• Assist in calculating the quarterly excise tax and UBIT estimated tax payments.

Establish, update, maintain and distribute domestic and international financial procedure manuals and policies with input from international office managers.

Guide the development of a comprehensive domestic and foreign tax compliance program to address tax issues including: • Preparation of international tax filings and research and resolution of international tax issues.• Act as liaison with internal legal advisors, external CPA consultants, and internal program officers regarding international consulting contracts and related tax withholding and filing requirements.• Manage international tax research projects including VAT analysis.

Lead in the preparation of the Foundation form 990PF and 990T.

Research domestic federal and state tax issues and recommend policy and process improvements for domestic and international offices.• Assist Controller and Legal in understanding nexus issues and implications of foundation activities in the states and foreign countries.• Research international tax issues for Legal contracts team in Global Health and Global Development.• Assist Legal staff with tax related research questions. Qualifications:• A minimum of 5 years (7 years preferred) of experience in tax compliance and filing roles in either a U.S. for profit or not-for-profit environment and/or international taxes.• A Bachelors degree in Tax, Accounting, or Finance, related field or equivalent experience.  CPA, Masters in Taxation or JD desirable.• Experience in public accounting or private sector tax or audit, or not for profit tax preferred. International tax experience a plus.• Strong technical skills in the use of financial accounting and reporting software as well as MS Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and Outlook. Prior experience with Great Plains or other enterprise software preferred.• Possess strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.• Excellent oral and written communications skills and the ability to positively interact with staff at all levels in the organization.• Comfortable with shifting priorities and frequent change.  Desire to build new processes and apply best practices. Experience working in a high growth organization strongly preferred.• Commitment to the foundation’s core values, mission, and programs.Salary/Benefits: Salary commensurate with experienceJob Location: Seattle, WAJob Number: 1023BRCompany URL: http://www.gatesfoundation.org