Tax Manager

The Tax Manager is the first role judged on outcomes rather than output. You own client relationships, the profitability of your engagements, and the technical positions taken in your name. Compliance still runs through the team, but your value is in the questions that have no schedule.

The advisory mix broadens sharply: restructuring and group reorganisations, cross-border financing, incentive applications with EDB or IRAS, permanent establishment risk, GST recovery reviews, and the tax input into transactions. Alongside it comes controversy — objections, audits and queries where the firm's position must be defended in writing and in meetings.

In-house, the same title exists with a different shape: one group instead of a portfolio, deeper systems and provision work, and a closer relationship with the finance function. Practice managers earn a premium for advisory breadth; in-house managers trade some of that for stability and commercial proximity.

Where this sits: the step up from Tax Senior, running parallel to Transfer Pricing Manager and feeding Senior Tax Manager. Common in-house exits are Finance Manager and Financial Controller. The full ladder is in the Tax pathway.

• Own a portfolio of client relationships, including scoping, fee discussions and delivery quality.
• Lead advisory engagements: restructuring, cross-border financing, permanent establishment and incentive work.
• Sign off corporate tax computations, GST returns and filings prepared by seniors and associates.
• Manage IRAS controversy — objections, queries and audits — including the written position and the meetings.
• Prepare or review tax provisions and deferred tax for reporting clients under FRS 12.
• Run engagement economics: budgets, recoverability, write-offs and resourcing across concurrent jobs.
• Coordinate with overseas member firms on regional structures and treaty positions.
• Develop seniors through review, coaching and the allocation of stretching work.

• Six to nine years of Singapore tax experience, with clear evidence of advisory as well as compliance work.
• CA (Singapore), ACCA or CPA Australia complete.
• SCTP Accredited Tax Practitioner or Advisor, which is close to standard at manager level.
• A record of managing IRAS queries or objections through to resolution.
• Working command of Singapore's treaty network and the regional structures common to your client base.
• Demonstrated management of engagement budgets and a team of seniors and associates.

• Lead with an advisory engagement. The problem, the options you set out, the position taken and how it held up.
• Quantify the portfolio. Fees, sectors, cross-border share and recoverability — managers are assessed commercially.
• Bring a controversy. An IRAS objection or audit you ran, and what the outcome was.
• Be explicit about practice versus in-house. The two managers look similar on paper and very different in the job.
• Ask who owns the fee conversation. If it is not the manager, the role is a senior with a different title.