Does VPTax have a different mindset from other corporate tax advisers?

Yes. Most of us at VPTax have been in big four accounting or public accounting firms. That’s not different. What’s different is that we have also been in corporate tax departments. Corporate experience on the front lines is what allows us to take a holistic approach to taxes. We realize that tax is not the be all end all.

When you’re making business decisions on the corporate battlefield, tax is only one factor that you must take into account. We get that because we’ve been there.

What services does VPTax Not provide?

As we are not a CPA firm, VPTax does not audit, review or compile financial statements. Nor are we bookkeepers. While we provide advice to our client’s financial teams and regularly interact with their other outside advisors, we do not keep books.

For clients in need of the above services, we have relationships with many excellent third-party providers.

What should be top of mind when selecting a tax provider?

Communication: Straight talk is a must. Don’t waste your time with a Tax Provider who doesn’t actively engage with you. If you aren’t getting actionable answers to your questions, move on.

Relevant Experience: Unless you want your money to go to training low-to-mid level staff at your tax provider, find someone who has actually done the work before. Ask for qualifications and a list of clients who are similar to you. Hands-on experience is a must-have in this business.

Personal Chemistry: Let’s face it – taxes will always be painful but your tax professional doesn’t need to be. Find someone with whom you connect; someone you respect… and who respects you.

Advocacy: Advocacy is nearly a lost art. In today’s world of CYA advisory, look for someone who recognizes YOUR risk/reward ratio and advises you accordingly.

Wisdom: An intangible asset – difficult to gauge but critical to your success. If possible, get some references.

Describe a typical customer ‘journey’ with VPTax?

Most of our customers first engage us for Tax Return Preparation, which is our core service. VPTax has a very efficient and thorough process for Tax Return Preparation. During that process, the customer gets a lot of added value above and beyond tax preparation. When companies in growth mode see how much VPTax brings to their table, that’s the beginning of a long term relationship.

Mature companies choose VPTax for one of 3 reasons

  1. They are looking for special expertise
  2. Outsourcing is a good way to manage their headcount
  3. They trust VPTax as a reliable tax resource to supplement their in-house team.

Why was VPTax originally formed?

Way back in 1991 we saw a gap in the market for outsourced tax services. At the large end was Big Accounting. Their expertise was broad and deep, but sometimes lacked the agility their customers needed.

At the small end were local and regional firms. Although they were more affordable, they often had the same people covering tax and accounting, which put limits on the levels of expertise they could provide.

At the national level, there was good depth and breadth but consistency varied greatly from office to office.

VPTax was conceived as better customer experience, akin to having a Tax Director down the hall. We are Tax Directors, not an accounting firm. Our ‘Tax Director down the Hall’ operating model has attracted companies at every stage of business development from pre-revenue startups to mature profitable companies.

Will VPTax make paying taxes more fun?

VPTax will help you pay your taxes in a Cheaper, Faster and Easier way. As for fun-er, no – we’re not THAT good!

“Tax Director down the hall” sounds too good to be true. How can one Tax Director manage our various tax issues effectively?

You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule? It is simply not cost-effective for you to hire a tax team that is qualified to handle 100% of the issues facing your business.
But if you can get 80% of those matters covered at a fraction of the cost, wouldn’t that make more sense?

To address the remaining 20% of your issues VPTax sources proven third-party professionals with whom we have great working relationships. You still get a fully integrated tax management service – you’ll just pay a lot less for it.

Tell me about client turnover rates at VPTax

A large number of companies have been our customers for more than twenty years. When VPTax loses a customer it’s normally for one of three reasons – Either:

  1. The company is acquired
  2. There is a change in management, or
  3. They have grown to the size where it is more cost effective to hire an in-house tax department. In this latter case we tend to continue working for the in-house tax departments, albeit in a supplementary role.

Tell me about turnover rates of professionals at VPTax

Staff turnover rates at VPTax are very low. VPTax professionals like working here for many reasons, not the least of which is a better work/life balance. Yes, we work hard but we also work smart.

Accounting firms tend to promote their tax professionals out of their current roles. Not us. VPTax Directors specialize in a particular size of organization or type of client. They don’t change roles every year or two. Consistency is central to our VPTax culture. This is a benefit for our customers and allows our professionals to thrive at the top of their league.

Compare VPTax to other tax providers.

Like many other tax providers, we are owned and operated by professionals who come from senior positions/partnerships in the Big 4. Our Big 4 DNA is most apparent in our core services, depth of experience, and proficiency in tax and accounting matters.

Unlike other tax providers, we did not repackage VPTax as a scaled down version of Big 4 services. Instead, we made some fundamental improvements to the Tax Provider business model. VPTax provides you with a Tax Director who is an integral part of your team. We are not about selling you a study.