Over the past year, I’ve seen a clear and growing trend: wealth management and financial planning firms are hiring experienced CPAs to build in-house tax departments. These firms want to serve clients on a deeper level — creating an integrated experience where financial planning, investment strategy, and tax planning all work together under one roof.
For many, it’s about becoming a true one-stop shop.
And the firms that move early have a real advantage. With CPA roles now taking an average of 45-73 days to fill nationally — 41% longer than non-credentialed finance roles — the competition for qualified tax talent is fierce. Wealth management firms that start the hiring process now are better positioned to land the right person before the market gets even tighter.
Rather than outsourcing tax work, these firms are hiring experienced CPAs to build a tax function internally — someone who can prepare, review, and sign returns, provide proactive tax planning, and eventually grow a full team around them.
Why Firms Are Making This Move
Today’s clients expect more. They want proactive advice and real coordination between their advisors. When a client’s CPA, financial planner, and wealth advisor operate in silos, opportunities get missed:
- Tax-efficient investment strategies
- Retirement distribution planning
- Entity structuring
- Estate and succession planning
- Business owner tax strategy
- Real-time tax forecasting
The firms moving in this direction tend to be deeply client-focused. They want tax strategy woven into the overall client relationship — not something clients have to manage separately with another firm.
Yes, tax can become an additional revenue stream — but most firms I talk with are focused first on strengthening client relationships, improving retention, and delivering a better overall experience.
What to Look for When Hiring a CPA for a Wealth Management Firm
This is where the process gets specialized — and where many advisory firms need guidance. Hiring a CPA for a wealth management context is different from a traditional accounting firm hire. You’re not just looking for technical tax expertise. You’re looking for someone who can:
- Build and lead a tax department from the ground up
- Prepare, review, and sign returns
- Provide tax planning for high-net-worth and business clients
- Develop scalable processes
- Hire and grow a future tax team
- Collaborate closely with financial advisors and planners
- Think entrepreneurially — not just execute
The entrepreneurial mindset piece is critical. The best candidates for these roles aren’t just strong tax technicians — they’re people who want to build something, shape a practice, and work across disciplines. That profile is harder to find, and it requires a different recruiting approach than a standard CPA firm hire.
What This Means for Candidates
This trend is creating some of the most compelling leadership opportunities I’ve seen for experienced tax professionals outside the traditional public accounting path.
CPAs Who’ve Considered Starting Their Own Firm
This is especially appealing for CPAs who have thought about going out on their own someday — but don’t necessarily want the risk or operational burden of building everything from scratch.
Joining a wealth management or financial planning firm can offer the best of both worlds:
- Build and shape a tax department
- Access an established client base from day one
- Operate within existing infrastructure and support
- Collaborate with financial advisors in a truly integrated way
- Grow into long-term leadership — without starting from zero
In many ways, these roles let you build something that feels like your own practice, with the stability and resources of an established firm behind you.
Senior Managers and Directors in Public Accounting
We’re also seeing strong interest from Senior Managers and Directors at mid-sized and large regional CPA firms who are ready for something different. Many are looking for:
- More strategic, relationship-driven client work
- A seat at the leadership table
- Better work-life integration
- The opportunity to build and lead a team
- A more collaborative, advisory-focused environment
These roles offer a real chance to step into leadership, build something meaningful, and work alongside financial planners and wealth advisors in a way that traditional public accounting rarely allows.
Common Questions We Hear From Firms
How do we structure the role? Most firms start with one experienced tax leader — someone at the Senior Manager or Director level who can own the function end-to-end. From there, the team grows organically as the client base expands.
What should we pay? Compensation expectations vary based on geography, firm size, and the scope of the role, but these positions are competitive with — and often exceed — equivalent public accounting compensation, especially when you factor in the leadership upside and quality of life improvements.
How long does it take to hire? Given the CPA talent shortage, plan for a longer runway than you might expect if recruiting in-house. Partnering with a specialist recruiter who already has relationships with the right candidates shortens that timeline significantly.
Do we need someone local or can we hire remotely? Many firms are successfully building remote tax teams. The key is finding candidates with the right experience and communication skills to collaborate effectively with advisors across the firm.
How Accountingfly Helps Firms Hire the Right CPA
Most wealth management firms know exactly how to grow advisory relationships — but hiring a CPA to build a tax department is often outside their background and expertise. That’s where Accountingfly comes in.
We help wealth management and financial planning firms:
- Identify the right tax leadership talent
- Recruit experienced CPAs with entrepreneurial mindsets
- Structure scalable tax departments
- Understand compensation benchmarks and market trends
- Hire remote and hybrid tax professionals nationwide
- Build long-term growth plans for internal tax teams
Whether you’re hiring your first tax leader or expanding an existing team, we can guide the process and connect you with the right people.
The firms moving in this direction are building stronger client relationships, deeper advisory offerings, and lasting competitive advantages.
And for experienced CPAs ready for something beyond the traditional public accounting track, these are some of the most exciting leadership opportunities in the market right now.
Ready to Build Your Tax Team?
If your firm is ready to hire a CPA to lead your in-house tax department, Accountingfly can connect you with the right talent.
And if you’re an experienced CPA interested in leading a tax practice within a collaborative advisory firm, we’d love to connect.
Explore our services or get started for free today with our Always-On service.
Accountingfly specializes in recruiting accounting and tax professionals for modern firms building the future of client advisory services.
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Date Posted
May 12, 2026 -
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