AI Tax Prep Lead Role Description

Posted Friday, June 5, 2026

Thank you for your interest in WCG. The following is high-level information for our AI Tax Prep Lead role, a new position on the Tax Team built around how we believe individual tax return preparation will be done over the next decade.

This is not a traditional tax preparer role. It is for someone who treats AI tools like TaxGPT (which sits on top of Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini) as a daily collaborator, knows when to push back on the machine, and can build the workflow that lets a small team prepare 1040 returns at high quality and high efficiency. Most firms do not have this role yet. WCG is building it now, and the move underscores our proactive approach to the profession.

This is the future of tax preparation, and we want to help shape it rather than react to it.

Who Is WCG

WCG CPAs & Advisors isn't your typical CPA firm, and if you've spent any time in public accounting, you already know that's either a red flag or a relief. For the right person, it's the latter.

Headquartered in Colorado Springs with team members across the U.S. and in India, we're a methodically growing firm with 7 partners, over 90 full-time team members, and projected 2026 revenues of $12.7M, representing about 14% year-over-year growth. We grow because our model works, not because we say yes to everything.

We offer the depth of a mid-size firm with the focus and personality of a boutique. We play in specific sandboxes- small business owners in S Corps, Partnerships, and PCs; complex individual tax, and real estate investors, and we play in them very well. Real estate and rental activity planning alone represents over 40% of our advisory work and is our fastest-growing segment.

No billable hours. No six-minute increments. No stuffiness. We operate on a value-based, next-gen advisory model built around annual service offerings that combine tax return preparation, routine consultation, and strategic planning. A tax return, in our world, is the result of a year's worth of conversations, not a transaction.

If that sounds like the environment you've been looking for, keep reading.

Last updated- Sunday, April 19, 2026

WCG Team Overviews

Support Team

Everything starts and ends with our Support Team, and we mean that. Their mission is to make clients' lives better and to back up every other team at WCG. The Support Team runs in four lanes:

  • Client Support: Our frontline team handling phone calls, chats, texts, and general email inquiries. First impressions live here. The rest of the WCG team spends every day trying to live up to it.
  • Tax Support: Our largest segment and does the heavy lifting on both ends of the tax return process. They handle front-end data collection (IDP, which stands for Information and Data Processing... yeah, the name is a little stale, but the function is mission-critical) and back-end assembly using SurePrep. They also collect payments, obtain e-file authorizations via Canopy, and file about 75% of our tax return extensions.
  • Operations Support: Led by a full-time CPA and former tax manager whose job is to keep the trains running on time across all teams and to surface the right information to WCG leadership and Pod leaders.
  • Human Resources: Led by our dedicated HR Manager who ensures compliance, sure, but whose primary function is supporting the team with their needs from travel and IT to family leave, the firmwide calendar, and beyond.

Tax Prep Team

We use Thomson Reuters UltraTax in a dedicated hosted environment, paired with SurePrep (including 1040SCAN) for electronic binders and annotations.

For the 2025 tax year, our team will prepare approximately 5,800 returns, a clean 60/40 split between individual and business entity returns. Because our Tax team has a well-documented fondness for summers, we push hard to complete 65% of returns by April 15, leaving May through July open primarily for tax planning work.

Over 50 Tax team members make this happen, including our 11 dedicated team members in India.

Rental Expert and Tax Strategy Pod

Real estate and advanced tax planning are core niches at WCG, so we built a team specifically for them rather than leaving it to generalists.

The RETS Pod works behind the scenes to support our primary tax Pods on the technical heavy lifting: initial asset setups, cost segregation studies (including fun 3115/481(a) adjustments), the short-term rental loophole, and Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) analysis..

We use a structured three-session process (Foundation, Exploration, and Execution) to map a client's full tax exposure and build an actionable strategy. We replace promoter math with real math, stress-testing every advanced strategy against what we call the 3-Legged Stool: a client's actual cash, effort, and risk tolerance.

2025 tax returns due in 2026 was our first time with the RETS Pod (fka, the rental expert pod). We had some bumps and bruises, and we have a lot of growing yet to do. Our ideal world is for all rental activities and related niche investments be handled by the RETS Pod leaving the remaining pieces of the tax return to be completed by other WCG tax accountants. Two exceptions: a real estate holding company that files a partnership return, and a super simple 1040 where the rental and investment activities are the main event. Those get handled tip to tail by the RETS Pod.

If real estate tax strategy is your thing, this is where WCG is investing. We currently have 5 team members in this pod and are aiming for 9-10 by the end of 2026 to support our fastest-growing client segment as we continue the evolution from the original Rental Expert Pod to the 2.0, or the RETS Pod.

AI Tax Prep Pod (Coming November 2026)

WCG is actively building an AI Tax Prep Pod for the 2027 tax season, focused on AI-assisted preparation of individual (1040) returns. The thesis is straightforward: AI tools have evolved into something good enough and fast enough that a small dedicated team using them well can produce high quality and high throughput. The procedures, playbook, and standards do not exist anywhere yet. We are building them from scratch.

The Pod will operate similar to the RETS Pod: a specialized team with its own workflow, its own quality standards, and a direct line into the broader Tax Team. Tax returns prepared by the Pod will be reviewed by experienced reviewers using our standard quality controls. AI does not replace the review function. It changes the preparation function.

We are hiring the Pod Lead now. Podmates will be added as the role and the tooling mature. If you want to be part of building something genuinely new in this profession, this is the time.

Accounting Services Team

At WCG, Accounting Services means Bookkeeping + Analysis, not just reconciliations. There's a meaningful difference, and our clients feel it in their financial reporting, real-time tax planning, and day-to-day decision-making.

Our 11-person team (including a small group in India) each works with 25-30 clients using QuickBooks Online, Xero, and REIHub exclusively. No desktop, no Freshbooks, no whatever whatever. We also use Reach Reporting to give business owners a visual, trend-based view of their financials. Because a graph tells a story that a spreadsheet sometimes can't.

On cadence, we intentionally skip quarterly. Monthly, bi-monthly, and quad-monthly schedules let us smooth the workflow across the year so our team isn't buried in crazy Aprils, Julys, and Octobers. It's a small structural decision that makes a big difference for both the team and the client.

Accounting Services also handles sales and use tax filings and personal property tax. Clean, focused, genuinely valuable work.

Payroll Processing Team

WCG has processed payroll for over 800 small businesses for years. We're proud of that. But in summer 2026, we're making a deliberate shift, transitioning all payroll clients to ADP or Paychex for client-direct processing.

This isn't a retreat, it's a reset with intention. Payroll processing, done right, demands its own infrastructure, attention, and resources. By stepping back from it, we're doubling down on what we do best: high-level advisory, tax strategy, and the consultative work that actually moves the needle for our clients.

WCG is getting sharper on purpose. Read our Reset With Intention webpage for more information on our 2026 initiatives.

Business Development Team

Our 6-person Biz Dev team is the engine behind WCG's growth, specifically our advisory segment as opposed to tax-only engagements (we call those TOEs). They draft proposals, re-paper existing engagements, handle corporate governance matters like entity formations and S Corp elections, and own the onboarding process from first inquiry to fully engaged client.

The Biz Dev team works hand-in-hand with our Client Acquisition Team (the CAT) to make sure every prospect gets a thoughtful, human experience as they transition into a WCG engagement.

This isn't a sales team. Prospects come to us primarily through our website, content, and referrals. We average 6-7 inquiries per day, and 2 out of 3 are from high income earners who want tax reduction strategies through short-term rentals and other niche assets.

The Biz Dev team's job is to listen well, match the right engagement to the right client, and make WCG easy to say yes to.

Locations

In addition to over 35 remote team members, our physical footprint includes:

  • Headquarters: 2393 Flying Horse Club Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
  • South Dakota: 300 North Main Street, Mitchell, SD 57301
  • Wyoming: 920 E Sheridan Street Suite B, Laramie, WY 82072
  • India: 705 Sankalp Square-3, Sindhu Bhavan Marg, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

AI Tax Prep Lead Intro

Individual tax return preparation is going to change first as AI tools mature, and the firms that figure out how to integrate them thoughtfully will look very different from the firms that did not. WCG wants to be in the first group.

The AI Tax Prep Lead role exists to make that happen. You lead a small team that uses AI tools to prepare 1040 returns. You own the workflow. You work directly with clients on missing information and open items. You hand off finalized returns to reviewers. And you refine the process as the tools evolve.

The volume goal over time is meaningful. We are not building this role to handle a handful of returns. We are building it to scale.

A few things worth saying directly:

  • A blank page to design. The procedures, playbook, and quality standards do not exist at WCG or at most firms. Whoever steps into this role builds them.
  • Influence beyond tax prep. As AI changes how we work across the firm, this person becomes a voice in shaping that, not just a senior preparer who happens to use AI well.
  • Not a niche off-ramp. The person doing this work will know more about our workflow, our technology, and our clients than almost anyone else in the firm. The only meaningful trade-off is depth on business entity tax prep. For some candidates that matters. For others, the AI fluency and process ownership trade is worth it.
  • AI is a tool. Humans will always be needed to interface between AI and the client. If we get the process right, this team becomes a model for how WCG handles individual tax preparation firmwide.

Is This You?

This role is a strong fit if you are…

  • A tax professional who genuinely enjoys working with AI tools. You have already been experimenting with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or a specialty platform. You have opinions about what these tools do well and where they fall short. You get a little excited about using them every day at scale.
  • Solid on 1040s. Two to three years of real preparation experience. You know the common traps and spot when something looks off, without needing hand-holding on the basics.
  • A process thinker. You see workflow problems and want to fix them. You can document what you do well enough that someone else could pick it up.
  • Comfortable on the phone with clients. This role involves reaching out for missing information, clarifying open items, and occasionally explaining something that needs to be explained. If client interaction makes you uncomfortable, this is not your lane.

A quick reality check…

This role is brand new at WCG and at most firms. The playbook is being defined in real time. If you need every process locked down before you can do your best work, the timing is wrong.
AI tools are imperfect and often wrong. The work is not “let the AI do it.” It is using the AI as a collaborator, verifying the output, and shipping something accurate. That requires judgment, patience, and a willingness to redo work. AI is not magic. It is leverage.

This is not a business entity tax prep role. The focus is 1040 returns. If your career goal is to go deep on S Corp, partnership, or complex entity work, this role pulls you in a different direction. Not a bad thing since you can always hit the reset button within the Tax Team and pursue a more traditional preparation and planning path.

The volume will scale meaningfully over time. If you need a slow ramp, this probably is not the right role. If you want to build a high-throughput operation and be the person who designed it, this is exactly the spot.

Basics

Applicants Must

  • Hold an active CPA, EA, or Chartered Accountant (CA) license with 2 to 3 years or more of 1040 tax return preparation experience in a public accounting firm environment.
  • Have genuine AI fluency at the user level. You do not need to be a developer or prompt engineer, but you need to embrace working with AI and stay intellectually curious as the tools evolve.
  • Have at least a Bachelor’s degree.
  • Be comfortable with ambiguity. The workflows around AI-assisted tax preparation do not exist yet. You will help build them.
  • Have strong client communication skills to handle missing information requests, follow-ups, and clarifying calls. You are the client’s main point of contact during the prep phase.
  • Stay current on a fast-moving AI landscape without being asked.

Nice To Haves

  • Prior hands-on experience with AI tools in a professional setting (TaxGPT, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or specialty platforms). Not required, but accelerates your impact significantly.
  • A documented track record of process improvement at a prior firm. Whoever owns this role is going to be a process designer as much as a tax preparer.
  • Comfort with data visualization and basic operational reporting. As the workflow matures, we will want to track throughput, error rates, AI catch rates, and other process metrics.

Compensation

$100,000 to $120,000 total compensation, aligned with our Tax Supervisor range. Bonuses, based on production and qualitative contribution to building out the role. Bonuses, if offered, are considered in addition to total compensation.

Reporting Manager

Tax Manager or Partner

AI Tax Prep Lead Role Responsibilities

You will be working directly with other Tax Team Pods and their Podmates, and report to a Tax Manager or Partner. Your duties include WCG’s general Tax Team responsibilities plus, or as modified by, the following:

Role-Specific Duties

  • Leading a small team focused on AI-assisted preparation of individual (1040) tax returns.
  • Owning the end-to-end workflow: intake, document organization, AI tool usage, exception handling, and handoff to reviewers.
  • Designing and documenting the procedures, playbook, and quality standards for this work.
  • Serving as the primary client-facing point of contact during the preparation phase, including gathering missing information, resolving open items, and answering reasonable client questions before handoff to the reviewer.
  • Reviewing AI-generated outputs for accuracy, completeness, and reasonableness. Knowing when to override and when to trust.
  • Continuously refining the process as AI tools evolve. The technology will change, and you are responsible for keeping the workflow current.
  • Working with WCG leadership to identify which AI platforms we adopt firmwide.
  • Training other Tax Team Podmates on AI fluency, prompt design, and workflow integration as the team grows.

General Tax Team Duties

  • Guiding WCG along the path of success.
  • Promoting WCG culture and encouraging excellence and high team morale.
  • Developing and implementing WCG goals, procedures, and policies in coordination with other Partners, Directors, Managers, and Associates.
  • Identifying overall improvement gaps and assisting with deploying corrective measures.
  • Providing feedback, concerns, and recommendations to WCG leadership to continuously evolve the Tax service line.
  • Assisting in management of the Tax Team and its processes, including tax planning, tax return preparation, business consultation, and other closely related functions.
  • Performing business development tasks such as prospect discovery meetings and related work.
  • Advancing the firm’s professional pursuits with others outside WCG such as attorneys, financial advisors, and other referral partners.
  • Managing the onboarding process for new clients assigned to your Pod and ensuring a positive client experience.
  • Delivering and reviewing tax returns with clients, signing tax returns on a per-client basis as directed by your Tax Manager or Partner in Charge, and representing WCG and the public accounting community with integrity.
  • Resolving tax notices and other issues.
  • Researching complex or unusual tax questions and drafting memos and conclusions.
  • Promoting new ideas and business solutions to existing clients and prospective clients.
  • Answering client phone calls and emails.
  • Filing and organizing electronic documents.
  • Training and leading fellow Associates.
  • Coordinating client-centric efforts with other teams.
  • Helping keep the workflow moving.
  • Other tasks related to accounting, taxes, and consultation.

AI Tax Prep Lead role responsibilities and duties will change from time to time depending on circumstances, your skillsets and requests, and other factors. They are reviewed, modified if necessary, and agreed to during Associate Reviews.

Hours Requirements

All salaried positions must work 1,900 hours annually / 12-month trailing period. This is hands-on-keyboard, work-related time only. Holidays, office closures, PTO, and other paid time off do not count toward and are not deducted from the 1,900-hour requirement, because your time off is genuinely yours.

WCG does not set a weekly minimum number of hours. That said, for team members who follow the tax team work cadence, our experience historically is that 55-60 hours per week during tax season (roughly 10 weeks) and 50-55 hours per week during extension season (roughly 9 weeks) are needed to find success, with lighter hours the rest of the year (for example, 30-32 hours per week during summer). Other teams follow different cadences.

Please refer to the WCG Associate Handbook for additional information.

UPDATE! You might see reference to 2,100 hours elsewhere. As of June 8, 2026, we are moving to the 1,900 hour version above to simplify and remove confusion.

Tax Team Career Path

The AI Tax Prep Lead role carries its own trajectory. From here, the path runs toward AI Tax Prep Pod Leader as the function matures into its own Pod, and from there into Senior Manager and Partner. The depth of expertise required, combined with the influence over how WCG operates, creates a natural pipeline to firm leadership.

The broader Tax Team career path (Supervisor, Senior Supervisor, Manager, Senior Manager, Partner) is also available. Deep specialization in AI-assisted tax preparation does not close doors at WCG. It opens them.

Tax Team Associates can also transition into other areas of the firm over time. WCG does not limit anyone who wants to grow and explore.

How To Join The WCG Team

Here is the step by step process-

  1. Click on the button below to complete a quick Candidate Questionnaire and upload your resume.
  2. If we like your detailed and thoughtful responses, we schedule a Teams chat with Jason Watson. It is slated for 75 minutes to give you plenty of time to get your questions answered and gain familiarity, though it often runs shorter. This is purely to get a feel for each other. We can teach you anything… short of being nice, being professional, being energetic, being someone we can work with. Taxes? Easy. Accounting? Got you. Ability to hold a meaningful conversation? Well…
  3. After that initial meeting, and if we believe there is a basis to work together, we ask you to complete our Fit Alignment Assessment. It takes about 30 minutes and helps us understand where you would slot in. Most WCGers have taken it, so we have a good baseline. We are cautious with how we read it- it is not pass or fail, and it usually just underscores what we already gleaned from your questionnaire and our chat.
  4. Next, we introduce you to our recruitment team of Megan, Terra and Beth. After you chat with at least two of them, we get together and talk behind your back.
  5. Finally, Jason checks in to see if you have any additional questions, and to start formulating a role with the team, compensation, start dates, etc. Then an offer letter is presented. Yay!
  6. Once an offer is accepted, then there might be a lot of radio silence depending on start date. As things get closer, we order a background check. For remote positions, we also do a tech survey to see what you need, and we start to discuss travel plans.
  7. About 30 days before your start date, training materials and a schedule are presented.

And away we go!

join the WCG team

Join The WCG Team

Apply online to join the team- answer some questions and upload a resume!

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2026 Benefits

WCG 2026 benefits summary outlines health insurance (United Healthcare Choice Plus HDHP, employee-only), dental, and vision coverage.

Associate Handbook

This Associate Handbook was developed to describe some of the expectations we have for all associates and what you can expect from WCG.

WCG CPAs & Advisors is a full service consultation and tax preparation firm located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and we look forward to working with you!

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