2. 1
Sales and use tax services
A company’s approach to sales and use tax can be a vital component of its financial and operational
strategy. With over 7,500 taxing jurisdictions and more than 10,000 transaction tax rates, sales and use
tax compliance represents a significant area for risk—either through compliance deficiencies or lost
opportunities. Companies struggle to staff their tax departments with the combination of skills and depth
of experience needed to manage the increasingly complicated demands of sales and use tax compliance.
McGladrey has more than 50 sales and use tax professionals with experience spanning myriad taxing
jurisdictions, industries, business types and automation platforms, allowing us to customize client service
teams to meet the distinct sales and use tax challenges of any business.
From third-party process reviews and recommendations to complete outsourcing of the sales and use tax
function, McGladrey helps companies gain confidence in how sales and use tax responsibilities are
managed. We provide assistance throughout the sales and use tax function.
Process
design
Nexus
analysis
Refund
identification
Exemption
management
Compliance
Optimization
3. 2
Specialty sales and use tax consulting
Process review services
Affected by legislative changes, business operations and environmental conditions, the sales and use tax
function is complex and impacts numerous areas of business accounting. Situations including growth into
new markets, expansion of products and services, employee turnover or lack of multistate tax expertise
can cause your internal processes to become disconnected from current tax law over time. A third-party
sales and use tax process review can bring those concerns to light, creating opportunity for refunds and
risk mitigation.
To provide a thorough review of the sales and use tax function, our team takes time to fully understand
the business and existing processes. We schedule efficient individual and group interviews to outline the
systems, policies, procedures, data and resources comprising the current process, as well as identify
where that process may break down in practice.
The end result of a McGladrey sales and use tax process review is a detailed report outlining gaps in the
current sales and use tax function that can create audit or financial risk or provide for refund
opportunities. The areas of concern are prioritized according to tax impact and discussed with the
management team to determine which process improvements to implement, the effort involved to mitigate
the risk and the best approach to do so.
Reverse audits
In a reverse audit, the focus is on compliance corrections. Taking a close look at the processes involved
with paying sales and use tax or self-assessing consumer’s use tax and the supporting documentation,
we determine whether there are overpayments or underpayments that should be corrected. Depending
on results, McGladrey may assist with refund claims or voluntary disclosure agreements and contractual
registrations with the appropriate taxing authorities. Reverse audits are not designed to provide a
thorough look at the overall tax function, but rather a comprehensive review of whether a company is
paying the correct amount of tax on its purchases. In addition, we identify and report process-related
concerns pertaining to past use tax misfilings, while offering suggestions for improvements. During the
course of a sales and use tax refund project, our professionals:
Acquire a thorough understanding of the sales and use tax compliance process
Obtain an electronically downloaded accounts payable paid transactions data file
Perform initial review and analysis of historical sales and purchasing activity prior to an onsite
visit
Identify sales and purchases transactions that are statutorily exempt from sales and use tax
Estimate the amount of refunds relating to overpaid sales and use taxes
Identify potential underpayments of use tax to mitigate potential exposure issues
Develop a plan and schedule onsite visits to obtain and compile supporting documentation to
substantiate any refunds or credits
Review tax
data elements
Conduct
process
interviews
Analyze
results
Identify
audit risk
Assess
tax
impact
Identify
refund
opportunity
Review
detailed
summary
report
4. 3
Design
•Identify team,
communication
protocols
•Define scope
•Conduct internal
interviews
•Establish tax decision
drivers
Implement
•Consult with installation
vendor and internal IT
• Identify tax impact of
data elements used as
tax drivers
•Assist in identifying data
elements for interface
between tax platform
and ERP or e-commerce
• Create tax product
categories and map
•Populate tax matrix
•Write necessary tax
assist rules/transeditors
•Identify automation
gaps and create
necessary processes
Test
•Create test transactions
and related scripts
•Validate and document
test case results
•Create reports and
reconciliations
•Re-test as needed
Support
•Write custom training
materials
•Train internal staff on
new platform
•Assist with first post-
implementation close
•Ensure ability for
internal staff to support
ongoing training
Provide a summary report that identifies and quantifies the amount of any refund opportunities
Coordinate, prepare and file the refund claim(s) with the appropriate state revenue agency or
vendors
Prepare responses to any questions from the revenue agency or vendors relating to refund
claim(s)
Explain reasons for the tax overpayments
Recommend policy and procedural changes, which can be implemented to ensure future savings
Whether through refund dollars or penalty abatements, a reverse audit can create a significant bottom-
line advantage for businesses that have not recently reviewed their sales and use tax payments and
accrual processes or that have undergone significant business change (growth, contraction, personnel
changes, etc.)
Automation solutions
Sales and use tax automation is an increasingly important piece of the sales and use tax compliance
solution for many companies. Our team is well-versed in the leading third-party sales and use tax
compliance technology, including solutions offered by Vertex, Vertex SMB, Thomson Reuters and
Avalara, as well as other targeted players. Our automation specialists integrate these sales tax
application systems with e-commerce systems, first- and second-tier enterprise resource planning (ERP)
applications such as Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, MSDGP, AX, NetSuite and other legacy-based home
grown applications, making them invaluable resources in the software selection, implementation or
optimization process.
We follow a vendor-agnostic selection process designed to make sure businesses understand the
different benefits available from a variety of sales and use tax platforms, which helps ensure an informed
decision based on the best match to business needs. Once a technology platform has been selected,
implementation follows the standard approach below, customized to meet business goals.
5. 4
Representative project experience
Project type Industry sector Client location Client benefit
Sales tax automation Manufacturing Detroit Consolidated tax calculations for
15-plus revenue streams and
billing systems to mitigate future
audit risk
Sales tax automation Financial institutions Florida Consolidated procurement and
tax-accrual activities and
achieved a best practices
approach to compliance
Sales tax automation Consumer products Arizona Mitigated sales tax audit risk
through automation and
voluntary disclosures
Technology
implementation
Consumer products
(retail, food and
beverage)
Tennessee Utilized existing tools (Excel and
Access) to streamline data
collection for more efficient
reporting and compliance
consistency
Process review Consumer products
(retail)
Illinois Uncovered and corrected
deficiencies in reporting
environment which helped
during seller’s due diligence
Nexus evaluation Manufacturing (retail) New Jersey Contracted filing requirements in
income and franchise tax and
cleaned up compliance
obligations for sales and use tax
Reverse audit Life sciences North Carolina $7.5 million in sales tax refunds
Reverse audit Consumer products
(software)
Maryland $1.1 million in sales tax refunds
Process review Oil and gas West Virginia $2.2 million in sales tax refunds
and implemented correct
business model to ensure
compliance
Reverse audit Manufacturing
(automobile)
North Carolina $2.4 million in sales tax refunds
6. 5
Practice leadership
Sales and use tax compliance and consulting
Steve Riddle, Principal
National Practice Leader
Steve Riddle is based in Denver, where he leads one of two sales and use tax
centers of excellence for the firm. He has 30 years of experience in the sales tax,
use tax, telecommunications, process improvement, automation, and state tax
credits and incentives areas. Steve has performed state and local tax services for
clients in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, retail,
telecommunications, technology, oil and gas, construction, and services. He is
actively involved with client projects throughout the Central region and responsible for instructing courses
for McGladrey sales and use tax practice professionals nationwide.
James Barash, Director
West Regional Leader
Jim Barash leads the West region sales and use practice out of our Phoenix office.
He brings over 20 years experience in the specialized field of state and local taxes,
including Big Four and industry roles. Jim is well-versed in a range of sales and use
tax issues and has assisted clients with nexus analysis, tax refund recovery,
relocation studies and management of multi-state tax audit representation and
compliance. His industry experience includes high-tech and general manufacturing,
distribution, financial services, healthcare, retail, mining and adult education. Jim has presented on
numerous topics for regional business audiences.
Todd Hendricks, Director
Central Regional Leader
Todd Hendricks is based in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa office and is responsible for
leading the sales and use tax team for the Central region. He provides services
associated with various state and local tax issues, with a primary focus on sales and
use tax refund projects and state tax controversy assistance. In both areas, he
draws on his experience as a former sales and use tax auditor with the Missouri
Department of Revenue. Todd has performed dozens of sales and use tax reviews
in his career, many of which have resulted in significant current and future tax savings. He is a regular
presenter on state and local tax issues at firm-sponsored and external events.
7. 6
Tom Chrzanowski, Director
Great Lakes Regional Leader
Tom Chrzanowski serves clients out of the firm’s Indianapolis office, where he leads
the sales and use tax consulting practice for the Great Lakes region. His 18 years of
experience in the legal and public accounting arenas allows him to bring a unique
perspective and spirit of advocacy to his clients’ needs. Tom spends much of his
time in the areas of in-depth multistate and transaction tax analysis, nexus studies,
audit and audit protest representation, negotiated settlements, registrations, and
voluntary disclosure agreements. He has worked extensively for large and medium sized companies in
multiple industries, including manufacturing, distribution, construction, retail, and health care. Prior to
joining McGladrey, Tom was the national sales and use tax leader of a top ten accounting firm and a
senior manager for a Big Four firm.
Dave Elder, Director
Southeast Regional Leader
Dave Elder leads McGladrey’s sales and use tax practice in the Southeast region.
He is based in our West Palm Beach office and also serves as the Florida functional
leader for state and local taxes. Dave has more than 22 years of experience
managing all aspects of state and local tax obligations. Prior to working in public
accounting, he spent five years as a state sales and use tax auditor. Dave provides
clients with insight and clarity surrounding complex tax needs such as managed tax
audits, compliance processes, nexus evaluation, voluntary disclosures, tax audit defense and mitigation,
tax planning strategies, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining McGladrey, Dave was a director in
the state and local tax group with a Big 4 firm, where he serviced clients in the manufacturing, health
care, technology, entertainment and banking market segments.
Catherine Del Re, Partner
Northeast Regional Leader
Catherine Del Re is a partner in the New York office and leads the firm’s sales and
use and unclaimed property teams in the Northeast. She has more than 16 years of
experience with indirect tax issues. Catherine has helped clients address numerous
sales and use tax concerns through nexus reviews, diagnostic reviews, technical
research and indirect tax exposure analyses. She has negotiated multi-state
voluntary disclosure agreements, evaluated sales and use tax compliance practices
and systems, developed SOX-related policies and procedures, performed reserve
analyses and prepared advisory opinions and ruling requests. In addition, Catherine has identified and
secured multi-million dollar sales and use tax refunds on behalf of her clients and provided audit
mitigation services resulting in significant audit assessment reductions.
8. 7
Sales and use tax automation
Steve Parish, Principal
National Practice Leader and West Regional Leader
Steve Parish is based out of Charlotte, where he leads one of the firm’s sales and
use tax centers of excellence and is the national leader for the sales and use tax
automation practice. He has more than 30 years of experience providing clients with
transaction tax services and automated tax solutions, including Vertex,
ONESOURCE, Avalara, Vertex SMB and CCH. Steve has helped clients across all
industries, including retail, manufacturing, financial institutions, health care and
more, to gain control over their sales and use tax responsibilities through process improvement and
appropriate automation. He is active on client projects nationwide and regularly speaks at industry events
and vendor user conferences. Steve is also responsible for instructing courses for McGladrey sales and
use tax practice professionals nationwide.
Kevin Buckner, Manager
Central Regional Leader
Kevin Buckner is based in Denver and specializes in sales and use tax, including
sales and use tax automation and outsourcing. He has more than 14 years of tax
and IT consulting experience and is responsible for integrating third-party tax
applications from Vertex, Avalara, CCH and Thomson Reuters with a variety of
client ERP systems. Kevin has provided sales and use tax consulting services to
clients across a range of industries, including health care, manufacturing, energy (oil
and gas), retail, software and telecommunications.
Jonathan Miller, Director
Great Lakes Regional Leader
Jon Miller is a director in McGladrey’s state and local tax practice and has direct
responsibility for sales and use tax automation and outsourcing services. He also
consults with clients on a wide range of sales and use tax issues. Jon has more than
16 years of experience in state and local tax, including six-plus years in public
accounting. Prior to joining McGladrey, he was an audit supervisor for the North
Carolina Department of Revenue. Jon has addressed various sales and use tax
issues for clients in the health care, manufacturing, banking and retail industries. He
serves as the sales and use tax automation lead for the Great Lakes area out of our Charlotte office,
working closely with the local office members of our sales and use tax practice.
9. 8
Lauren Jones, Manager
Southeast Regional Leader
Lauren Jones is a state and local tax manager located in our Charlotte office. She is
focused on the effective integration of automated sales tax solutions to manage and
improve clients’ overall sales tax compliance function. Lauren has successfully
integrated Vertex, ONESOURCE, Avalara and Oracle eBusiness Tax with various
ERP packages such as PeopleSoft, SAP, MS Dynamics GP and other proprietary
legacy systems. Lauren also manages McGladrey’s sales tax outsourcing service
center and assists with traditional sales tax consulting services such as process
analysis and improvement, contractual registration, refund analysis, voluntary disclosure, managed audits
and audit defense.
Michael Giannettino, Director
Northeast Regional Leader
Michael Giannettino is based in the New York office and leads the sales and use tax
automation practice in the Northeast. His experience spans various types of indirect
taxes including sales and use, gross receipts, excise and unclaimed property.
Michael is responsible for understanding the sale and use tax automation needs of
our clients throughout the Northeast. He has implemented various sales and use tax
technologies, including ONESOURCE Indirect Tax Determination, Vertex Q Series
and Vertex O Series with various ERP systems. During his 18 years with Big Four
public accounting firms, Michael served clients in industries including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals,
retail, financial services and consumer industrial products.
10. 9
National practice team
Team member Title Location
Denny Craul Manager Blue Bell, Pa.
Lu Awdeh Director Boston
John Cavanaugh Director Boston
Todd Hendricks Director Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Heather Koob Associate Charlotte
Sharon Gaston Client Service Representative Charlotte
Danielle Hunt Client Service Representative Charlotte
Dennis Hobbs Director Charlotte
Jon Miller Director Charlotte
Andrienne Mays Manager Charlotte
Lauren Jones Manager Charlotte
Steve Parish Principal Charlotte
John Clark Senior Associate Charlotte
Hien Nguyen Supervisor Charlotte
Bob Kolosky Director Chicago
Joseph Patla Manager Chicago
Chuck Pribble Supervisor Chicago
Michael Baker Director Cleveland
Matthew Shaw Supervisor Cleveland
Joshua Zamarron Associate Dallas
Melissa Wofford Director Dallas
Regina Johnson Senior Associate Dallas
Laura Dion Supervisor Davenport, Iowa
Jared Rubinoff Associate Denver
Jim O’Toole Director Denver
Kevin Buckner Manager Denver
Steve Riddle Principal Denver
Brad Hershberger Partner Des Moines, Iowa
Joel Anderson Senior Associate Des Moines, Iowa
Janet Iversen Supervisor Des Moines, Iowa
Cody Edwards Supervisor Des Moines, Iowa
Jennifer Hawkins Supervisor Elkhart, Ind.
Art Arbuckle Director Indianapolis
Tom Chrzanowski Director Indianapolis
Yudit Freda Director Irvine, Calif.
Chris Baltimore Director Kansas City, Mo.
Scott Durham Supervisor Kansas City, Mo.
11. 10
Team member Title Location
Pat Carney Director Los Angeles
Scott Nichols Director Minneapolis
Seth Doorn Supervisor Minneapolis
Michael Giannettino Director New York
Chris Cunningham Manager New York
Catherine Del Re Partner New York
Chandini Jaisinghani Senior Associate New York
Kevin Foral Manager Omaha
Evan Fullmer Senior Associate Omaha
Nisha Madhav Senior Associate Orlando
Jim Barash Director Phoenix
Brooke Wilson Manager Phoenix
Nicholas Walters Supervisor Phoenix
John Wojcik Director Schaumburg, Ill.
Eric Manus Manager Schaumburg, Ill.
Stan Nicman Director Seattle
Steve Jensen Director Seattle
Matt Glaude Manager Stamford, Conn.
Kirsten Moritz-Baune Manager Tacoma, Wash.
Dave Elder Director West Palm Beach
12. 11
About McGladrey
McGladrey is a leading provider of assurance, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market.
We guide our clients through complex business challenges by understanding their needs and bringing
together the right team to address them.
With more than 7,000 people in 75 U.S. cities—and access to more than 32,000 people in 100 countries
through our membership in RSM International—we can handle your needs wherever you do business.
13. 12
Publications and webcasts
McGladrey produces a variety of technical and advisory publications that cover information about current
events and changes in laws and regulations.
Examples of available communications include:
Real Estate Insights. A quarterly newsletter providing accounting, tax and business insights for real
estate focused organizations
McGladrey Tax Digest. A monthly newsletter highlighting tax developments of interest to today’s
companies
McGladrey Tax Alerts. Timely notifications on tax developments that may have an immediate impact
on you and your business
Educational webcasts and seminars. We offer frequent virtual and in-person presentations on
topics of importance to our clients
Accounting research
McGladrey offers our clients access to online research through CCH’s Accounting Research Manager at
our discounted rate. This web-based tool includes the FASB Accounting Standards Codification and
guidance on many other accounting standards and applications.
14. 13
Additional tax services1
Washington National Tax Office
McGladrey professionals based in Washington, D.C., provide insight into ramifications of emerging
legislation and rulings before such changes affect our clients’ businesses. Representing some of the
firm’s top practitioners, our Washington National Tax professionals monitor pending and proposed
legislation and provide our clients with updates on key developments.
Tax compliance and planning
McGladrey employs a standardized tax services methodology that supports compliance and efficiency—
adapting our approach to specific business requirements. Appropriate company personnel are highly
involved in the planning process at the onset of any engagement. As work progresses, we revisit stated
goals with you and keep you informed about any issues that may impact timing. Our goal is to ensure the
project stays fully on course with respect to your needs and service expectations.
Once we have a clear picture of how your business is impacted by tax requirements, we work with you on
planning approaches to support your short- and long-term goals.
Federal tax services
Given the complexity of your business, you may require a coordinated tax approach—one that considers
your markets, locations and strategic objectives. McGladrey brings together federal, international, and
state and local tax specialists to provide perspective on the full array of tax implications and offer a
comprehensive plan.
We can help you seize available planning opportunities and control risk exposure through specialty areas
such as:
Accounting for income taxes (ASC 740)
Accounting methods and periods
Federal credits and incentives
Flow-through entity planning
IRS practice, procedure and controversy
Mergers, acquisitions and restructurings
Tangible asset cost recovery
1
IRS rules governing tax practitioners require that we inform you that this document is a solicitation to
provide federal tax services.
15. 14
State and local tax
We can assist your business in determining the states in which you have taxable operations or sales, so
you can be confident you are filing where you should—and aren’t paying taxes where no liability exists.
Our state and local tax (SALT) professionals also help clients:
Identify structuring or nexus opportunities that may reduce expenses or shift income from high-tax to
low-tax jurisdictions
Capture credits and incentives that reduce overall tax exposure
Benchmark their effective SALT rate against the effective rate of peers
Consider nexus issues and restructuring opportunities
Address compliance concerns, including the impact of federal audit adjustments and advance rulings
Implement holistic SALT planning and compliance programs
International tax
For your global needs in areas such as compliance, multinational structuring and advanced tax planning,
McGladrey professionals will work with you to identify specific issues and address them collectively. You
can also count on local resources around the world through our membership in RSM International.
Areas where we can assist you include:
Outbound and inbound structural planning
Global compliance and reporting
Foreign tax credits
Worldwide tax minimization planning
Transfer pricing analysis
Accounting for income taxes (ASC 740)
IFRS/GAAP convergence
Foreign assignment planning
International business advice and planning
Quantitative consulting
