Example Achievement Log for a Tax Manager

A year in the life of a Tax Manager's log

• Jan - achievement: Completed 2024 federal returns for all 12 subsidiaries and filed by Feb 15 deadline. Zero extensions, no amended filings needed. Saved firm $47k in penalty exposure versus prior year's late-file issue.
• Mar - feedback: CFO Sarah Chen said in steering committee: 'Your return prep was clean and early enough that we closed books two weeks ahead of schedule.' That timing let us hit guidance.
• Mar - task: Picked up state nexus review for three new markets after Katrina left the team. Mapped sales presence, registration requirements, and filing obligations across CA, TX, and NV. Still learning each state's form nuances.
• Apr - achievement: Negotiated audit settlement with IRS examiner on Schedule L reconciliation issue. Agreed to $128k payment instead of $310k proposed assessment. Took three calls and a written rebuttal to move them.
• Jun - task: Rebuilt the quarterly estimated tax workflow after system migration broke our filing calendar. New system's API integration was clunky, had to write manual spreadsheet reconciliation as backup until vendor fixed the sync.
• Jun - achievement: Led compliance audit for SOX 404 tax control testing. Documented 14 control procedures, tested 98 transactions. Zero control exceptions, auditors issued clean attestation.
• Aug - feedback: Audit partner Michael Reeves told controller: 'The Tax Manager's documentation was thorough and organized. Saved us days of fieldwork.' Overheard it but it mattered.
• Sep - achievement: Implemented new R&D credit capture process with engineering lead Derek. Identified $284k in previously unclaimed credits across three projects. Included validation checklist to prevent future misses.
• Sep - task: Covered for Tax Director during two-week medical leave. Managed three concurrent client deadlines, handled IRS correspondence, and approved payroll tax deposits. Entire period ran without incident.
• Nov - achievement: Completed 2024 state tax provision for 50-state apportionment model. Reduced provision by $67k after discovering NH throwback rule didn't apply to our operations. Internal audit validated the math.
• Dec - task: Year-end accrual review turned up $94k variance between our tax reserve and GL posting. Traced error to June system migration. Corrected the entry but realized we need monthly reconciliation going forward.

What makes a strong entry

How this becomes your review in November

I maintained clean federal and state filing schedules throughout the year, delivering all 12 subsidiary returns by mid-February and avoiding penalties that had cost the firm $47k previously. My work on the IRS audit over Schedule L saved material exposure, negotiating a $182k reduction from the proposed assessment through targeted rebuttals. I also identified $284k in unclaimed R&D credits by designing a new capture process with engineering, and implemented controls to prevent similar misses going forward. The year included unexpected scope, covering the Tax Director for two weeks and absorbing three new state markets, and revealed process gaps in our system migration that I flagged for remediation in 2025.

Starting your own log

Don't try to reconstruct a year you have already had. Start from today, one line whenever something happens, and let it build. The Perform Review Achievement Log does this for you and can capture wins straight from Slack, and how to start an achievement log covers the wider playbook.

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