Heidi Ragland - Tax Executive
Resume:
Heidi Ragland
Los Angeles, California
ac0o6u@r.postjobfree.com
Tax Analysis and Compliance … Tax Regulation and Guidance … Audit Defense and Appeal … Auditor
State and federal tax specialist with compliance, audit, research and regulatory guidance experience in diverse industries including insurance, manufacturing, high-technology, wholesale, retail, energy, government and construction services. Proven ability to track and improve reporting systems to ensure tax compliance, verify and improve internal controls and minimize tax exposure. Able to manage multiple projects and cultivate productive interaction with stakeholders at all levels. Progressive leadership history, development and initiation of staff training tools and collaborative team building.
Professional Experience
Dean Tax Consulting – Los Angeles, CA, 9/2016 – Present
Tax Consultant, Principal
Responsible for the preparation of federal and state income tax returns for the loan out corporations of individuals in the entertainment industry. Also, responsible for the preparation of individual federal and state income tax returns for both resident and non-resident high net worth clients. Services involve the ability to verify proper treatment, timing and classification of income and expenses by support staff, reviewing calculated net operating loss carryovers, depreciation and determining the satisfaction of non-resident and resident requirements. Also charged with bringing smaller, newer clients into compliance for state and federal tax filing purposes.
Iberdrola Renewables, LLC – Portland, Oregon, 11/2014 – 6/2016
Senior/Lead Tax Accountant
Responsible for multi-jurisdictional tax compliance for the world’s fourth largest energy provider as well as the second largest renewable energy provider in the United States. The position required the ability to determine sales and use tax exposure in the expanding fields of wind and solar as well as gas energy in all occupied states. Involved research and analysis of parent corporation and its subsidiaries’ tax liabilities in competing and multi-level taxing jurisdictions. Recurring tax compliance also analyzed for both adherence with and consistency to applicable regulatory guidance. Tax guidance provided to both internal and external customers to ensure corporate tax compliance.
Special Accomplishments / Responsibilities:
Lead accountant for state tax team on six state amnesty filing project. Project involved discovering and documenting all affected locations, researching potential tax exposure as well as securing sales and purchasing activity for all companies and exploratory projects located in filing states. Involved the ability to understand and negotiate diverse accounting and documentation systems and departmental reporting priorities within the corporation. Project also included the summarization and preparation of information to determine taxable financial activity to be included in amnesty filings as well as preparation and submission of actual amnesty applications with supporting documentation.
Led tax team on voluntary disclosure research for unregistered legal entities. Entities were explored for potential liability in states which had known sales and or, purchasing activity.
Initiated team documentation project to ensure that previously unrecorded processes and procedures were documented and accessible to all applicable staff.
Dean Tax Consulting – Los Angeles, California, 1/2013 – 10/2014
Tax Consultant, Principal
Planning, research and advisory services provided to clients. Services included sales and use as well as income tax audit defense and representation to guarantee fair review, interpretation and assessment of client’s business activities by taxing authority. Also included the construction of ruling requests for submission to governing authorities on behalf of client to address new areas of proposed business and changes in or clarification of existing tax policy. Client transactions and accounting procedures analyzed to ensure adherence to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements while reducing exposure to high impact tax issues. Reverse audits also conducted to discover qualifying tax refunds. Services also included return preparation, nexus research, transactional analysis and streamlining of reporting procedures. Additional miscellaneous taxes also addressed.
Special Accomplishments / Responsibilities:
Minimal presence nexus argument successfully presented to and accepted by the state of Michigan, resulting in the release of client’s obligation to file past due Income tax returns for preceding ten years.
Reduction of client’s initial sales and use tax assessment resulting in tax savings of over 2.1 million dollars.
State of Virginia Department of Taxation, Appeals and Rulings – Richmond, Virginia, 6/2009 – 12/2012
Tax Appellate Officer / Tax Analyst
Judged and resolved disputed sales and use tax cases under the signature of the Tax Commissioner brought before the State of Virginia’s Department of Taxation. Such cases included tax appeals, ruling requests, offers in compromise and miscellaneous tax inquiries. Developed tax precedent as well as clarified existing sales and use tax policy for the State of Virginia. Written decisions were subsequently published for Department, statewide and national corporate and public tax guidance.
Special Accomplishments / Responsibilities:
Initiated bi-monthly analysts’ meetings to facilitate exchange of ideas, information and perspectives regarding complicated tax appeal issues.
State of Washington, Department of Revenue, Out of State Division – Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, 11/2003 – 4/2009
Revenue Auditor
Responsible for sales and use and business occupancy tax audits of multi-state and multi-national Fortune 500 corporations in the states of North Carolina, Virginia and Connecticut. Involved in actively researching and interpreting applicable tax laws and regulations governing the taxpayer’s financial activities. Comparatively analyzed and reconciled complex financial records and reporting systems for a variety of business organizations. Organized scope of review and audit development based on analysis of corporations’ internal controls, reporting systems and trends. Responsible for the conveyance of audit determinants and documentation requirements to corporate personnel and their representatives. Constructed written summarization of audit findings for presentation to the taxpayer, their representatives, appellate and judicial authorities.
Special Accomplishments / Responsibilities:
Trained newly relocated auditors placed in the East Coast region.
Initiated and organized national, regionally based Out-of-State Auditors’ seminars to enhance discussion of best audit practices, strategies and high impact audit issues.
Conceived, developed and wrote Out-of -State Auditor’s Training Manual which was used as a comprehensive auditing resource in the department.
Gerber Scientific, Aetna Insurance, United Technologies (Otis Elevator) – Hartford, Connecticut, 12/2002 -11/2003
Sales and Use Tax Consultant
Provided sales and use tax return review and preparation services to leading corporations in Connecticut. Businesses offered products and services in the insurance, manufacturing and technology industries. Services involved the written defense of amended returns, refund requests, securing applicable documentation, researching governing policies to substantiate treatment of high impact tax issues and minimization of tax exposure. Also reconciled and balanced tax reports and accrual accounts. Compliance services included the review of reporting system and tax rate updates.
Special Accomplishments / Responsibilities:
Reverse audit and analysis of client’s use tax accrual account resulted in tax savings of $70,000- $90,000 per month for company.
CIGNA – Bloomfield, Connecticut, 9/2000-8/2002
Tax Accountant
Provided corporate income tax planning and compliance services for assigned divisions and subsidiaries of parent corporation which included both life and non-life insurance entities. Prepared year-end federal consolidated and state corporate income tax packages as well as quarterly and interim tax planning provisions for assigned divisions and subsidiaries. Also prepared annual premium tax returns. Required ability to apply either GAAP, federal or statutory methods of accounting and reporting as well as FAS 109 (ASC 740) recognition of current and deferred tax liabilities. Reviewed department accounting procedures to ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. Also charged with simultaneous special projects and audits which addressed ongoing tax issues.
Special Accomplishments / Responsibilities:
Successfully defended company against state income tax audit performed by the State of Pennsylvania resulting in the acceptance of zero receipt returns by the state for subsidiary under review, thereby avoiding approximately $1.4 million dollars in tax, interest and penalties.
Reviewed and authorized preparation of sales and use and property tax returns and related tax payments by support staff.
Chosen to represent CIGNA at Special Accountant’s Training Seminar and National Premium Tax Conference.
State of Connecticut, Department of Revenue – Hartford, Connecticut, 4/1986 – 7/2000
Revenue Examiner
Performed audits of multi-national and national corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships in the service, manufacturing, retail and wholesale industries for compliance to relevant tax statutes. Majority of examinations addressed sales and use tax but also included the review of compliance to a variety of additional taxes including income, withholding, room occupancy and admissions, dues and cabaret tax.
Special Accomplishments / Responsibilities:
Highest producing examiner in region within second year for all levels including senior auditors.
Education - Bachelor’s Degree, Dual Major – Accounting/English, LaSalle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Certifications – Federal Security Clearance, CPA Candidate
Skills – Word, Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Access, Corptax, M&D, Premium Pro, Hyperion, Oracle, Vertex, RIA, SAP, Sabrix
Contact this candidate