Standard Ledger looks after more than 500 startups across Australia and the UK, and its clients have raised more than $40m. The senior tax seat is opening up and the firm is handing the whole technical function to one person. You sign off what goes out, advise founders on raises, restructures and exits, and build a name for yourself in startup tax. Salary is pro-rata to your hours, and the hours can grow as the advisory side does.
Fully remote - three days a week - reports to the CEO
Standard Ledger's co-founder and tax partner moved to the UK two years ago and has been the final sign-off on every Australian return from there ever since. He is now stepping right back, and the firm has outgrown that arrangement. Rather than split the technical function between several people, it is handing the whole thing to one person.
That person reports directly to Remco Marcelis, Co-Founder and CEO, and leads a small offshore preparation team that moves across as part of the handover. The role is fully remote, with Eastern states preferred for client overlap.
Structuring ahead of a raise or an overseas move, Div 7A, GST, small business CGT concessions, employee share schemes, and how all of it interacts with the R&D tax incentive. The recent CGT changes are already generating a wave of these questions.
You build the library of Standard Ledger tax positions on what this market keeps asking, and take them public through content, LinkedIn, webinars and client sessions. There is a webinar on the cards already.
You review and sign the company and individual returns the team prepares, a couple of hundred a year, and you decide what needs a second opinion and what you can call yourself. Lodging a return is what releases R&D cash to a client, so turnaround has a visible effect on whether a startup makes payroll.
More than 500 startups supported, more than $40m raised by clients, and 50+ years of combined CFO experience. Standard Ledger is a Xero Platinum Partner, has operated for more than ten years across Australia and the UK, and has Tractor Ventures as an investor.
Figures from standardledger.co.
HealsGood AI closed a £2.5m round with Octopus Ventures. Founder and CEO Jack Henderson: “Standard Ledger were instrumental throughout the process.”
Powerpal's founder, who has since exited, credits the fractional CFO work and exit planning with “a deal that recognised our full value”.
Peter Neal, Exited Founder
Gathera set up in the UK with Standard Ledger's help. Co-founder Peter Cole says the team “turned around crucial work in 48 hours, preventing fines”.
Hex worked with Standard Ledger on its application to the Australian Government's Boosting Female Founders Initiative. Co-founder Jeanette Cheah: “I've really enjoyed working with John to secure it.”
Gaia Project Australia is in its third year with Standard Ledger. Its founder says the team “really understood our R&D story from day one”.
Nadun Hennayaka, CEO and Founder
Founder and CEO Iggy Jovanovic describes Standard Ledger as “incredibly helpful in reviewing and modelling our finances”.
Short excerpts from the testimonials published on standardledger.co.
Remco Marcelis, Co-Founder and CEO, has spent 15 years as a CFO and four in venture capital. Co-founder Michael Budnow came from Goldman Sachs and Moore Stephens and holds two master's degrees and a law degree.
A 2023 fireside chat with both founders about Standard Ledger Ventures, their investment syndicate.
What success looks like, and how we recruit for it.
You work solidly with the offshore preparation team and get registered against Standard Ledger so you can sign, or have re-registration underway with a date on it. You review and sign with a clear handover from the outgoing tax partner.
You review and sign independently, with prepared-to-signed turnaround inside three business days. You handle client questions on Div 7A, GST, small business CGT concessions and the R&D interaction directly, and you have told the firm at least two things it was getting wrong or leaving on the table.
A library of Standard Ledger tax positions exists and is used. Those positions are public through content, LinkedIn, webinars and client sessions, so the firm is known for this work. The tax practice is growing around you.
Kairos reviews your CV properly and gives you a call. The next step is a technical conversation built around real client scenarios, because you will be signing without a second reviewer. The final step is a short plan from you for your first 60 to 90 days.
You are CA or CPA qualified and either registered with the TPB or eligible to register. You have practice experience across individuals and businesses, and you are comfortable giving advice as well as reviewing compliance. You explain tax in plain English to founders, you know what you can call yourself and what needs a second opinion, and you can lead a preparation team you do not sit next to.
Startup or scaleup clients, R&D tax incentive experience, UK exposure and a habit of writing or presenting all help. A career break is not something you need to explain.
Salary is pro-rata to your hours and discussed on the first call. Standard Ledger intends a stable base across the year rather than pay that moves with the season.
Three days a week, and you choose the days. The hours can grow as the advisory side does.
Standard Ledger's tax agent status will sit under your registration, so you need to be registered or eligible to register. A lapsed registration is not a barrier if you can re-register.
Fully remote from anywhere in Australia, with Eastern states preferred for client overlap.
Send your CV through and I'll review it properly, then give you a call.
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