10 Years of SALT with Meredith Smith

In this episode of the SALTovation podcast, Alexander Korzhen takes over hosting duties as he speaks with Meredith Smith, state and local tax manager, and our very own Judy Vorndran. Recently celebrating her 10 year anniversary, Meredith is the most veteran person at TaxOps in state and local tax (SALT). She shares what changes she has seen at TaxOps as well as in the small and medium market. She also discusses how she balances her time between SALT and federal tax. Listen as she describes what success means to her and if she feels she has achieved it.

Questions asked and answered in this Episode:

How did Meredith get from Illinois to Colorado?
How did she end up in state and local tax?
What does success mean to Meredith? Does she feel like she’s achieved it?
How has she seen the small/medium market change over the years? How has she seen TaxOps change over the years?
How does she balance her time between state and federal taxes?
What does she think helps her thrive in the details?
Is there anything professionally that surprises Meredith?

What You Will Discover:

[00:35] How Meredith end up in Colorado and
[02:42] Why she pursued state and local tax
[10:07] Why you should ask those dumb questions
[13:16] What success means to Meredith
[19:29] How she’s seen TaxOps and the small/medium market change over the years
[23:22] How Meredith splits her time between SALT and federal tax
[26:36] How she thrives in the details
[31:31] What surprises her professionally
[33:07] A few fun facts about Meredith

Quotables:

“I am like a blue blood state and local tax person.” - Meredith Smith [5:26]
“There are no dumb questions.” -Meredith Smith [11:43]
“We’re humans. We have ebbs and flows in life and careers and you know, just things. Just creating that safe space and just wanting to help people. ‘Cause that’s what someone in the very beginning took to do with me, and that’s what really kind of established how I view what I do in being a senior or a teacher in that capacity.” -Meredith Smith [12:30]
“When I left that environment and I came to like a smaller firm, my goal was to say ‘I know I work for a small firm, but you’re going to get something that you can’t find holes in.’ You can’t pick up a work paper that I’ve prepared and just say, ‘Oh, because they came from someone who works at a small firm, it’s going to be wrong.’” - Meredith Smith [17:03]
“Just because I’m so ingrained on one side and I’m so ingrained on the other, I can be that float.” - Meredith Smith [25:30]