Joyce Kandt
Role: Sr. Project Manager, Specialty Incentives
Years in Tax Field: 20+ years
Area of Expertise: Specialty Incentives, Federal & State R&D Tax Credits
Notable Experience:
- Built a national firm’s R&D tax credit practice from the ground up
- Served as R&D Principal leading the practice at a boutique CPA firm
- Combines deep technical expertise with a strong record in business development
- Advocate for women and working mothers in the profession
Overview
Professional Bio
Joyce Kandt is an R&D Tax Credit Senior Manager in the Tax Credits & Specialty Incentives practice at Exactera. She brings more than twenty years of experience, including several years spent at Big 4 firms. Joyce pairs deep technical knowledge with a strong commitment to client experience and responsiveness. As a daily user and developer of AI tools within the practice, she applies them to drive efficiency, increase quality, and preserve more time for client attention and the technical work that matters most. Her current role focuses on quality control and assisting businesses identify and maximize credit opportunities that can withstand IRS scrutiny.
Perspectives
What I’ve learned about specialty incentives:
Solid support and documentation particularly focused on technical uncertainty, process of experimentation, and employees qualified percentages are key. Also, with more complex clients, understanding things like controlled group rules and acquisition types are crucial; get the group structure wrong and the entire credit calculation is wrong, no matter how well the underlying research is documented.
AI tools development and utilization have proven enormously beneficial: it takes the mundane/ repetitive tasks off the team’s plate so we can focus on the technical judgment calls and the client relationship, which is where our time is valued.
What surprised me the most about working in your field:
What surprised me most is how much how much the R&D Rules have changed in the past few years and also how fast the practice itself has also changed. The way we do the work has been rebuilt entirely. When I started, deliverables were assembled largely by hand. Today, AI tools handle a meaningful share of the preparation without replacing employees, and the IRS is now requiring project-level detail that would have been impractical to produce fifteen years ago. The firms that adapt or are ahead of it, like Exactera, will serve their clients well!
My greatest strengths are:
My greatest strengths are organization, attention to detail, and technical depth. I am consistently focused on building solid support behind every position taken. I work well with a team while also successfully managing multiple clients and deadlines at a fast pace.
