Influential Woman · DOR

AnnMarie Alvarez

Field Tax Auditor, Department of Revenue- Wisconsin

Franklin, WI

Her Story

About AnnMarie

I work as a tax auditor for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, where I conduct audits and work directly with taxpayers on various tax matters. My work requires careful attention to confidentiality, especially in situations where it might be obvious who I'm talking about. I've been in places where the person I've audited will introduce me as their tax auditor, which can be challenging. Depending on what city or area I work in, I could very well run into people on a regular basis. I don't go around saying I audited someone, but sometimes they do come up to me and acknowledge I was their auditor. Sometimes they'll call later on with a different question or a different area, and I do my best to try to help them. In my work, I focus on requiring proper documentation, like saving receipts on expenses, because it's a lot easier to find information on the day it was turned in than it is to find it a few years later when you're being audited.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with AnnMarie

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think flexibility. Being willing to change and embrace change, and make it work for you. You have to be well-rounded and think about what if things change - what if they told me I had to move, what if they told me I had to go farther, what are you willing to do? Some people aren't willing to be that flexible. I also think it's important to be able to care or concentrate on what I need to concentrate on at the time. If there's a medical issue or something, can you work around it? Is there some other way to do this? That flexibility has been key to my success.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

If you don't know something, ask. Don't be afraid to say, I don't know, I'm gonna have to do research. Especially in tax, tax laws change on a whim. You think you know, you probably don't, because they're gonna change something. It's so important to be honest about what you don't know and be willing to do the research to find the right answer rather than pretending you know something when you don't.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Choose what's gonna make you happy and is going to work the best for you. It's not always the best to get the highest paying job. It's not always the best to get the job with the least hours. You have to be well-rounded. You have to be flexible and think about, okay, hey, what if this changes? What if they told me I had to move? What if they told me I had to go farther? What are you willing to do? Some people aren't willing to make those adjustments, but you need to think about what you're truly willing to commit to.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

AI is both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity right now. On the challenge side, we can't use it for everything because we have to worry about confidentiality and things like that. Sometimes when you talk about something, it's almost obvious to know who you are talking about. You have to be careful what you're saying and where. On the opportunity side, AI is totally there and it's wonderful. You just have to learn to use it to your advantage. Does it help you get a great picture for a slideshow? Yes. Sometimes we're not always the best writers, and sometimes it changes your sentence and actually makes it sound like you are so much more intelligent than you are. But sometimes it's wrong, and it's just like a computer program - the information you put in is only as good as the information you're gonna get out.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Just being able to care or concentrate on what I need to concentrate on at the time. Flexibility is really important to me - I can't stress that enough. When something happens, like a medical issue or something unexpected, can you work around it? Can you find some other way to do this? That ability to adapt and find solutions when things don't go as planned is what matters most to me.

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