Thomas M. Coley

Executive summary

Tom is Grant Thornton Advisor’s State and Local Tax National Solution leader. Tom has more than twenty-five years of public accounting experience serving public and private clients in the manufacturing, distribution, transportation, technology, retail, service, sports and entertainment industries.  He specializes in state and local taxes including multi-state corporate and flow-through income and franchise tax planning, ASC 740 and FIN 48 analysis, compliance and refund reviews, audit defense, nexus studies, and voluntary disclosures.  Tom has extensive experience identifying, substantiating, and calculating state tax credits in the Southeastern United States.  Additionally, he has assisted clients in identifying and obtaining discretionary state and local incentives and managing indirect tax compliance and consulting engagements.  

Prior to joining Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, Tom spent over four years with a Big Five public accounting firm.  Before his public accounting experience, Tom spent five years with General Electric Industrial Power Systems in procurement roles. 

Professional qualifications and memberships

He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.  Tom serves on the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants Tax Resource Committee, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Tax Committee and has served as Grant Thornton’s representative on the Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators Industry Council.  Additionally, Tom is a member of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation. Tom is the past Chair of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Accounting Advisory Board.  

Education

Tom holds a BS in Business Administration and a BS in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.