Former IRS acting commissioner Douglas O’Donnell joins KPMG

Douglas O’Donnell, former acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, has joined KPMG US as a senior managing director within its Washington national tax practice. 

He will co-lead the tax controversy and dispute resolution group within the practice.

O’Donnell was among a wave of five acting commissioners who departed the IRS earlier this year. He temporarily succeeded former Commissioner Danny Werfel, who departed on Inauguration Day after Trump announced his pick for a new head of the agency, Billy Long, a former Republican congressman from Missouri, even though Werfel’s term wasn’t scheduled to end until November 2027. 

O’Donnell had been deputy commissioner at the IRS at the time, and was previously acting commissioner from November 2022 to March 2023 during the transition between former IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig and Werfel. 

“I’m excited to join the leading Washington national tax practice at KPMG and contribute to the firm’s exceptional brand,” said O’Donnell in a statement. “The commitment of KPMG to delivering unparalleled value to clients during this dynamic period in tax administration aligns perfectly with my passion for helping organizations navigate complex challenges.”

O’Donnell brings nearly four decades of leadership from the IRS, where he held the agency’s most senior roles, including acting commissioner, deputy commissioner, and commissioner of the Large Business and International Division. As acting commissioner and deputy commissioner, he oversaw approximately 100,000 employees while leading strategic planning and organizational transformation efforts across the agency during a period of significant modernization. The number of employees is down by over 25,000 as of May, however, according to a recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

(Read more: “New IRS commissioner plans implementation of Trump tax bill“)

Throughout his tenure at the tax agency, O’Donnell played a pivotal role in dispute prevention and resolution matters, including through his role in developing and overseeing programs such as the IRS Compliance Assurance Process and the OECD International Compliance Assurance Programme. He also served as the U.S. Competent Authority, overseeing the IRS’s advance pricing and mutual agreement program that administers the U.S. tax treaty network. His experience extends to technology modernization and process improvement initiatives that transformed agency operations.

O’Donnell earned his BS in Accounting from the University of Maryland and completed advanced executive education programs, including the IRS Executive Development program, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy Comparative Tax Policy and Administration program. 

The IRS had four other acting commissioners this year amid turmoil at the agency until Long was confirmed last month and sworn in earlier this month. The agency announced O’Donnell’s retirement in February as it came under pressure from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency; he was succeeded by chief operating officer Melanie Krause, who reportedly left amid a dispute over sharing information with Immigration and Customers Enforcement. She was succeeded by Gary Shapley, a former IRS Criminal Investigation agent who was a whistleblower on the Hunter Biden investigation. After a falling out over Shapley’s appointment between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Treasury Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender was named acting commissioner.