At 60, TEI's vision remains vital and strong.

• Author: Zelisko, Judith P.
• Position: Tax Executives Institute - President's page

Tax Executives Institute was founded 60 years ago on the straightforward notion that in-house tax professionals could benefit from an organization devoted to their unique needs. Whether the issue was how the tax function in a company should be organized; how tax executives should interact with upper management, the company's audit firm, and its retinue of outside advisers; or what steps tax executives should take in light of changes in the laws or attendant rules and regulations, the thought was that tax executives could both learn from and teach their similarly situated and like-minded colleagues. A review of the Institute's recent activities affirms the validity and robustness of that vision.

Tax Department Survey Underscores Value of Staying Connected

One of TEI's major initiative this past year was a survey of corporate tax departments. The data-collection phase of the project is complete, and we are in the throes of analyzing the results. I thank Ray Rossi for his leadership on this project, and also extend the Institute's appreciation to Lynn Jordan, who just completed a two-year stint as chair of our Corporate Tax Management Committee and spearheaded the survey effort. (Lynn is currently a member of our Executive Committee.)

The Corporate Tax Department Survey updates a survey we conducted more than a decade ago. Based on our preliminary analysis, we will be mining the results for months and years to come. The overall results will be published by the end of the year, and will be made available to all members. (Those who participated in the survey will receive the results for free; others will be asked to pay a modest fee.)

A few results to whet your appetite:

* Our response rate was astounding. Approximately 57 percent of the senior tax executives we surveyed completed the questionnaire. In all, we received benchmarking data from nearly 1,500 companies. (Our vendor told us a 25-percent response would be good.)

* The titles of our senior executives are almost evenly split between Director of Tax or Corporate Tax Director and Vice President, and by far, our members report to their company's CFO.

* About 10 percent of us run one-person shops, while 41 percent work in departments having 2 to 5 people. Only 3 percent have more than 50 full-time tax department personnel.

* We did not need a survey to confirm it, but we are also a hard-working lot. The average tax executive works approximately 2300 hours per year. Forty-one percent of us...