Challenges identified ... and met.

• Author: Glennie, J.A.
• Position: President's Corner

It seems like yesterday that I was installed as Tax Executives Institute's 2002-2003 International President and had the honor of standing in front of the Board of Directors to present an ambitious set of goals and objectives for the year. In reality, nearly a year has elapsed since that meeting. I want to use the occasion of my last "President's Corner" column to provide an accounting of the progress we have made, to outline some of the challenges that lie ahead, and to offer thanks to those who have made my term as President rewarding and memorable.

Professionalism: The Mark of TEI and its Members

Last August, TEI's Board adopted eight operational priorities, ranging from promoting the professionalism of the Institute's members to conducting a membership satisfaction survey to enhancing communications between the Institute and its members to building a world-class website. I am pleased to report that we have moved forward on all our objectives, and though the details will be recounted in TEI's 2003 Annual Report, it is appropriate here to highlight our key activities.

The corporate accountability scandals of the last few years triggered intense (and continuing) scrutiny of the business community. Combined with the government's renewed thrusts on tax shelters, Enron, WorldCom, and similar cases have presented numerous opportunities to emphasize and enhance the Institute's high standards. Hence, during the year, we devoted considerable resources to educating our members about the implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including conference sessions, numerous chapter meetings, and a telephone seminar that attracted more than 1,000 participants. First on the issue of auditor independence and more recently on the mandate of documenting and refining internal controls, TEI has been at the forefront of identifying the challenges and helping to craft solutions for tax executives that further the goal of corporate accountability without imposing unrealistic and excessive requirements. I am especially pleased that our views on auditor independence, which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, were incorporated in significant part in the SEC's final regulations.

Guarding against overreaction and helping shape professional, realistic solutions to complicated problems has also been a hallmark of TEI's continuing efforts in respect of tax shelters. Long an advocate of a balanced disclosure regime and targeted enforcement actions in...