Choosing the Path Forward.

• Date: 01 September 2020
• Author: Kennedy, James

I am honored to serve as TEI's international president during its 75th Annual Conference year. The opportunity to help shape and guide the leading association of in-house tax professionals world-wide is one that provokes a great sense of gratitude and duty. I am humbled but delighted to take on the challenge.

As I began thinking about how to frame my presidential term, my thoughts centered on the need for the Institute to take stock of its past and begin to build plans for the next seventy-five years. The Institute's most recent strategic plan--Vision 20/20, developed under the leadership of my colleague and 2011-2012 predecessor as TEI's international president, David Penney--was completed nearly a decade ago, with various goals and objectives pursued and implemented by past TEI presidents. Thus, I thought TEI's 75th Annual Conference-year milestone was the appropriate time to recognize the past and plan for the future, mindful of business changes and professional challenges. The convergence of demographics, business consolidations, technological innovation, and outsourcing trends required a fresh look--a new strategic plan.

And then came COVID-19.

Pre-COVID-19, TEI was poised to focus on current, prospective trends...