Further proof that the (tax) world is small: great granddaughter of TEI's founder is tax adviser ... to TEI.

• Author: McCormally, Timothy J.
• Position: Recent Activities ... - Company overview

Tax Executives Institute was founded in 1944 by Paul Smith of New York who invited several of his tax colleagues in industry to join him in starting an organization dedicated to in-house tax professionals. "Tax executives" was an aspirational term at the time, for Paul Smith and his fellow founders set out "to make the corporate tax executive an important officer in every company." TEI has succeeded for nearly 70 years not only because the goal was worthwhile, but because the founders worked relentlessly to make it a reality. Paul Smith served as the Institute's president from its founding until 1950, and during that time he travelled around the country at his own expense (and the support of his company) with the zeal of a missionary.

I use the word "missionary" advisedly, recalling that one of Paul Smith's daughters, Carol Ann Smith, grew up to be a member of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus. She stopped by TEI's offices six Thanksgivings ago to talk about her father and to share her recollections of the early days of TEI. Sister Carol Ann's most poignant comments concerned the ethical underpinnings of TEI. She talked about the obligation that her father and the other founders felt toward nurturing and training their fellow professionals. After our meeting, Carol Ann wrote the following in an email message:

It was truly amazing to me to discover how my dad's original vision for TEI is being carried out. At this time in human history, it seems that more than ever we need personal relationships and good information to help us to make good, ethical decisions .... Best of luck with your service there--and keep looking for talented women to join the efforts of TEI for that, too, would be in keeping with my dad's vision! I thought of my meeting with Sister Carol Ann a few weeks ago when I received an email from Susan Colladay, a partner in the public accounting firm of Tate & Tryon--the firm that audits TEI's financial statements and prepares our tax returns. Susan was writing because she had recently learned at one of the firm's employees--indeed, one of the people who works on TEI's...