Midyear conference continues TEI's tradition of excellence.

• Position: Tax Executives Institute

Amid uncertain economic times and myriad challenges confronting the Nation, TEI International President Vincent Alicandri welcomed more than 400 members and guests to the 59th Midyear Conference, which was held March 29th to April 1st in Washington, D.C. In his opening remarks, Mr. Alicandri set the tone for the conference observing that "TEI's mission of keeping members fully informed of developments that affect them and their employers is more important than ever before."

The economic turmoil confronting the Nation and the world helped frame a significant portion of this year's conference program, with several cross-disciplinary sessions that addressed the challenging economic environment.

The opening plenary session, styled "What Does the Obama Administration Mean for Tax Policy?" featured senior legislative staffers from both sides of the aisle commenting on the legislative and tax priorities that lay ahead for the 111th Congress. John Buckley and Jon Traub, senior Democratic and Republican aides to the House Committee on Ways and Means, joined their Senate counterparts, Cathy Koch and Tony Coughlin, in a lively and sometimes pointed debate about both problems and possible solutions. Moderated by Mel Schwarz of Grant Thornton, the topics covered during the spirited debate ranged from the financing of health care reform to the shape of tax reform to short-term topics such as whether there might be a second stimulus bill.

The challenging economy served as the background for a number of sessions across substantive tax disciplines. For example, Timothy Anson of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Reginald Clark of Sutherland, affirmed in their "M&A in a Troubled Economy" session that while such activity had slowed significantly, pockets of targeted activity did exist. In the same vein, Kevin Andersen of BDO Seidman led an informative discussion about the role of debt cancellations, swaps, and insolvency in an economic downturn. There are ways, he asserted, that you can make lemonade out of lemons.

Maximizing cash flow, a priority during strong economic cycles, becomes critically important in lean times, opined Gary Hecimovich and Ellen MacNeil of Deloitte Tax, in their well-attended session on "Cash is King: Planning with Accounting Method Changes." In a related vein, Timothy Tuerff, also of Deloitte, helped members navigate the intricacies of the foreign loss rules.

Two additional sessions rounded out the Midyear Conference's offerings specifically...