A progress report ahead of the holidays.

• Author: Macfarlane, Sandy
• Position: Tax Executives Institute - President's page

As we head into the holiday season, I wanted to share some impressions from the recently concluded TEI Annual Conference in Dallas, as well as report on the progress being made against several of our 2015-16 Building for the Future goals.

Until now, I had never fully appreciated the degree of effort and energy that goes into planning for and then executing an Annual Conference. Having attended TEI national conferences for many years, often as a session panelist or moderator, I have always seen what occurs on the stage, but without a great deal of insight about what goes on behind it.

Now, having presided over TEI's 70th Annual Conference, I can honestly say that our conference is a complex and multidimensional operation that is effectively thirty or forty mini-conferences or programs all happening either simultaneously or at least consecutively. Let me explain. First, there are the Executive Committee, Board, and committee meetings that are conducted on Sunday, essentially the business side of TEI. Next is the conferences core, substantive plenary, breakout, and keynote sessions, combining technical, policy, and management content, and involving member moderators and tax practitioners, policymakers, and governmental officials from around the world. In addition, there are program elements targeted to specific TEI constituencies, including CAP taxpayers, CTOs, emerging tax professionals, industry and substantive roundtables, conference first-timers, and new members, to name just a few. And finally, the social, feedback, and networking dimensions of our conference include our sponsor exhibit hall, hosted receptions, and advisory boards to round out our conference.

Kudos

The extensive planning and coordination among Institute staff, hotel representatives, members, and tax professionals produces a high-quality and memorable experience for all. To everyone--both in front of and behind the stage--I offer my heartfelt thanks for a job very well done! A special shout out to our Conference Planning and Communications & Marketing teams for all their good efforts. And a special thank you to everyone from the Dallas Chapter who made everyone feel right at home.

The results very much speak for themselves. We were thrilled to welcome Heather Maloy back to the TEI stage to share her impressions about her latest stint in government and her perspective on what lies ahead for tax administration; to hear Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Bob Stack offer...