A status report....

• Author: Wielenga, Terilea J.
• Position: Tax Executives Institute - President's page

As 2013 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to report on some of our progress and efforts to enhance TEI as a global brand and thereby increase the value of a TEI membership.

In mid-November, together with Patrick Evans, TEI Chief Tax Counsel, and Katrina Welch, TEI Executive Committee member, I was delighted to have the opportunity to join members of our Asia chapter for a series of meetings with tax and economic development officials from Hong Kong and Singapore to discuss issues of mutual interest. The scope of our discussions ranged from an introduction of TEI and the value of establishing a liaison relationship to the ongoing worldwide debate about base erosion and profit shifting. In addition, as part of a chapter educational day led by tax professionals from KPMG, Patrick and I participated in a series of panel discussions with both chapter members and tax professionals focusing on a broad range of tax and business issues, including BEPS, Transfer Pricing and Supply Chain planning. Not only were the dialogues enlightening for the 100 plus attendees, they signaled some of the broad range of opportunities that lie ahead for our membership in the region to attract new members, and build broader relationships with tax authorities there. There is no question that our Asia chapter is on the cusp of significant growth. The energy and commitment that I saw there made me proud of our members and our leadership team in Asia. I offer my congratulations and thanks to Bob Lider, Damien Henneken, Lisa Zheng, Sharon Tan Li Ping and the entire Asia Chapter leadership team, for a job very well done.

Closer to home, I was extremely pleased with our Annual Conference, held in New Orleans, Louisiana. The substantive planning, marketing and logistical efforts undertaken by our committee leadership in conjunction with Institute staff resulted in a conference that exceeded my expectations at almost every level. A few data points: first, we had over 600 attendees, the largest Annual Conference attendance in almost a decade, second and perhaps as important, 156 of those were attending their first Annual Conference, and third, a special shout out to the tax professionals at Entergy, whose entire tax department was in attendance in New Orleans.

The Annual Conference theme, "," gave attendees the opportunity to hear from an array of domestic and foreign senior tax authorities. In particular, senior tax regulators from France, the United Kingdom, and the...