TEC initiatives.

• Author: Purcell, Thomas J., III
• Position: Tax Executive Committee of AICPA

As an AICPA senior technical committee, the Tax Executive Committee (TEC) is authorized to speak for the Institute on tax matters, and is also designated by governing Council as a standard-setting body. However, numerous other committees, technical resource panels (TRPs) and task forces initiate and develop proposed solutions to policy issues and technical and tax administration problems, for consideration and approval by the TEC. They also initiate proposals for valuable products and services for members in tax practice.

Since the last cut-off date for this column (Dec. 1, 2003, see TTA, February 2004, p. 106), the TEC met once (Jan. 28-29, 2004) and exercised its review function on several projects. TEC actions taken after March 1, 2004 will be reported in a future column.

Tax Division Administrative Issues

At its January 2004 meeting, the TEC organized a task force to monitor the Tax Section's strategic plan. The task force will be responsible for overseeing plan implementation and providing the TEC with regular updates on progress. It will be chaired in alternate years by the TEC's vice chair (currently, Tom Purcell) or the immediate past chair. The strategic plan is available online at www.aicpa.org/download/tax/ tax_section_strat.pdf. For a comprehensive discussion of the strategic plan, see Swingen, Tax Education, "How Does the Tax Section's Strategic Plan Affect Tax Education?" p. 307, this issue.

When meeting outside Washington, DC, the TEC invites representatives of the local state CPA society to join in its deliberations. At its January 2004 meeting, it hosted representatives of the Florida Institute of CPAs and enjoyed a lively discussion of issues of mutual concern.

Self-Governance Activities

At its August 2003 meeting, the TEC approved Proposed Interpretation 1-2, "Tax Planning," of Statement on Standards for Tax Services No. 1, which can be found at www.aicpa.org/members/div/tax/sstsint.asp. The interpretation became enforceable on Dec. 31, 2003. On Jan. 28, 2004, the TEC approved the inclusion of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility as an accepted governmental agency for purposes of the AICPA's new "automatic sanctioning" procedures (approved by the membership in tall 2003). The automatic process enables the Professional Ethics Executive Committee to act quickly, decisively and fairly when a member violates the profession's code of ethics.

Technical Activities

IRS five-year strategic plan: On Jan. 26, 2004, Mark Van...