TEI at three score and thirteen: respected, essential-and evolving: as new leaders inevitably emerge, seasoned professionals say TEI critical to professional, personal growth.

• Author: Levin-Epstein, Michael
• Position: Cover story

Over seventy years ago, a core group of corporate tax professionals met in New York City and created an organization to serve the professional needs of in-house tax executives. Meeting the education, networking, and advocacy needs of business tax professionals has anchored Tax Executives Institute ever since.

Over the ensuing decades, notes TEI Executive Director Eli Dicker, the organization has grown in size and scope, from one chapter to fifty-six, from fifteen members to more than 7,000, resident on five continents. "At the same time, so too have the business and regulatory environments in which our members work, striving daily to add value to the departments and employers they serve, while seeking personal and professional fulfillment. At every step, TEI has been its members' steady partner, adapting to serve and support their particular needs, while staying true to the vision of its founders," Dicker says. In particular, he points out, TEI's education platform, historically focused on technical excellence, has been successfully expanded to address skills-based learning, modifications designed to reflect heightened market demand and member need. "And, TEI has also modified how its educational content is delivered, a further testament to how it meets the changing needs of its members. The following narratives provide insight into our members, how they embrace TEI, and how TEI embraces them," Dicker says.

Assisting In-House Tax Professionals

There's no question that TEI members think the organization has done an excellent job serving in-house tax professionals. "My participation on TEI's IRSAA committee [IRS Administrative Affairs Committee] and attendance at the TEI Annual and Midyear Conferences and Audit & Appeals Seminar has allowed me to share knowledge of tax laws and administrative best practices with in-house tax professionals at TEI chapter meetings and also with Barrick global tax team members," says Colleen Brown, senior tax advisor at Barrick Gold.

The experienced U.S. tax team members at Barrick attend and participate in monthly TEI chapter meetings, Brown notes. As a result of this continuous effort to stay informed about the latest regulatory and administrative changes, she explains, TEI has created substantial value for Barrick shareholders. "The impact of the knowledge gained through the association with TEI includes significant cash saving projects initiated and completed over the years, along with ensuring significant compliance with complex international tax laws and regulations," she says.

For Mitch Frank, general director, taxes at BNSF Railway Inc., TEI represents the strength of the in-house tax professional community globally and has offered him the opportunity to serve in several ways. "The most significant way has been serving my chapter membership through leadership, as I have served in each of the elected positions in Dallas. I have also enjoyed and personally benefited from volunteering on behalf of the local tax community, in that I have served as committee chair for several Dallas Chapter activities, specifically the federal luncheon presentations committee and as sponsor of our annual two-day Tax School," Frank says.

In addition, he explains, he had earlier involvement with TEI outside of the Dallas Chapter that gave him the chance to influence the way large companies are audited by the IRS. "Along with many others, I was among the TEI members who consulted with IRS LMSB [Large and Mid-Size Business division] leadership on the design of the CAP program in the early 2000s. I still recall how well my team's presentation of our views of the potential, both theoretically and practically, of what became the CAP concept was received by the IRS participants in that meeting." They were pleasantly surprised, he notes, "by our willingness to be transparent and forward-thinking as we discussed the design features we believed would be critical to the success of the program under consideration. As we all now know, CAP has been extremely successful and become a desired audit approach by many large corporate taxpayers."

Finally, Frank says, he has enjoyed serving the international tax community as a participant on the TEI International Board of Directors as both a regional vice president and Dallas Chapter representative. "These roles have allowed me to have a voice in the organization from a top-down perspective. Along with these roles I have participated in many Annual and Midyear Conferences as an attendee, a presenter, and an 'active question asker' in the educational presentations at those events. In fact, I am not always positive the speakers are glad I am in the audience, but do feel satisfied that my questions and comments are received by the community and often move the technical discussion forward for the group," he says.

Teri Wielenga, head of finance at Akrivista LLC/ Whitecap Biosciences LLC and a TEI member for more than twenty years, also has a story to share. "One of the first TEI events I attended," she recalls, "was a regional conference held in Reno, Nevada. I had recently left public accounting and joined a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company's tax...