TEI's 2003-2004 goals and objectives.

On August 12, 2003, TEI's Board of Directors approved the following goals and objectives for the coming year.

Tax Executives Institute has adopted a strategic plan that has at its core the vision of TEI as the preeminent association of business tax professionals and the mission of serving its members and their employers through education, networking, and advocacy. The plan sets forth five goals:

* Education: Provide high quality education responsive to the needs of members and their employers.

* Networking: Maximize and facilitate networking opportunities for members.

* Advocacy: Expand and enhance the effectiveness of advocacy efforts.

* Membership: Attract and retain members.

* Governance/Management: Ensure an efficient and effective organization.

Promoting these goals effectively requires a coordinated and concerted effort by TEI's leadership (at both the Institute and local level), its staff, and its membership at large. To advance that effort, the Institute will focus its activities on two overarching themes--increased member service and enhanced and effective communication.

Member Service

As a professional organization, TEI should be--and is--all about (1) equipping its members (and their companies) with the information and tools they need to be effective (e.g., through its educational programs and networking activities) and (2) advancing good tax policy and administration (through its advocacy and liaison activities). The Institute needs to build upon its past successes--retaining and fine-tuning "what has worked"--and explore and exploit future opportunities, for example, to better use new technologies, expand its reach (geographically and otherwise), anticipate trends, and meet (and ideally exceed) member needs and expectations. Given the magnitude and rapidity of change in the tax world, TEI must seek to embrace new ideas and "new ways of doing business."

Communication

For nearly 60 years, TEI has been delivering high-value education, advocacy, and networking opportunities to members of the business tax community. In many respects, a key component of the Institute's intrinsic value is communication--from a networking perspective, communication between and among members; and from an advocacy perspective, communication between the members (individually or through its committees or staff) and government officials (tax administrators as well as policymakers and their staffs), other tax-related groups, and media representatives...