Wayne Monfries.

• Position: EMERGING LEADER

Wayne Monfries views himself as a translator, not of foreign languages, but of the sometimes differing vocabularies and nuances spoken or written by those who work in the world of corporate tax and by those who ply their trade in various corporate operations or on the consulting side of business.

For Monfries, as vice president and chief tax officer at Nike Inc., "translating" is an important and sometimes challenging responsibility. "The lack of understanding regarding the mechanics of corporate taxation and its impact on business results calls out for translation. As tax professionals, we play an important role in educating others about the corporate tax system and tracking and managing changes and impacts as they evolve," he explains. "While some believe we simply need to multiply profit times a tax rate to come up with a tax number, this is where our profession can really serve as a tax educator across organizations today."

Right now, he says, the most interesting part of his job is working on corporate tax reform, which clearly is relevant to both the operational and the tax side of Nike and which should not, if all goes well, get lost in translation. "Dealing with tax reform policy and regulation brings together everything we do--tax accounting, tax compliance, cash repatriation planning, and tax audit management--so we're designing a tax system that works for many different stakeholders," he explains.

High School Roots

Monfries' interest in tax began in high school. "I loved mathematics and working with numbers, so tax and accounting were a natural fit from a career perspective. I used to hear about various celebrities who wound up in financial trouble or worse due to tax issues," Monfries notes. When faced with what to choose for a career day for one of his high school classes, he selected tax and financial planning. (Can you picture a display table with a 10-key and ledger book?) "More research on the profession reinforced how important it is to have knowledge about things that significantly impact your life. Taxes is one of those areas where many have a lack of understanding, and I felt I could apply my passion and my ability to help educate others," Monfries explains.

Transfer Pricing Rules

The most problematic tax-law issue Monfries has encountered in his career involves the recent challenges brought about by OECD's BEPS project and the UK's Diverted Profits Tax to existing transfer pricing rules. However, Monfries adds, "many...