A winning team.

• Author: McDonough, Robert J.

I'm a Red Sox fan. I used those words at the beginning of my first column as TEI President nearly a year ago, and it seems fitting to use them again in my last column. It's been a good year to be a Red Sox fan. The team's World Series victory, coming as it did on the heels of TEI's Annual Conference in Orlando, was especially sweet. Of course, it is also a good year to be a Celtics fan, and except for the last minute or so of the Superbowl, it wasn't too bad a task to root for the New England Patriots.

The smile on my face, however, owes itself to more than the success of Boston area sports teams: It is at least as attributable to the satisfaction and pride I feel because of the dedication, the efforts, and accomplishments of Tax Executives Institute's exemplary team of volunteers and staff during my year as TEI's president. In a time of challenge for tax professionals, business, and the world as a whole, the Institute and its members responded in a manner befitting our founders and our storied history. In this column, I review TEI's accomplishments over the past year and offer some well-deserved words of thanks.

Last August, the Board of Directors approved a set of goals that were grouped under the words--

Teamwork, Excellence, and Integrity. While the framework of this year's goals was a bit different, the principles behind them have been constant since 1944. For more than six decades, TEI has devoted itself to enhancing and improving the tax system and to serving its members, their employers, and society generally. We've done this by facilitating interaction among, and the training of, members and their staffs, by effectively advocating its members' views, and by promoting competence and professionalism in both the private and government sectors.

Teamwork

One of TEI's principal goals this year has been to build a larger, more inclusive team of tax professionals throughout the world. The purpose was not growth for growth's sake, but rather to enrich the membership experience for ALL members by drawing more people into the TEI network. Hence, our focus was not only on possibly establishing new chapters in China, Australia, India, Mexico, and elsewhere, but on expanding the involvement of Chief Tax Officers in the Institute's activities.

As to the our growth abroad, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the outstanding efforts of our European and Asia Chapters that continue to grow by leaps and bounds. The European Chapter--whose May...