A year in review - by joining together, TEI and its members grew.

• Author: O'Connor, Paul
• Position: Tax Executives Institute

A year ago, when I became TEI's President, few TEI members likely envisioned the buffeting that the economy would endure or the changes to be wrought to the political landscape. I know I didn't. August 2010 seems such long time ago. Before the 2010 election and the ascendancy of the Tea Party. Before the worsening of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. Before the debt ceiling debate in the United States. Before an almost single-minded devotion to deficit reduction crowded out discussion of what, in those quiet days of yesteryear, seemed transcendent--a focus on jobs--and truly possible--a debate on tax reform.

What I had no trouble imagining a year ago, however, is that TEI would respond--and respond well--to whatever challenges came our way. I am delighted to report that is precisely what happened. Last year, TEI adopted the theme of "Join Us, Grow with Us," and we pursued objectives relating to our educational, advocating, networking, and management activities that would advance that theme and TEI's overall mission of serving the in-house tax community. We made progress in all four areas.

Educating: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World

While tax reform has (once again) taken a back seat to other priorities, the tax world has not been moribund. Policymakers and tax administrators have not been idle, and the uncertainty that characterizes the world economy has does nothing to mute the demand for companies to be more tax efficient and to do more with less. With every ruling or regulation, every court case, and every initiative emanating from the OECD or EU, tax executives have found themselves in need of comprehensive, affordable training.

And, as it has since 1944, the need has been met by TEI. During the past year, at the Institute level, TEI held 10 educational programs, which drew registrations nearly aggregating 2,000. They ranged from our week-long courses on Federal, International, and State & Local taxation, to advanced seminars on specialized topics (Consolidated Returns, Financial Reporting, International Tax Planning and Compliance, IRS Audits and Appeals, and the IRS's new Schedule UTP) to the capstones--our Annual and Midyear Conferences.

Special mention is due our Schedule UTP seminar and annual tax controversy seminar. The IRS's initiative on the reporting of uncertain tax positions has been a major focus of TEI's since it was announced in January 2010. Thus, it was only natural for us to hold a special one-day meeting...