Chapter programs showcase TEI's best: fall travels ... and from the mailbag.

This fall has been an incredibly busy time for TEI and its chapters. During September, I was pleased to attend two very special chapter meetings. The first was the New York Chapter's Fifth Annual Financial Services Conference, which was held in Manhattan the third week of September. The conference, which the chapter hosted in conjunction with the IRS's Large and Mid-Size Business Division, provided TEI members and other tax professionals the opportunity to meet with their IRS counterparts and to attend sessions on Schedule M-3, Corporate E-Filing, LMSB's new Compliance Assurance Process, Reportable Transactions, and Penalty Administration, as well as breakout sessions on banking, securities, and insurance issues. Deputy IRS Chief Counsel Don Rocen delivered an informative luncheon address at which he announced a Chief Counsel initiative to study and revamp the process for providing "case-specific" guidance (such as private letter rulings, technical advice requests, and pre-filing agreements). Congratulations to Chapter President Barry Agranoff, Conference Chair Paul Heller, LMSB Financial Services Industry Director Paul DeNard, and their colleagues in the New York Chapter and LMSB for planning and executing an outstanding conference.

The second meeting was held a week later in Troy, Michigan. Cosponsored by the Detroit Chapter and the Association for Computers & Taxation (ACT), the 2005 Tax Technology Day attracted a near capacity crowd at the Michigan State University's Management Education Center in Troy. Among the topics covered were document management systems, e-filing (again!), managing the human side of change, automating your provision process, and "cool tools"--that is to say, nifty new programs or devices to improve productivity and, just possibly, inject a bit of fun in a tax executive's use of technology. The program also featured a mini-vendor exposition that permitted registrants to view the latest products and services in the tax technology realm. I congratulate Detroit Chapter President Jim Seiwert, as well as Kevin Little, for their efforts in planning the program, and extend TEI's appreciation to our colleagues at ACT for making this "experiment in collaboration" a total success.

While the chapters remain the venue where most TEI members and their staffs receive their training, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Institute's September 22-23 seminar on Financial Reporting for Tax Executives. From beginning to end, this program was outstanding. Special thanks go to Neil Traubenberg, chair of the Institute's Financial Reporting Task Force, and Susan Bauer, chair of the Federal Tax Committee--as well as Tax Counsel Jeff Rasmussen--for constructing a program and attracting a faculty that was second to none. I also want to acknowledge the stellar efforts of TEI's conference planning staff (especially Kate Dancy) who managed the Institute's largest two-day program ever. (Nearly 400 people attended the seminar in Chicago, surpassing the record the same program set last year in Las Vegas.)

TEI Crosses Another Ocean

A full report will be included in the November-December issue of Tax Executive, but members should note that TEI's newest chapter has begun meeting on the "other side" of the world. Chartered by the Board in April, the Asia Chapter held its first meetings in Singapore in October. Building upon his experience in helping found the European Chapter five years ago, Bill Ramirez helped organize the chapter and the programs, but true to form, many (new) TEI members pitched in to make the chapter's inaugural meetings (a multi-day training program on U.S. taxation and a one-day members-only update session) quite successful. The chapter's next meeting will be held in late November in Hong Kong. Check TEI's website for details.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, there have also been developments of interest and pride. The European Chapter hosted a two-day meeting at the Hague, with a primary focus being supply chain reorganizations. Congratulations to Mark Gyorog, chapter president, and his colleagues for planning an excellent meeting.

The second European development was the editorial decision of the U.S.-based International Tax Review to run a cover story on TEI President Mike Boyle and the Institute's plans for the coming year. Most readers of The Tax Executive know the benefits of belonging to TEI, but if you (or any one you work with) needs convincing, I encourage you to take a look at the interview with Mike.

Correspondence

Mike Boyle's column this issue quotes a letter from the son of Paul Smith, TEI's founder and the president of the organization from 1944 to 1950. Two of my recent correspondents followed in Mr. Smith's footsteps in 1967-1968 and 1983-1984. A letter from Charles Gebhardt of the Cincinnati Chapter reminded me that he and his wife had attended the Institute's 50th Anniversary Celebration 11 years ago in San Francisco, and then observed: "The New Orleans disaster always brings to mind two great conferences TEI held there; one when I was in the Pittsburgh Chapter and later Cincinnati." Charley, who led the organization nearly four decades ago, informed us that he wouldn't be able to attend this year's conference in San Diego, but he extended good wishes to everyone who attended, including Morris Rinehart, our 1964-1965 president, who "stole the show" last year when TEI returned (alas, without the Gebhardts) to New Orleans.

The second past president I heard from is Paul Barrese of the New York Chapter, who led the organization in the year after I joined the staff. Paul also extended regrets at not being able to attend the San Diego Conference, noting that the dates conflicted with Marie's and his 57th wedding anniversary. He added, "Regards to all, especially Jim Murray [of the Portland Chapter] who is a very dear friend. He definitely deserves the honor being bestowed at the conference." [Note: Jim, who served as 1996-1997 president, became an Honorary Member upon a vote of the Board of Directors in August.]

One final letter deserves mention. Bob House was a long-time member of the New Jersey Chapter, who had to resign in 2003 when he took a job as a revenue agent with the Internal Revenue Service. I recall hearing from Bob at the time that one of the most difficult things about leaving industry and going to work for the IRS was surrendering his TEI membership. A few weeks ago Bob wrote me again to tell me another career change--this time from the IRS to a tax recruiting firm. He wrote: "So, I am now a tax recruiter and, I hope, can help all those who have lent me a hand throughout my career. By the way, the owner of this firm placed me at Witco in 1980. Ten years later I told him at lunch that I would be letting my membership in TEI lapse because I just lost my job with Concurrent Computer (Chapter 11). He then pulled out his checkbook and wrote me a check to cover my dues. He told me TEI is too important to walk away from. True to form, I stayed there until I got thrown out!"

Membership Satisfaction Survey Coming

TEI's resolution every year is to better serve the members. As reported in the last issue of The Tax Executive, we have contracted with a new international expediter to speed our mailings to our Canadian, European, and Asian members. Based on preliminary feedback (and experience from three mailings), service to our non-U.S, members is improving. Similarly, we're making strides to improve the stability of and content of our website.

These modest improvements aside, there's much more we can do. To this end, we'll be conducting a membership satisfaction survey in January 2006 to obtain your feedback on what we're doing well, what we're not doing that we should, and how we can make your jobs as tax executives better. For example, one idea we're exploring is whether TEI should adopt a "certification" program for either TEI members or their departments. We'll be formally asking your opinion of this idea--and soliciting your own ideas--in our survey. So please put on your thinking caps between now and January. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

TEI Staff Expands

Finally, TEI extends a welcome to Jason Fraser, who joined the staff on September 26 as Conference Planning Coordinator. Jason, a University of Kansas graduate who previously worked for the American Bankruptcy Institute, will work with Deborah Gaffney and Kate Dancy to plan and manage TEI's continuing education conferences. Welcome, Jason!

TEI Executive Director Timothy J. McCormally