Continuing education program set for 2006-2007: Canadian course, seminars on financial reporting, IRS audits and appeals.

TEI will field a strong lineup of conferences, seminars, and courses for the year, according to Robert J. McDonough, the 2006-2007 Continuing Education Committee Chair. In addition to the three-day Annual and Midyear Conferences in October and March--keystone events on TEI's annual calendar--other highlights include a Canadian Tax Course, a seminar on Financial Reporting for Tax Executives, seminars on advanced state and local tax planning issues and on transfer-pricing developments, the Institute's perennial IRS audits and appeals program, and the signature event for top-level management, TEI's senior tax executives conference. In addition, five other week-long courses on federal, state and local, and international issues will be offered. The Institute will also continue supplementing its schedule with telephone and web seminars on late-breaking, time-sensitive developments.

"The program for the year represents an incredible value for TEI members," Mr. McDonough said. "The Institute's programs are clearly the best educational bargain in North America." He also noted that there were no fee increases in the programs for the year.

For the first time since 1999, the Canadian Tax Course will be offered September 17-22 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto. "If history is a guide," Mr. McDonough said, "the course will not be repeated for several years, so interested members should not miss this opportunity to learn about Canadian taxes."

Building on the success of similar programs offered in 2004 and 2005, the Institute will again offer a seminar on Financial Reporting for Tax Executives on November 15-16 at the Westin O'Hare in Chicago. The focus of the two-day program will be on FIN 48 on Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes.

"In addition to making the financial reporting program a perennial part of the Institute's educational offerings, the Continuing Education Committee has decided to supplement this year's core two-day financial reporting seminar with an optional one-day Back to Basics FAS 109 workshop." The optional program will afford participants an opportunity to learn or review the basic "how-to" of accounting for income taxes under FAS 109 and immediately precedes the financial reporting seminar on November 14. Participants will be able to register for the one-day workshop, the two-day seminar, or all three days.

"The issuance of FIN48 has sparked considerable interest," according to Mr. McDonough. On August 3, more than 500 tax professionals listened to TEI's two-hour telephone seminar on the new accounting standard. If that is any guide--and we believe it is--our November programs will be oversold."

Other mainstays of the Institute's educational programs, the popular audits and appeals program and the senior tax executive conference, will return in February and May 2007, respectively. "Both programs may sell out," Mr. McDonough predicted. New seminar offerings this year will include a December seminar on advanced topics in state and local tax planning and an April 2007 seminar on transfer-pricing developments.

David L. Bernard, TEI's 2006-2007 President, reported plans for the Annual Conference program, which will be held in October in Scottsdale, Arizona, are nearly complete. "The program and registration forms will be on the website in mid-August," he said. He added that the Institute will continue its practice of offering a discount to early registrants. Tax executives who register by September 29 will receive a discount of $50. (The Annual Conference is the subject of another article in this issue, and full particulars are available at www.tei.org.)

"TEI has an outstanding year ahead for both tax generalists and subject matter experts," Mr. McDonough concluded.

The calendar for the year is elsewhere in this issue. More detailed information is available at www.tei.org.