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Weekly UpdatesImagine that one day you received a call from the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Charles Rossotti, saying, "I want to consider the opportunity of a lifetime, a business proposition to transform tax administration for corporate America." You can:
* Build your own leadership team
* Set the strategic direction and plans for execution
* Restructure the organization to meet business needs
* Establish new performance metrics and balanced measures to reflect business results, customer satisfaction AND employee satisfaction
* Reengineer business processes AND IT systems to modernize tax administration
Your job--should you choose to accept it--will be to create a customer-focused organization in a way that reinforces all of the principles of sound tax administration for all of America, integrity, fairness, efficiency and effectiveness, an organization that institutionalizes the change and uses both service and enforcement to improve compliance.
And if THAT wasn't enough ... you get to work with Larry Langdon, who was a past president of TEI and a good person, and as I quickly came to find out, a great leader. There were a number of extraordinary LMSB leaders, many of whom are here today, and I share this with you, my colleagues in public service, I applaud you. [Special note needs be made of Linda Burke, another past TEI president, who is here today and who served as LMSB's first Division Counsel.]
However, that is only part of the equation. You can best serve the public when the public knows that they have a voice. You can only be successful in creating a customer-focused organization when you truly focus on the unique needs and behaviors and business models of the customer. One of the strongest voices was the Tax Executive Institute at the chapter, regional and national level. TEI opened doors to allow for two-way communication around the nation. Groups were formed to work issues collaboratively, people within the Service and taxpayers took risks to try new ways of working together to find the win-win or know quickly when they could not. While we did not always agree on every issue, TEI had influence, if not on what was done, then on the how. TEI members always knew that their interests would be shared through their leadership and that LMSB would listen. A relationship of trust was built over time and I know that Frank [Ng, current LMSB Commissioner,] and his team will ensure that that relationship will continue to [be part of] the LMSB culture.
I would be remiss if I did not thank the past TEI presidents who continued to lead TEI in a way that facilitated our relationship from 1999 to present: Chuck Shewbridge, Betty Wilson, Bob Ashby, Drew Glennie, Ray Rossi, Judy Zelisko, Mike Boyle, Dave Bernard, and Bob McDonough.
And of course my dear friend, Mike Murphy, who was the executive director of TEI and helped set the tone of collaboration, and Tim McCormally who continued it. Thanks, Tim, Mary Lou [Fahey], Eli [Dicker]....
Well, looking back, we had "Big Hairy Audacious Goals" or BHAGS. Pre-filing agreements were a huge step, the Compliance Assurance Process or CAP was only a dream. Look at it now. Returns were filed with truckloads and boxes of paper stored in service centers and look what we have today. Who would have thought that four countries would be co-located to approach tax administration the way corporations approach business--globally? Hiring revenue agents directly at senior grades with senior professional experience in the field was unheard of. The dispute resolution tools and ways to drive efficiency in tax administration, Fast Track, LIFE, M-3, Industry Issue Resolution were all designed with the same objective in mind. These are but a few examples of some dramatic shifts in process and behaviors that had occurred, all while dealing with tax shelters, new legislation, leadership turnover, record attrition and hiring of the workforce, and a few tweaks of the organization to strive for continual improvement.
None of this could have been accomplished without a strong leadership team, a professional workforce, and external stakeholders who trusted us to "do the right thing" and cared enough to "make a difference." I thank TEI for this honor, for speaking up and acting, in a constructive way over the past eight years, and for continuing to work with the Service to have a tax administration of which we can all be proud.
Thank you.
Editor's Note: On April 7, 2008, Tax Executives Institute presented its Distinguished Service Award to Deborah M. Nolan for her more than 30 years of service with the Internal Revenue Service, which culminated in her being Commissioner of the IRS's Large and Mid-Size Division. Ms. Nolan received the award during TEI's 58th Midyear Conference, which was held in Washington, D.C. Excerpts of her remarks are reprinted below.
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