North American International Tax Conference 2022
Record attendance drives opportunities within the international tax arena
The opportunity to network in person and discuss fast-changing tax developments with world-leading experts attracted over 400 delegates to this year’s North American International Tax Conference.
Held at the Roosevelt New Orleans November 9-11, the conference featured a busy programme of high-quality content with more opportunities than ever to get to know colleagues from Praxity member firms around the world.
With so much happening on the tax front, both in North America and internationally, the 2022 programme was divided into three tracks – a general overview, advanced learning for experienced professionals, and industry/country focus on global developments including oversight of the tax function. A welcome addition was practical examples and discussions from both a U.S. and global perspective.
One of the highlights was the ‘bootcamp’ event for Praxity newbies. The bootcamp was introduced this year to help new international tax accountants and consultants:
- Learn basic technical content;
- Get up to speed with Praxity;
- Meet colleagues from around the world;
- Study foundational international tax concepts;
- Provide Praxity newbies with skills necessary to be successful in the profession.
“great external speakers”
This year’s conference also featured standout presentations provided by the highly respected speakers, Ed Karl, VP of Taxation at AICPA, and James Prappas, Immigration Attorney and Director at Kane Russell Coleman & Logan.
Randall Janiczek, International Tax Partner at Plante Moran, praised the “great external speakers” and general quality of debate. He added: “We did a few more broad-based plenary sessions with high-level topics including Pillar 1 & 2, cryptocurrency and the IRS (Internal Revenue Services) controversy.”
International tax reporting was one of the most hotly debated issues this year. Randall explained many people share the view that reporting could be refined in a much simpler way than governments and tax authorities are requiring. There remains the feeling that international reporting complexity is placing an unnecessary burden on tax professionals.
Justin Stenberg, International Tax Partner at FORVIS and Chair of the North American International Tax Conference Working Group, said this year’s event was a “fantastic” event with a “tremendous amount of informal networking” and great participation. He added: “I think our technical content and the quality of our programme content was exceptional. The highlight was having the opportunity to reconnect with, and see so many people, bolster and nurture existing relationships and create new relationships.”
Carlos Somoza, International Tax Principal at Kaufman Rossin, said: “It was nice to see colleagues we hadn’t seen in three years. There was definitely more bonding and people were asking each other ‘how are you doing’ and ‘how is your family’.”
He said one of the themes to emerge at the conference was how firms can continue to ensure the high-quality of service that clients expect with their existing hard-working staff. Such challenges underline the importance of being able to connect with colleagues from around the world and share concerns, best practice and expertise for mutual benefit.
The conference also featured a session dedicated to LATAM. Bernardo Del Rio, Managing Partner of J.A. Del Rio in Mexico, commented: “We had a very informative session with people from Praxity member firms looking to get to know the capabilities of the Latin American firms. In one fail swoop the firms were able to meet a slew of professionals covering the main countries in the region to know how they could help their clients, and the challenges they faced.”
Organisers hope to build on these connections next year, with increased opportunities for informal networking alongside the high-quality sessions that the event has become renowned for. That, and great food in an exceptional venue, which drew plaudits this time around. The bar has been set high.
See you in Texas!
Plans are already underway for Praxity’s 2023 conference season and preparations for the next North American International Tax Conference in Austin, Texas, are creating a buzz. Austin is one of the fastest-growing and exciting cities in the U.S., and organisers are expecting a high attendance!
To find out more, please contact the Praxity events team at conferences@praxity.com.