Finding a Financial Voice In Washington

By maintaining an office in the nation’s capital, FEI has the ability to share the concerns of financial executives directly with the appropriate legislators and regulators.

There are 11 committees and roundtables that form the bulk of FEI’s legislative and regulatory outreach. • Benefits Finance • Corporate Reporting • Corporate Treasury • Financial Accounting and Reporting Roundtable • Finance and Information Technology • Government Business • Governance, Risk and Compliance • Private Company Policy • Private Company Standards • Private Company Roundtable • Taxation

These committees and roundtables address specific member interests and allow significant expertise to be brought to bear in developing FEI’s regulatory and legislative positions. Most committees have 30-45 members, and many are actively seeking new membership.

Committees meet quarterly over teleconference or in person. FEI’s roundtables have a much wider audience of several hundred, and complete their quarterly meetings via conference calls or webinars.

There is a saying in Washington, “If you aren’t at the table, you are likely on the menu.” These committees and roundtables were created to give FEI a much-needed voice in Washington. The committees are only as strong as the members who are involved. We welcome your participation.

To find out more please contact Tyler Roberts, manager of Government Affairs in FEI’s Washington, D.C. office at [email protected].

Committee on Private Company Policy Founded in 1997, FEI’s Committee on Private Company Policy (CPC-P) is primarily responsible for responding to Congress and the Administration on issues affecting privately held and family-owned businesses. This is achieved through committee-drafted letters, group letters with other organizations, written and oral congressional testimony, and in-person meetings with elected leaders. The CPC-P committee is comprised of over active 35 members, with many belonging since its creation.

In the last five years, FEI’s CPC-P has submitted or signed onto almost 50 letters on issues including comprehensive tax reform, the estate tax, IC-DISC, America’s debt and deficit, the federal budget, provisions in the Affordable Care Act and onerous regulations that could affect private companies negatively. FEI is also an active member of coalitions protecting the interests of privately held and family-owned businesses.

The interests of FEI’s private companies have also been represented through congressional testimony. The many benefits of congressional testimony include direct interaction with elected leaders, media exposure, archived testimony in the Congressional Record — and most importantly — the ability to help direct or shift the debate on vital issues.

Most recently, FEI was represented by a member of the CPC-P before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means. Testimony by Mark Smetana, chief financial officer of Eby-Brown Company, based in Naperville, Ill., focused on the treatment of privately held and family-owned businesses in several tax reform proposals before the Committee. In part, Smetana said, “America’s privately held businesses are the backbone to our economic success story. Recognizing the importance of private companies is vital since any workable tax reform must address businesses regardless of their form of organization.”

The CPC-P has also submitted considerable written testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, and continues to encourage FEI members who might have an interest in appearing before a congressional committee.

Congressional Fly-ins: The CPC-P is the linchpin of FEI’s Washington, D.C., congressional fly-in program. The fly-in provides an opportunity for senior financial executives to meet directly with elected leaders and their senior staffs on issues impacting their companies. Committee members have met with over 100 congressional offices, as well as House leadership including Speaker John Boehner (Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (Ill.), and with Senate Leaders Harry Reid (Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.)

A number of ongoing relationships have been forged between committee members, staffers and elected leaders during these annual meetings.

FEI continues to lead on many topics that are vital to financial executives, including comprehensive tax reform. In doing so, FEI is recognized as a true thought leader in Washington. In April 2013, FEI’s CPC-P was invited to meet eight congressional offices that made up a subcommittee on S-corporations and how they should be treated during tax reform. Included in the meeting were the leaders of the Joint Committee on Taxation.

CPC-P also meets every few months via teleconferences where members share ideas and hone the committee’s response to legislative and regulatory developments.

Private Companies for Tax Fairness Coalition Private Companies for Tax Fairness (PCTF), coordinated by FEI, is a coalition of over 20 large and middle-market businesses that provides a voice to private companies in the coming tax reform debate in Congress.

PCTF was formed as it became evident members of Congress and the Obama Administration did not fully understand why privately held companies were organized as pass-through entities. The coalition believes strongly in a comprehensive solution to tax reform. PCTF supports lowering the corporate rate, but believes that cannot be achieved on the backs of privately held and family-owned businesses that rely on the individual rates. All rates on business income must be lowered concurrently to achieve parity and assure fairness for all businesses.

Through congressional fly-ins, letter-writing campaigns, media interviews, and direct member engagement, the PCTF advocates for America’s private businesses in the areas of rate parity, international taxation, and a simplified and stable taxation system.

PCTF has held a number of in-person events in Washington, D.C., to further the discussion on a comprehensive tax reform solution. Over the last year, the PCTF has met with over 15 congressional offices that are members of the powerful tax-writing committees in the House and Senate. The group has also met with senior leadership in the Congress. These interactions allow the coalition to get front and center with leaders making the pivotal tax reform decisions that will affect the nation’s privately held and family-owned businesses.

Getting Involved FEI’s private company committees and roundtable are always looking for new members that want to be part of the national discussion. There are many levels of involvement. Based on past participation, many who started as members of the PCR transitioned to become members of the CPC-P and PCTF.

Private Company Roundtable In 2010, FEI saw a need to further involve its private company membership. While many members do not have time to get involved directly in the CPC-P’s multiple activities, there was interest in keeping current on congressional end regulatory activities. Responding to that interest, FEI formed the Private Company Roundtable (PCR).

The PCR is currently comprised of nearly 400 senior financial executives from 67 FEI chapters that meet by teleconference each quarter. These calls cover a range of topics, but have a central focus on what legislators and regulators are currently doing. Over the last four years, the PCR has hosted many of Washington’s most influential thought leaders for a direct discussion with this group. The average teleconference/webinar has over 100 participants and allows for an engaging discussion on key issues.