Speaking before the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Governnance Conference, Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman said that directors need to take a more active role in managing tax audit procedures. “Tax strategies can also present a financial and restatement risk, and sometimes when the cases are high profile, a significant risk to corporate reputations,” said Shulman. “In today’s business climate, the general public has little tolerance for overly aggressive tax planning that can be viewed as corporations playing tax games.” Shulman advised that directors educate themselves to tax risk and apply more rigorous standards to independent tax firms.
A transcript of IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman’s full speech before the NACD Governance Conference can be read here.