The Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values at Washington University to host "An Ethics Forum for Tax Practitioners" Oct. 29

Oct. 18, 2004 -- The Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values, in conjunction with the John M. Olin School of Business and the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, will present a tax ethics forum on Oct. 29.

"An Ethics Forum for Tax Practitioners" will be held from 8:45 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, preceded by a continental breakfast at 7:45 a.m., at May Auditorium in John E. Simon Hall.

Conference topics include: the standard of care applicable to tax professionals and whether it is affected by competition from other tax advisers; corporate tax shelters and professional conflicts of interest; pending amendments to the IRS standards of practice; and whether practitioners owe duties to the tax system or to persons other than their clients.

Peter J. Wiedenbeck, the Joseph H. Zumbalen Professor of Law, and Nancy Pechloff, CPA, of the Olin School of Business will moderate the forum featuring five panelists.

The panelists are:

•James G. Castellano, CPA, chairman of Rubin, Brown, Gornstein and Co. of Clayton. Castellano has testified before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection as well as the Senate Banking Committee. He currently serves as chairman of Fontbonne University's Council of Regents, on the board of trustees at Rockhurst University in Kansas City and on the board of directors of Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Foundation.

•Tom Herman, senior special writer of the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of the paper's "Tax Report" and "Ask Dow Jones" weekly columns. He has received the Excellence in Financial Journalism Award from the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is co-author with Douglas R. Sease of The Flat Tax Primer.

•Cono Namorato, director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility and former partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of Caplin & Drysdale. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and was chief, assistant chief and a trial attorney in the criminal section of the Tax Division.

•Christopher S. Rizek, an attorney with Caplin & Drysdale of Washington, D.C. He represents taxpayers in all types of federal, civil and criminal tax controversy matters, and guides clients through IRS audits and other tax-related matters. Most recently, he was an attorney-adviser and Associate Tax Legislative Counsel with the U.S. Treasury Department.

•Bernard Wolfman, Fessenden Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is the author of articles in law reviews and professional journals as well as several books on the ethics of tax practice. He teaches in the field of federal income taxation and previously served as a tax policy consultant to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Admission is free with a University I.D. Regular admission is $10. CPE or CLE credits are available. Continuing education tuition is $75. For registration and further information, visit the Center's website at http:// humanvalues.wustl.edu/ or call 935-9358.