Conversations with Your Fall Tax School Instructors

Fall Tax School is right around the corner – in-person events begin Nov. 5 and online sessions begin Nov. 19. We are so pleased to have an outstanding line-up of instructors: Bob Rhea, Jerry Brune, Catherine Riddick, and Keith Baum. We recently sat down with each of them during the instructor prep sessions in early September to ask a few questions about the tax industry, their teaching method, and why they strongly believe in the importance of Fall Tax School.

Q: What motivates you to stay at the forefront of the tax industry?

Bob: The tax industry is one of the places where lifelong learning continues in a way that everybody can enjoy and participate in. It’s a way that we can help understand the laws that emanate from Washington, D.C., and how they impact our clients. Being at the heart of the tax law industry helps us understand how to bridge the gap between knowledge at the policy level and implementing that for our client’s benefit.

Catherine: So, I’m motivated to stay up and current with what’s happening in our industry because that’s what allows me to give the best information and advice to my clients, as well as helping our Tax School participants give great advice and recommendations to their clients.

Jerry: I found that preparing taxes requires constant updating because the landscape is always changing. It’s imperative never to stand still and always move forward because you just never know when you’ll learn something that will help one or more of your clients.

Keith: It’s been said that nowadays to be a successful professional, you must learn, unlearn, and relearn every day. And that’s exactly what we do as tax professionals. I appreciate that challenge because sometimes it’s easy to do what we’ve done before, but we can’t do that anymore. Law changes too fast. The world changes too fast.

We had a slogan here at Tax School a few years ago: “It’s not about knowledge, it’s about know-how.” So that’s what I appreciate about being able to instruct at Fall Tax School. It keeps us on the cutting edge so that we’re always taking what’s new and what’s for the best use for our clients.

Q: What excites you most about Fall Tax School?

Keith: This year Fall Tax School, like every year, has some challenging things, so we’re going to dive deeper. It’s got some new things we’ve never seen before, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of making it practical so that I remember everything I said that can benefit my clients and that those who come to school can do the same thing.

Jerry: I think the thing that I enjoy the most about this school is that I’m a preparer too, and I need to know the different things that we offer in the Federal Tax Workbook for my own practice and to help my clients.

Bob: This year is going to be exciting as we think about planning way ahead, what might happen not only in 2024 but also in 2025. I’m excited to be back with my teaching partners, Keith, Catherine, and Jerry, and our Federal Tax Workbook is in great shape this year. We’re going to have a lot of great content to share with our participants.

Catherine: One of the things I think is the most exciting this year is even though we don’t have new tax legislation yet, we still have two days of technical information to help our participants take back and use for their clients.

Q: What are the advantages of team-teaching?

Jerry: With team-teaching, it’s not one instructor lecturing to you, but two. It’s more like, I know the way I approach it as an instructor, as I’m having a conversation with my teaching partner, just like I might be having a conversation with one of the participants. We talk about the things in the Federal Tax Workbook that we’re trying to get across to attendees in a way they can understand in plain language.

Bob: The University of Illinois Fall Tax School is unique in its team-teaching approach. For several years, we have adopted this method of instruction, which provides the talents of two instructors leading the discussion on each topic. They’re able to discuss with each other the benefits and experiences they’ve had in dealing with issues of complexity and how they can best benefit their clients. And this discussion is rich and benefits the attendees.

Catherine: Using team-teaching allows all the instructors to bring out the best in everyone. And so, any of our participants have the advantage of information from two practices. So, when Keith and I are teaching together, for example, we have things that we can bring out examples from both his practice as well as mine. In my own experience, instruction from some other CE providers is delivered by only one instructor. and that can get a little boring. And we like to keep it interesting with two of us at the front.

Keith: I love team-teaching with Catherine Riddick because she’s really, really smart and her practice is different from mine. So, as we’re instructing together on material, I’ll ask, “Hey, how does this work in your practice?” or I’ll say, “This is how it works in my practice.” And I see Bob and Jerry do the same thing when they team-teach.

This year, we’re going to mix up the partners even more. So, you’ll see me with Jerry a little bit. You’ll see Catherine with Bob. And again, the idea is you get to learn not just from what we’re saying, but from what we do every day in our office. A lot of other continuing education providers don’t do it that way. You’re just hearing one person talk for hours about what they currently do or what they used to do.

Q: Why is Fall Tax School important for tax professionals?

Catherine: So, I think tax school participants want to attend so they can find new and inventive ways to use tax law to the advantage of their clients.

Bob: When tax professionals attend the University of Illinois Fall Tax School, they’re able to be the most up-to-date on current issues. They’ll understand the most important topics that will be on their clients’ minds as they plan for the 2024 tax filing season, and they’ll get the updates they need to be sure they’re providing the best service they can for their clients annually.

Keith: Coming to Fall Tax School gives participants the Federal Tax Workbook, but more importantly, it gives them instructors who have a practice just like theirs. Or maybe the instructors have a practice like the one a participant wants to have. And as we go through the Federal Tax Workbook chapter by chapter and we pull out what’s most relevant for us, chances are it’s most relevant for attendees too.

Jerry: When tax professionals come to the University of Illinois Fall Tax School, we hope that we give them good information. We do a lot of the research so they don’t have to. And we tell them where they can find the source for anything that they’d like to know more about.

Learn more about Fall Tax School and register soon.