Director of Taxes and Executive Officer for National Beverage Corp. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has also worked with Milton Roy Company in St. Petersburg, Florida as the Director of Taxes and with Lykes Bros. Inc. in Tampa, Florida as the Corporate Tax Manager. Mr. Brockman commenced his tax career in Big Eight/Big Four public accounting in Tampa, Florida in 1979. Mr. Brockman received his BS in Accounting and Finance as well as his MST from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.


(KJ): What is your view of a successful tax department?

(KB): As a result of rebuilding several tax departments from reactionary compliance centers to proactive departments recognized as “The Gold Standard,” I believe that success is derived from a vision of how a tax department should function and concentrating on the value-added functions which result in the greatest benefit. For example, it is really encouraging to hear that procedures which you developed are being advocated by international consultants as “Best Practice” standards. In order to accomplish those objectives, finding the unique mix of individuals seeking a common goal to exceed strategic objectives is the ultimate key to success.


(KJ): How do you guide your tax department to partner successfully throughout the organization?

(KB): I highly encourage all members of the tax department to engage in projects which involve extensive interaction on a multi-departmental basis at Corporate Headquarters, as well as personnel from all over the world. Most importantly, they are also given latitude in deriving creative results in achieving solutions which meet everyone’s objectives. The forum for additional learning, in addition to a focus on issues from beginning to end, instills an ever greater interest by the tax department personnel to create additional partnership opportunities in seeking to apply a “Best Practices” approach on a daily basis.


 (KJ): What are the advantages and disadvantages of your geographical boundaries when conducting business?

(KB): Advantages of a global business is that it allows a company to align itself with its global customer base, while retaining the ability to quickly adapt to its customer’s needs and local requirements. The global nature of the business lends transparency to the business without sacrificing quality. However, disadvantages arise from multitude foreign currencies and laws of differing jurisdictions that create an inherently more complex operation. A unique opportunity therefore presents itself for someone to recognize those anomalies and create additional opportunities as new boundaries are being explored.


(KJ): What are your strongest abilities in the tax profession?

(KB): Leadership, creativity and designing strategic objectives are my strongest abilities. These three traits have led to my success in the tax profession and to my current role as Corporate Treasurer; directing global tax, treasury and M&A pursuits including coordinating company due diligence.


(KJ): What does “success” mean to you?

(KB): “Success” is performing all activities with the utmost sense of passion. Passion creates excitement and heightens creativity, producing many different types of “success” which are usually not envisioned. This sense of passion extends to others around you, making those efforts even more precise and enjoyable.  


(KJ): Do you think companies generally have a good handle now on tax accounting or are more difficult times ahead?

(KB): All companies have been forced, via Sarbanes-Oxley and the promulgation of new U.S. financial accounting standards such as FIN 48, to extensively document the tax accounting process and the relevant assumptions. Therefore, I believe that companies, and their respective Board of Directors and Audit Committees, have a clearer understanding of tax accounting. However, FIN 48 introduces a new era of tax accounting; one in which assumptions and methodologies employed will be utilized to determine purely subjective terms and apply percentages for “more likely than not” tax positions to determine the financial accounting treatment. As a result, greater risk is introduced into the tax accounting process, requiring more expertise and resources.  


(KJ): What factors will be most influential in determining what you will do next?

(KB): The determining factors will be those that take the fullest advantage of my leadership abilities and broad-based business knowledge; a strong desire to create winning strategies and the vision for “Best Practices” in a company desiring to achieve results that exceed expectations.


(KJ): What have you enjoyed most about being a tax professional?

(KB): My enjoyment is derived from applying creative solutions to complex issues; envisioning obstacles, developing alternative scenarios and executing the necessary actions to produce results that exceed expectations. The tax profession allows an individual to learn more about a company’s financial drivers and operations than any other position in the company. In addition, it provides the ideal forum for global interaction and senior financial leadership.

(KJ): Keith, thank you for the time you have taken to answer our questions. Your perspective as a Global Tax and Corporate Treasurer is very valuable and we appreciate the time you have taken to share your experiences with us.

Kathleen Jennings (KJ)
Editor, The Tax Intelligence Report
Kathleen@etsearch.com

Keith Brockman (KB)
Global Tax & Corporate Treasurer
Keith.brockman@sykes.com