DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

 

The Department of the Treasury’s FY 2018 Conference Spending Report 

In FY 2018, the Treasury Department continued initiatives to oversee conference spending and 

to ensure that appropriate policies, procedures, and controls were in place to that end. The 

Department’s bureaus continue to follow the Treasury-wide Directive that consolidates and 

streamlines the conference approval and reporting process and establishes consistent policy for 

all conference-related activities. The Assistant Secretary for Management, Deputy Secretary, 

and Secretary have reviewed all conference-related spending as appropriate per policy, and all 

bureaus have followed established internal policies to ensure that all conference-related activity 

adhered to appropriate guidelines. 

Treasury Department policy allows expenses for conferences only if they are necessary to carry 

out Treasury’s mission and are consistent with specific approval guidelines. In FY 2018, the 

Treasury Department sponsored meetings and training events to promote economic stability and 

growth, to strengthen and protect the integrity of the financial system, and to manage the U.S. 

government’s finances. 

In accordance with OMB Memorandum M-17-08, below are details on the Treasury-sponsored 

conferences in FY 2018 where the net expenses to the Department exceeded $100,000. This 

report does not cover conferences sponsored by the Treasury Office of the Inspector General, the 

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Special Inspector General for the 

Treasury Asset Relief Program, or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. 

 
2 

Bureau Conference Name Purpose Location

Date(s) of

Conference

Number of

Attendees Total Cost

IRS Basic

Corporations ‐ 

Wave 1

This training course is the

second phase of training for

new SBSE revenue agents and

covers all issues related to

corporations.  

Covington, KY 9/27/2017 to

10/12/2017

29 $128,428  

IRS Senior Executive

Service Candidate

Development

Program

The Senior Executive Service

Candidate Development

Program (SESCDP) is a

competitive program

designed to develop the

qualifications of employees

with strong leadership

potential for career

appointment to the Senior

Executive Service.  

Washington,

DC

7/31/2017 to

10/20/2017

22 $184,290  

Washington,

DC

6/18/2018 to

9/7/2018

22 $212,265  

IRS Special Agent

Basic Training

Special Agent candidates are

required to attend a

comprehensive training

beginning with an orientation

program during which new

agents will be sworn in,

complete administrative

forms and receive information

on Standards and

Expectations and the IRS‐CI

organization. Students then

attend a

12‐week Criminal

Investigation Training

Program (CITP) covering basic

federal criminal investigation

techniques, including federal

criminal

law, courtroom procedures,

enforcement operations, and

firearms training. Finally,

candidates continue on to a

14 week CIs Special Agent

Investigative Techniques

Glynco, GA 6/5/2017 to

12/20/2017

26 $528,092

Glynco, GA 8/2/2017 to

2/8/2018

30 $379,957  
3 

(SAIT) training. The training

includes instruction in tax law,

criminal tax fraud, money

laundering and a variety of

financial fraud schemes as

well as electronic surveillance

techniques, court procedures,

and trial preparation.

IRS FY 2018

Congressional

Affairs Program

(CAP) Conference

The CAP Conference allows

the Local Taxpayer Advocates

(LTAs) and Taxpayer Advocate

Service (TAS) senior

leadership to be able to

satisfy its statutory

requirements of IRC

§§7803(c)(2)(A) and

7803(c)(2)(B)(ii). This event

consists of organizational

and educational sessions

(core

technical training) followed by

scheduled LTA meetings on

Capitol Hill with the Senators

and Representatives from the

LTAs’ home states.

Washington,

DC

2/5/2018 to

2/9/2018

121 $ 172,006  

IRS Pass‐Through

Entities ‐ Wave 2

This is the 3rd phase of

training for new SBSE revenue

agents and includes training

on partnership and s‐

corporation returns.  

Kansas City,

MO

2/27/2018 to

03/15/2018

31 $ 116,174  

IRS Refund Crimes

Business Object

Enterprise

Training  

This system known as BOE will

be replacing Oracle

Discoverer, it is of the utmost

importance and urgency that

the staff at the Scheme

Development Centers is

properly trained to use this

method in data analysis, link

analytics and scheme

development.  

Glynco, GA 4/17/2018 to

04/26/2018

38 $ 122,469  

Glynco, GA 5/1/2018 to

5/10/2018

38 $ 124,828  

IRS Advanced Covert

Operations

Training  

This training emphasizes the

development of both

technical and behavioral skills.   

This training exposes agents

to increasingly difficult

interactive scenarios

patterned after actual

investigations, where they can

apply investigative criminal

techniques and knowledge of

federal law throughout the

scenarios.  The stress level of

Glynco, GA 7/17/2018 to

07/26/2018

54 $ 195,206  
4 

participants is challenged

through the controlled

scenarios placing candidates

in situations where they must

make decisions under stress.   

Multiple role players, mentors

and evaluators are required to

effectively run the scenarios

and evaluate the candidate’s

abilities to conduct covert

operations in a safe and legal

manner.   

IRS QRP / RPP

Identity Theft

Training  

Critical, hands‐on, interactive

training for field office

coordinators concerning

identity theft and other

evolving issues facing IRS.  

Field office coordinators are

relied upon by special agents

to provide them with

assistance and their expertise

in identity theft and other

return preparer related cases.  

Training will include

interactive case presentations

as well as best practices

roundtable and provides an

understanding of policy,

procedures and legal issues

relative to identity theft

investigations.  

Glynco, GA 08/14/2018

to

08/16/2018

102 $ 124,407  

IRS Management

Development:

Leading

Organizations

The employees will learn to

reframe their organization

through the four

organizational frames:

structural, human resource,

political, and symbolic. They

will learn to integrate these

four lenses in a

comprehensive way so that

they can manage

organizational change to lead

to new opportunities for

growth and development.  

Aurora, CO 8/13/2018 to

8/17/2018

27 $ 105,055  

IRS Basic Trial

Advocacy

The focus of this training is on

understanding and practicing

litigation skills.  Accordingly,

this training is conducted in a

simulated courtroom setting

as if this were an actual Tax

Court trial. All participants are

expected to be prepared to

Philadelphia,

PA

6/25/2018 to

6/29/2018

59 $114,293
5 

engage in a variety of trial

exercises daily and a trial on

the last day of the program.

Exercises include opening

statements and the direct and

cross‐examinations of trial

witnesses. Students are

critiqued by the instructors in

group settings and one‐on‐

one for maximum benefit. The

final exercise is a trial

performance where the

students work in pairs as co‐

counsel.

IRS International

Technical Training

– East

Given the significant increase

in strategic focus of the IRS’

work on international tax

matters and emphasis on

networks within the IPN, the

rapidly evolving roles and

responsibilities of attorneys

who interface with the client

on audits and in the IPNs, and

the significant changeover in

personnel dedicated to

international tax matters in

both the client and Counsel,

the training will provide much

needed opportunities to build

stronger working relationships

with the geographically

diverse offices in the IRS

charged with administering

international tax issues.  

Washington,

DC

7/10/2018 to

7/12/2018

194 $168,135

IRS International

Technical Training

‐ West

Given the significant increase

in strategic focus of the IRS’

work on international tax

matters and emphasis on

networks within the IPN, the

rapidly evolving roles and

responsibilities of attorneys

who interface with the client

on audits and in the IPNs, and

the significant changeover in

personnel dedicated to

international tax matters in

both the client and Counsel,

the training will provide much

needed opportunities to build

stronger working relationships

with the geographically

diverse offices in the IRS

Dallas, TX 8/14/2018 161 $196,704
6 

charged with administering

international tax issues.  

IRS Continuing Legal

Education (CLE)

Training

The Chicago Regional CLE is

one in a series of regional

cross‐functional programs

designed to impart in‐depth,

Office‐wide guidance on new

and emerging legal, policy,

and procedural issues with

business‐unit‐specific

technical training, scenario‐

based discussion, and

practical exercises for SBSE

and LBI employees.

Chicago, IL 8/6/2018 to

8/10/2018

138 $172,661