Sidney Kess, Esq., CPA, JD, LLM Of Counsel , Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP Sidney Kess, Esq., CPA, JD, LLM, was the recipient of the AICPA's Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service to the Accounting Profession. This award is the highest award granted to a CPA by the Institute. CPA Magazine selected him as "Most Influential Practitioner." He is author and co-author of hundreds of tax books on financial, tax, and estate planning. He is one of the nation's best known lecturers in continuing professional education, having lectured to more than 1,000,000 practitioners. Mr. Kess is Consulting Editor of CCH's Financial and Estate Planning Reporter. Mr. Kess was Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Tax Hotline and is a member of the PPC, Tax Action Panel. He has edited a column, "Tax Tips," for the New York Law Journal for the past 46 years. Mr. Kess edits the AICPA's CPA Client Bulletin and CPA Client Tax Letter. He is Executive Editor Tax of CPA Magazine, is on the Editorial Board of the New York State Society The CPA Journal, and is Co-Editor of the Financial Planning Section. He has also written hundreds of AICPA tax workshops, audio and video programs, and is the recipient of the AICPA Distinguished Lecturer Award. Mr. Kess is often quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other national publications. He was included in Accounting Today's "100 Most Influential CPAs in the U.S." for several years. Mr. Kess was the National Director of Tax at KPMG Main Hurdman and a tax partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Kess is the recipient of the AICPA's "Special Recognition Award" for his many years of contributions to the AICPA's continuing professional education program and was elected to the Estate Planning Hall of Fame by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils for his distinguished service to the field of estate planning. Mr. Kess is also a member of the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee. The AICPA established the Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education to recognize individual CPAs who have made significant and outstanding contributions in tax and financial planning and whose public service exemplifies the CPA profession's values and ethics. Sidney Kess was the first recipient of this award. Mr. Kess was selected as one of "125 People of Impact in Accounting" by the Journal of Accountancy in its June 2012 issue celebrating the AICPA's 125th anniversary. Mr. Kess was inducted into the New York State Society of CPA's Hall of Fame. He recently received the New York State Society Outstanding CPA in Education Award.