Mr. Kess was named “Most Influential Practitioner” by CPA Magazine in 2006 and was included in Accounting Today’s list of 100 Most Influential People. He was also Consulting Editor of CCHIncorporated’s Financial and Estate Planning Reporter. In addition, Mr. Kess was Chairman of the Advisory Board of Tax Hotline and was a member of the PPC Tax Action Panel. He edited a column on “Tax Tips” for the New York Law Journal for fifty years.
Mr. Kess was editor of the AICPA’s CPA Client Bulletin and CPA Client Tax Letter. He wrote hundreds of AICPA tax workshops, audio, and video programs and was the recipient of the AICPA Distinguished Lecturer Award. Mr. Kess was 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, as well as CPA Magazine’s, “Most Influential CPAs in the U.S.” Mr. Kess was the National Director of Tax at KPMG Main Hurdman and a tax partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Kess was 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. He was the recipient of the AICPA’s Gold Medal Award, which is the highest award in the accounting profession. He also received the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award.
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 finest values and ethics. Mr. Kess was the first recipient of this Award. Mr. Kess was also inducted into the New York State Society of CPA’s Hall of Fame. He received his B.B.A. from Baruch College, his J.D. from Harvard University School of Law, and his LL.M. from New York University Graduate School of Law.
