Remembering the mentorship and impact of Sidney Kess

Sidney Kess, a pioneering CPA in tax and financial planning who shared knowledge with generations of accountants through books, cassette tapes, and conferences, died recently at age 97.

Kess was remembered by fellow practitioners as a giant in the profession, but one who didn’t act like he was above anyone.

Julie Welch, CPA/PFS, appreciated Kess for his mentorship, his many phone calls, and how he was always full of ideas.

“I’ll miss those calls,” said Welch, managing partner at Meara Welch Browne P.C.. “He was a unique individual. Very much a leader, a friend, a mentor. He leaves behind an incredible legacy, with what he did for me, for our profession, and for everybody else who became a friend to Sid. And Sid was a friend of everybody.”

Kess was the guy who wanted to shake everyone’s hand when they left a conference session. He also was “brilliant and a great tax practitioner,” said Marty Finn, J.D., LL.M., CPA/PFS, partner at the firm Lavelle and Finn, who considered Kess a friend and role model.

“When we’d see each other at conferences, his first question was not about the conference,” Finn said. “It was about ‘How’s your wife? How are the boys?'”

Kess was a mentor to thousands of CPAs, including Finn and Welch.

Despite his age, Kess remained active in the profession, especially as it related to learning. About two weeks ago, Finn said, he and Kess discussed plans for next year’s AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE. “He was working right up until the end,” Finn said. “He loved it so much. He loved what he was doing. He loved writing. He loved talking to colleagues of any age and helping them with whatever their needs were.”

Todd Helton, Senior Director—Global Conferences and Events at AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, said of Kess: “Sid meant so much to so many people in and around the profession. We were fortunate to have him as a volunteer for several conferences – he remained an active participant in planning ENGAGE through last year – and as an author and expert for other areas of the organization. This is a truly the loss of a good man.”

In 2015, Kess received the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award, presented annually to a member whose volunteer efforts have made significant contributions to the growth and advancement of the personal financial planning profession.

In 2012, Kess was named by the JofA as one of 125 people of impact on the accounting profession. That was the year the AICPA celebrated its 125th anniversary.

In 2011, he was awarded the AICPA Gold Medal Award, the AICPA’s highest honor.

In 2010, 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. Kess was the award’s first recipient.

In a news release announcing the 2010 award, AICPA & CIMA CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, said:

“Sid has passed his expertise in tax, financial, and estate planning to thousands of CPAs, and we are honored to establish an award in his name.”

Kess grew up in Brighton Beach, N.Y., and attended Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School. After one semester at Baruch College in New York, he joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and served in France and Germany in World War II. He returned to Baruch College after the war and graduated in 1948. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he helped found the Harvard Student Legislative Reference Bureau. He later earned an LL.M. from New York University.

During a long career in public accounting, Kess served as director of tax training at Lybrand Ross & Montgomery; national director of taxes at Main Lafrentz & Co., Main Hurdman, and KMG Main Hurdman; and then national tax partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. He ended his career as senior counsel with Kostelanetz LLP.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Neil Amato at neil.amato@aicpa-cima.com.