Three individual honors were handed out last week by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2021. Charles Kowal, CPA (retired) has received the AICPA’s 2021 Personal Financial Planning (PFP) Distinguished Service Award, Martin ‘Marty’ Finn, CPA/PFS was presented the Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education, and David Greene, CPA was awarded the P. Thomas Austin Personal Financial Planning (PFP) Scholarship.

Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education

Martin Finn, CPA/PFS is the recipient of the AICPA’s 2021 Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education. The award was presented at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE. Finn is the Founding Partner of Lavelle & Finn, LLP.

Over the years, Marty Finn has helped to educate and inspire thousands of CPAs so they can better serve their clients. He has chaired the Tax Strategies conference for the AICPA for many years and is now also co-chair of the ENGAGE conference.

According to Sid Kess, “Marty’s ability to identify pertinent topics, his broad knowledge of tax law and the needs of the profession, combined with his ability to select outstanding speakers, all played a great role in the success of AICPA conferences. It is my honor and pleasure to see my friend and colleague Marty Finn receive the 2021 Sid Kess Award.”

In addition to being a longtime member of the AICPA PFP and Tax section, he is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, New York State Bar Association, Albany County Bar Association, and Estate Planning Council of Eastern New York.

The award, created in honor of Kess, recognizes 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. Nominations for the Kess Award are solicited by the Tax Strategies for the High-Income Individual Conference Steering Committee and are accepted from May 31 – January 31. The Committee determines Award recipients.

To read about the additional recipients, click here.