Great Neck CPA Named To NYSSCPA Hall of Fame

Great Neck CPA Named To NYSSCPA Hall of Fame

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lois Whitehead, Public Relations Manager
212-719-8405
lwhitehead@nysscpa.org

NEW YORK, NY, March 31, 2008 -- The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) will honor posthumously Samuel B. Traum of Great Neck with induction to its Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 15th at the Society’s 111th Annual Election Meeting and Dinner at the New York Hilton Hotel.

The NYSSCPA leadership established the Hall of Fame in 2000 and inducted five members posthumously for their demonstrated leadership, impact and distinguished service in and out of the profession.

"His induction completes the circle of all the honors that a CPA can aspire to in New York," said Michael Borsuk, past NYSSCPA president and former Nassau Chapter president. "To say it was deserving is probably the understatement of the century."

In nominating Traum for the Hall of Fame, John Barone, CPA, NYSSCPA Nassau Chapter President, said, “Leadership and Sam Traum are synonymous terms. Sam was all about leading and encouraging others to be leaders as well. He had outstanding professional accomplishments. He also had a great value for family and stressed the importance of life balance and how both were necessary ingredients to succeed.

“He was a vibrant leader of the NYSSCPA. It was his vitality and encouragement that led committees to offer programs that still exist today including the Estate Planning, Bankers and Professional Development committees. He also created the first all day Continuing Professional Education (CPE) sessions for the chapter's Fiduciary Accounting Committee and the Professional Development Committee.”

Robert Schaffer, CPA, former NYSSCPA Nassau Chapter President added, ““Sam was one of the first men to actively promote women coming into the profession. He encouraged them to get passionately involved in all aspects of the profession especially with the NYSSCPA. He also worked to get students interested in the profession, advocating for a much greater presence of minority CPAs through being actively involved with schools and community groups. The Nassau Chapter has built its membership committee around his principles; the annual student night event, continuous speaking engagements and Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program all reach out to students in high schools. All of these events are carried on unofficially in his honor and memory.”

Traum joined the NYSSCPA in 1956. He was a member of the NYSSCPA Nominating, Public Relations, Committee Operations, Accounting & Review Services, Cooperation with the State Bar Association, Cooperation with Commercial Credit Grantors, Estate Planning, Professional Development, Community Affairs, Cooperation with the Securities Industry, Minority Group Recruitment & Equal Opportunity and Promoting CPA Careers committees and a member of its Foundation of Accounting Education’s faculty bank. He was also president of the NYSSCPA Nassau Chapter and a member of the chapter’s Federal Taxation, Accounting & Review Services, Estate & Personal Financial Planning, Furtherance and State & Local Taxation committees.

The NYSSCPA Nassau Chapter awarded Traum with its Distinguished Service Award in 1993 and created an award in his name presented annually to a CPA who emulates Traum’s ideology about the profession.

He was also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Active in his local community, Traum participated in the Great Neck Forum, a discussion group, Educators for Social Responsibility, the Great Neck Education Association and the North Shore Community Arts Center.

Traum is a graduate of the City College of New York with a B.B.A. and a Certificate of Teacher of Commercial Subjects. He taught math and bookkeeping at Lincoln High School in New York City before starting his own accounting practice.

Traum, who lived in Great Neck, passed away in 2004. He was predeceased by his wife, Edith, with whom he had three daughters, Irene, Jessica and Sara, and 60 years of marriage.