May 2002

Stand-Out CPAs and Others Recognized at Annual Election Dinner

The New York State Society of CPAs recently honored more than 25 members, students, journalists and others who distinguished themselves in the 2001-2002 year for everything from general service to the NYSSCPA to excellence in writing and public speaking.

Members of the Society honored for their work included Steven Baum of Marks Paneth & Shron LLP, with the Distinguished Service Award, and Ilene Leopold Persoff, a professor at Long Island University, C.W. Post, with the Dr. Emanuel J. Saxe Outstanding CPA in Education Award. Julie Floch, of Richard A. Eisner & Co., LLP, and Richard A. Romer, Lumsden & McCormick LLP, also were recognized by the Foundation for Accounting Education as discussion leaders, along with Ellen Murphy of the Internal Revenue Service.

The Society honored the award recipients during its Annual Election Meeting and Dinner on May 9 at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan. Included among the honorees were members chosen for the NYSSCPA Hall of Fame, which was revived this year after a one-year hiatus, 14 members of the financial press for various accomplishments, and out-of-state accountants for their contribution to The CPA Journal.

The Awards Committee made the selections, according to Chairman P. Gerard Sokolski, and though there were nominations in other categories, the committee did not bestow all the awards.

“In some cases we didn’t select anyone in certain areas because there wasn’t enough information given to us by the person who made the nomination,” Sokolski said. “There wasn’t enough about what the nominee did to go above and beyond.”

Service with a Smile

The Society awarded the Distinguished Service Award to Baum—a member since 1970 and a past Society president —for his long-time service as an advisor to past and present executive directors and for his leadership in various functions over time.

According to the Society, Baum served for more than 10 years as chair of the Members Insurance Committee, using his expertise to help the NYSSCPA change insurance providers and make coverage more attractive to members. Baum chaired the task force that established the Society’s Scholarship Fund, chaired the committee that hired current Executive Director Louis Grumet, and helped negotiate leases for its administrative offices.

Students, Journalists, Writers

The Society also recognized Utah-based CPA W. Steve Albrecht and Virginia-based CPA Robert J. Sack with the Max Block Award for their article in the March 2001 issue of The CPA Journal titled “The Perilous Future of Accounting Education.” The award is named for the one-time managing editor of The CPA Journal and recognizes contributors for an outstanding article.

The Society also granted non-CPA journalists the NYSSPA Excellence in Financial Journalism Award for work published during the 2001 calendar year. This year’s recipients included David Henry and Nanette Byrnes of Business Week; Jane Bryant Quinn of Newsweek; Tom Herman of The Wall Street Journal; William Carlino of Accounting Today; Jim Kennett, Mark Johnson and Russell Hubbard of Bloomberg News; Donald Luskin of Smartmoney.com; Peter Schacknow of WBBR Radio (Bloomberg), and Diane Eastabrook, Jack Kahn, Erika Miller and Jeff Yastuine of NBR Enterprises/WPBT Miami – Nightly Businesss Report.

Finally, the Society praised students who had the highest scores in the May and November 2001 CPA examinations with the Charles Waldo Haskins Award. These included Batya Eichenbaum, Lisa Michelle Cohen, Dante P. Maliwat, Luolan Liu and Maryann Betsch.