November 2000

NYSSCPA Members Receive AICPA Gold Medal

New York State Society of CPAs members Richard E. Piluso and Dominic A. Tarantino were honored with the American Institute of CPAs’ Gold Medal for Distinguished Service at the AICPA’s fall Council meeting in Las Vegas.

Piluso and Tarantino join an elite list of CPAs that have received the award since its inception in 1944.

“Dick and Dom have demonstrated exemplary service, leadership, and dedication that reflect the principles and values on which the Institute was founded,” said Barry C. Melancon, AICPA president and CEO. “Their service with the AICPA is a model for all members who seek to achieve similar success in their professional lives.”

“It’s a wonderful feeling,” said Piluso, of winning the two-pound, 18-karat gold medal. “It’s a humbling experience to think that, of the hundreds of thousands of CPAs in the profession, only one or two are picked each year.”

Piluso, a member of the NYSSCPA Industry Oversight Committee and former chair of the Society’s General Committee on Public Relations, is vice president of internal audit for Loews Corporation in New York. He has had significant involvement with the AICPA throughout his career, including a term as treasurer of the Institute’s board of directors and longtime membership on its governing council. Most recently, through membership on the AICPA Strategic Planning and Committee Operations Committees, he participated in the development of a proposed new global credential for business professionals.

Tarantino, an NYSSCPA member in good standing, is a director and the treasurer of BOLD—Business Opportunity for Leadership Diversity. Tarantino is also chair of the University of San Francisco board of trustees.