NEW YORK – (August 1, 2019) – The CPA Journal, published monthly by the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA), announced the winners of its Max Block Distinguished Article Awards. Chosen by the magazine’s editorial review board members, the winning authors were recognized in three categories for the most outstanding and thought-provoking articles published in 2018.

The award winners will be honored at The CPA Journal’s annual Editorial Advisory Board Meeting on Monday, August 5.

The following are the winners:

• Steven Mintz, PhD, CPA, professor emeritus of accounting at California Polytechnic State University, received the award for Outstanding Article for In Focus/Features, for his article, “Accounting in the Public Interest: An Historical Perspective on Professional Ethics,” published in the March 2018 issue. Mintz offers a historical overview of the changes in ethical standards in the accounting industry as they relate to serving the public interest and which were initially issued in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct in 1973. In the article, Mintz walks readers through the changes made in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct from 1973–2014, and focuses on how the ethical commitment in the industry to serving the public interest has declined over time due to those changes.

• Joel Lanz, CPA/CGMA/CITP/CFF, CISA, CISM, CISSP, CFE, founder and principal of Joel Lanz, CPA, P.C., received the award for the Outstanding Article for News & Views/Opinion, for “Enterprise Technology Risk in a New COSO ERM World: Eight Challenges Facing Management,” published in the June 2018 issue. Focusing on the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission’s (COSO) revised publication, “Enterprise Risk Management—Integrated Framework,” Lanz discussed varying factors in technology such as cybersecurity, data governance, vendor management, and cloud computing and shared technology risk challenges that managers are facing today.

• Howard B. Levy, CPA, a principal and director of technical services at Piercy Bowler Taylor & Kern, received the award for Outstanding Article for Departments/Columns, for “The Audit Report Returns to Its Roots: An Historical Perspective on Critical Audit Matters,” published in the February 2018 issue. Levy began by sharing the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board standard auditing report updates throughout history, mentioning the few key moments when substantial updates were made and how the switch from long-form to short-form reporting came full circle after the PCAOB’s 2017 adoption of disclosing critical audit matters (CAM).

Runners-up for each of the three categories are:

• Honorable Mention for In Focus/Features: “Questioning the Effectiveness of Independent Audit Committees: Does the Current Regulatory Regime Improve Reporting Quality?” (March 2018 issue), April Klein, PhD, professor of accounting at the Stern School of Business at New York University.
• Honorable Mention for News & Views/Opinion: “First Look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: The Impact on Individuals at Different Stages of Life” (May 2018 issue), Sidney Kess, JD, LLM, CPA, of counsel to Kostelanetz & Fink and a senior consultant to Citrin Cooperman & Co., LLP; James R. Grimaldi, Esq., CPA, partner at Citrin Cooperman; and James A.J. Revels, CPA, MST, AEP, partner at KPMG.
• Honorable Mention for Departments/Columns: “Untangling the Inherited IRA Rules: Retiring Baby Boomers and the Impending Transfer of Wealth” (May 2018 issue), Richard L. Russell Jr., JD, CPA, assistant professor of accounting at Metropolitan State University of Denver; Richard L. Russell, JD, MBA, CPA, retired associate professor of accounting and current lecturer in accounting at Jackson State University; and Kristina Kesselring, CPA/PFS, owner of Colorado Diverse Accountancy, LLC, and professor of accounting at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

The Max Block Distinguished Article Award is named in honor of former New York Certified Public Accountant (now The CPA Journal) managing editor, Max Block, and was established to recognize and award outstanding work that had been published in the Journal the previous year.

About the NYSSCPA

Founded in 1897, the New York State Society of CPAs (nysscpa.org) is the premier professional accounting association for more than 24,000 licensed CPAs residing and practicing in New York State, encompassing all areas of public practice, including government, education, technology, nonprofit, real estate, health care and industry. It is the oldest—and the third largest—such state society in the United States.

About The CPA Journal

Approaching its 90th year, The CPA Journal is an award-winning publication of the New York State Society of CPAs and is broadly recognized as an outstanding, technical-refereed publication for accounting practitioners, educators and other financial professionals. Written by CPAs for CPAs, it aims to provide accounting and other financial professionals with the information and analysis they need to succeed in today’s business environment.

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