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Sidney Kess

Sidney Kess

Sidney Kess

Senior Counsel


New York City
T: 212.808.8100
F: 212.808.8108

Sidney Kess, CPA, J.D., LL.M., is a nationally renowned tax lawyer and accountant, as well as an author/coauthor of hundreds of tax books on financial and estate planning. He was named “Most Influential Practitioner” by CPA Magazine in 2006 and has been included in Accounting Today’s list of 100 Most Influential People.

Mr. Kess is also Consulting Editor of CCHIncorporated’s Financial and Estate Planning Reporter. In addition, Mr. Kess was Chairman of the Advisory Board of Tax Hotline and is a member of the PPC Tax Action Panel.  He has edited a column on “Tax Tips” for the New York Law Journal for the past  fifty years.

Mr. Kess was editor of the AICPA’s CPA Client Bulletin and CPA Client Tax Letter.   He has written hundreds of AICPA tax workshops, audio, and video programs, and is the recipient of the AICPA Distinguished Lecturer Award.  Mr. Kess is often quoted in The Wall Street JournalThe New York Times, and other national publications.  He was included in Accounting Today’s, “100 Most Influential CPAs in the U.S.” for several years, as well as CPA Magazine’s, “Most Influential CPAs in the U.S.”  Mr. Kess was the National Director of Tax at KPMG Main Hurdman and a tax partner at KPMG Peat Marwick.  Mr. Kess is the recipient of the AICPA’s “Special Recognition Award” for his many years of contributions to the AICPA’s continuing professional education program and was elected to the Estate Planning Hall of Fame by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils for his distinguished service to the field of estate planning. He is the recipient of the AICPA’s Gold Medal Award, which is the highest award in the accounting profession.  Most recently, he received the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award.

The AICPA established the Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education, to recognize individual CPAs who have made significant and outstanding contributions in tax and financial planning and whose public service exemplifies the CPA profession’s finest values and ethics.  Sidney Kess was the first recipient of this Award.  Mr. Kess was inducted into the New York State Society of CPA’s Hall of Fame.  He received his B.B.A. from Baruch College, his J.D. from Harvard University School of Law, and his LL.M. from New York University Graduate School of Law.

Baruch College, BBA

Harvard Law School, JD

New York University School of Law, LLM

Sidney Kess - Super Lawyers 2014
Sidney Kess - Super Lawyers