We're saddened by the passing of our Executive Advisor and friend Sidney Kess. Sid was an inspiration to us all, an unrivaled leader in the profession, and the torch bearer for excellence in CPA education. 

Join Scott Zarret, CPA, as he explores the remarkable life and lasting impact of Sid Kess, a trailblazer in the world of accounting and Continuing Professional Education (CPE). Sid Kess was not just an educator; he was a visionary who transformed the accounting profession through his passion for knowledge, mentorship, and genuine human connection.

click here to watch the video

In 2019, Sidney Kess, CPA, J.D., LL.M., was named as an Advisor to CPAacademy.org. Mr. Kess was recently selected “Most Influential Practitioner” by CPA Magazine, and is a nationally renowned tax expert and author/coauthor of hundreds of tax books on financial and estate planning.  Having lectured to more than 1,000,000 practitioners on tax, financial, and estate planning, Mr. Kess is one of the nation’s most prominent lecturers on continuing professional education.  Mr. Kess is also Consulting Editor of CCH Incorporated’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 Journal, The 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 also 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.

Click here to read THE SID KESS APPROACH: 60 Years of Best Practices in Tax, Education, Careers and Life: Published by the AICPA

With more than 30 years of experience in the accounting profession, Scott Zarret, CPA, is widely recognized for developing innovative and highly successful marketing and sales strategies. Scott's platform (CPAacademy.org) has processed more than 7,500,000 registrations.

An alumnus of University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Scott began his career in the audit and tax department of what is now CohnReznick. Scott was named as one of the 2019 Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.

• Click here to watch Scott's video (17 min) - 10/2014
• Click here to read article, Trends in CPE for Accountants: Hello Free and Online, Farewell to Fees
• Click here to read Scott's story
• Click here to hear Scott's podcast episode: How CPAacademy Can Help Your Bookkeeping Business
• Podcast: Click here to hear Scott's episode: Filling a Gap in the Market: An Interview with Scott Zarret of CPAacademy.org (10/30/2018)
• Podcast: From CPA to Game-Changing Entrepreneur | Doing it Right (10/28/2019)
• Podcast: Interview with Amy Vetter (6/9/2020)
• The Impact of Coronavirus on Education in the Accounting Profession, CPA Practice Advisor (6/15/2020)
• Podcast: The Future Of Continuing Professional Education is Online at CPAacademy.org with Scott Zarret, CPA (3/24/2021) 
• Podcast: Building the Premier Accounting Firm: Making SELF a Priority w/ Scott Zarret (3/1/2022)
• Presentation at the Bridging the Gap Conference with Scott Zarret, CPA (8/30/2023)

Ed is a partner in Withum’s East Brunswick, NJ, office and has over 40 years of public accounting experience. He is a licensed, certified public accountant in New Jersey and New York. He is accredited by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in business valuation and as a personal financial specialist (PFS). Ed is also admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court and has testified as an expert witness in federal and state court regarding business valuations.

A graduate of City College of New York, Ed earned his bachelor of business administration degree. He is a member of the AICPA, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA), and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA). Ed was a founding partner of Mendlowitz Weitsen, LLP, CPAs, which joined Withum in 2005. Currently, he serves on the NYSSCPA Estate Planning Committee and was chairman of the committee that planned the NYSSCPA’s 100th Anniversary. The author of 16 books, Ed has also written hundreds of articles for business and professional journals and newsletters. He is the contributing editor to the Practitioners Publishing Company’s 1998/1999 706/709 Deskbook and the AICPA 2004 edition of The Management of an Accounting Practice Handbook. He is on the editorial board of Bottom Line/Personal and Tax Hotline financial newsletters. Appearing regularly on television news programs, Ed has also been quoted in numerous major newspapers and periodicals in the United States. He is the Lawler Award recipient for the best article published in 2001 in the Journal of Accountancy.

Ed is a frequent speaker to many professional and business groups, including the AICPA, NJSCPA, NYSSCPA, American Management Association, the National Committee for Monetary Reform, University of Medicine and Dentistry in NJ, and many more. For 11 years, he taught financial analysis courses, corporate financial policy and theory, monetary and fiscal policy, and managerial accounting in the MBA program at Fairleigh Dickinson University.