AICPA HONORS TWO MEMBERS WITH GOLD MEDAL FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

The accounting profession's highest honor for its members, the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service was awarded to two stalwarts of the profession, Robert L. Israeloff of Valley Stream, N.Y., and Robert K. Elliott of New York City. The award is given annually by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to members in recognition for their influence and dedicated service to the profession. It was first awarded in 1944. Israeloff served as the AICPA Chairman of the Board of Directors, during 1994-95. Elliott, a member of the AICPA Board of Directors, currently chairs the institute's strategic planning committee. Israeloff heads Israeloff, Trattner & Co., CPAs, P.C., a three-office, public accounting firm in the New York metropolitan area. Elliott has been assistant to the chairman of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP since 1984 and has responsibility for the firm's strategic planning, professional, business, educational, and political issues and supervises its government affairs department. Israeloff and Elliott received the Gold Medal at the AICPA's 110th Fall meeting of its council and annual members meeting in Tucson, Ariz., from Philip B. Chenok, chair of the awards committee and former AICPA president.

Robert L. Israeloff

The award citation pays tribute to Israeloff's "insightful leadership" that "has helped to move the AICPA into a forward-looking mode to guide the profession into the next century." He has been active in various leadership positions within the accounting profession, especially as the champion of the small and local practitioners. He has served on many important AICPA committees including the Special Committee on Financial Reporting, SEC Practice Section Executive Committee, Special Committee on Accounting Standards Overload, and Special Committee on Post Baccalaureate Education. He is also past chairman of the Private Companies Practice Section of the AICPA Division for CPA Firms, serving a three-year term.

Israeloff served as vice chairman of the board of directors immediately prior to assuming the chairmanship and served as member of the board during the 1987-90 and 1993-96 terms. He has also been a member of the governing council since 1980. Israeloff currently chairs the institute's Special Committee on Accreditation and Specialization and is the incoming chairman of the Continuing Professional Education Board of Management. He also is a past president of the New York State Society of CPAs, Intercontinental Accounting Associates, and Continental Association of CPA Firms. He is an alumnus of the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania, and received an advanced degree in taxation from Baruch College, of the City University of New York.

Robert K. Elliott

Elliott "has been the institute's leading visionary and intellect whose efforts have been at the vanguard of new programs and services that have been reshaping the profession," according to the award citation. He has served on the board of directors and the governing council of the AICPA. He served on the Forward Issues and Special Committee on Financial Reporting committees of the AICPA and most recently served as chairman of its Special Committee on Assurance Services. That special committee laid the groundwork for the institute's programs aimed at expanding the profession's role in the delivery of assurance services. He has also served in leadership positions on various AICPA committees and boards, including the Auditing Standards Board and the Committee Operations Committee.

Elliott is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs and has been an active member of the American Accounting Association, having served on its executive committee and the Accounting Change Commission. Among his many awards and citations are the Practitioner Service Award of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy, the Wildman Medal Award of the American Accounting Association, and the Elijah Watt Sells Award of the AICPA. He has co-authored five books, published more than 70 articles, and made more than 250 speeches throughout the U.S. and Canada. Elliott received a degree in mathematics from Harvard University and an advanced degree in accounting from Rutgers University. *