Sidney Kess 1926 to 2023

A good friend, colleague and writing partner passed away Sunday. Sidney Kess was 97. We spoke at least once a week and are scheduled to co-present a continuing education program on October 18th.

I first “met” Sid in 1967 when I attended one of his early Tax Workshops my boss sent me to. I spent a day with a few hundred other CPAs getting a tax update and thought Sidney was the smartest tax person in the world. His presentation was not only informative and up-to-date, but interesting, entertaining and enjoyable to listen to. I did not actually meet him, but on that day, I found out what being a real tax pro was like, wondering if I could ever get close to the level of a Sidney Kess.

About 9 years afterward, I met Sid through Martin Edelston, the founder and publisher of Boardroom Reports and today’s mega circulation Bottom Line / Personal newsletter. Sid edited my tax columns for Marty. A few years later, I became a co-editor, with Sid always being the senior editor for Marty’s publications and the author of a Tax Loophole column for 28 years in Tax Hotline, also edited by Sid. I got to know and work closely with Sidney, and a friendship developed. It also helped that Sid and I were frequently invited to Marty’s famous dinners and his big parties. We also caught up with each other at AICPA and NYSSCPA conferences and his annual Sidney Kess Estate, Tax and Financial Planning Conference for the UJA/Federation, with this year’s being the 54th such conference. The roster of speakers is a veritable who’s who of the experts in these complicated disciplines.

Sid and I maintained a close collaboration, and he was always there to help me out with some tough issues or introduce me to someone. He also arranged for me and seven or eight other partners and staff at Withum to speak at AICPA and other conferences, have articles published in professional publications or introduce friends looking for a new position. He never said no and took great pride in being able to help someone advance themselves.

In 2016, we started what became a series of about 30 articles for The CPA Journal on personal financial planning. This created a thorough body of knowledge for our colleagues on the full range of such services that could be provided to clients. To create the articles, we would speak two or three times a week and also spend much time editing them to get them “perfect,” as was both of our standards. We also worked together on many other articles and speaking presentations. I can say that every interaction with Sidney was a thrill, pleasure and a learning experience. He seemed to know everything about taxes and could recall obscure points when I was stumped with an issue.

We developed a custom of speaking every Friday and wishing each other a Good Shabbos, and this became a great joy and a way for me to usher in the Sabbath. Sidney was a remarkable person and a true gentleman and mensch. He was 97 last January and had the same energy and interest level and innovative spirit as when we first met. His age was just a number and not a label. He was truly remarkable, and he will be missed by anyone who ever interacted with him, as well as everyone practicing taxes anywhere in the world, as he was the consummate educator teaching over 1,000,000 colleagues. His accomplishments are too many to describe, and the many obituaries by all of our professional organizations can be easily accessed by a quick Internet search.

I have many stories about Sid and his generosity in helping people, but I will close with just one of them. A colleague, Walter Primoff, whom I have known since the early 1980s told me this week that Sidney introduced him to the search committee at the NYS Society of CPAs, where he became the assistant director over 40 years ago and that he spoke frequently with Sid. I was never aware of this until he told me that a few days ago. That was typical of Sidney’s quiet but huge and far-flung kindnesses!