The Institute honored G. William Kennedy and Barry S. Sziklay in November at its National Business Valuation Conference in Phoenix for their contributions to the advancement of the valuation discipline.

Kennedy earned the 2003 AICPA Business Valuation Hall of Fame Award in recognition also of his lifetime achievements. These include being one of the developers of the first Accredited in Business Valuation examination, his service on the exam committee—of which he currently is chairman—and his furtherance of the multiple entry point system, which gives holders of certain other valuation designations credit toward obtaining the ABV credential.

Sziklay, an earlier Hall of Fame inductee and a practitioner, educator and Institute spokesperson, also won the 2003 AICPA Business Valuation Volunteer of the Year Award for his outstanding support of the ABV credential. The citation recognizes individuals for their extraordinary committee or task force service.

William J. Goldberg, CPA/PFS, received the 2003 AICPA Distinguished Service Award in January at the Personal Financial Planning (PFP) Technical Conference in Las Vegas. Goldberg, a former chairman (1996–98) of the PFP executive committee, also was chairman (1989–91) of the PFP legislation and regulation subcommittee and is a regional director at Bernstein Investment Research in Houston. Joel H. Framson, CPA, PFP executive committee chairman, presented the award to Goldberg as Anat Kendal, AICPA director of financial planning, looked on. Also at the conference, the Institute introduced a Web site ( www.aicpa.org/pfp ) dedicated to meeting the needs of CPA financial planners and others interested in learning more about Personal Financial Specialist services. Its resources include an online discussion forum, a financial planning library, news, practice guides and two Web pages exclusively for PFS credential holders and members of the PFP section, respectively.

At the AICPA National Conference on Federal Taxes held in November in Washington, D.C., Michael Walker, CPA, received from Robert A. Zarzar, CPA, chairman of the tax executive committee, the Institute’s Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award, the profession’s highest recognition for achievement in the area of taxation. He has been a member of the Institute’s governing council and, as a tax division volunteer, has served on the AICPA tax, managerial and governmental accounting and reporting subcommittee and as chairman of the fringe benefits task force, the domestic relations task force and the tax determination subcommittee. He is a principal with the firm REDW Business & Financial Resources LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The annual prize honors Mr. Dixon, a CPA known for his outstanding service to the tax profession and the AICPA tax division.

The Institute appointed Thomas P. Ochsenschlager, CPA, vice-president of taxation in December. In this role, he will collaborate with the tax executive committee on the development of AICPA tax-policy positions, on shaping and communicating the Institute’s initiatives in tax matters and on providing members with tax products and services. His responsibilities also will include acting as liaison to the national office of the IRS and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Tax Policy, as well as working closely with congressional tax committees on tax-related issues. Other functions within his purview are the management of tax relations with state CPA societies and the provision of guidance for the activities of AICPA volunteer committees, technical resource panels and the tax division’s professional staff.

Ochsenschlager is currently a member of the AICPA tax executive committee and an editor of the Tax Clinic column in The Tax Adviser . He will report directly to Alan Anderson, senior vice-president of member and public interests, and succeeds Gerald W. Padwe, CPA, who recently retired. For four consecutive years, Accounting Today magazine identified Ochsenschlager as one of the nation’s 100 most influential accountants. He is a member of the Virginia Bar Association.

Prior to joining the Institute, Ochsenschlager was a partner with Grant Thornton LLP in Washington, D.C., serving as a liaison between the firm’s offices and the national office of the IRS. Before that, he was a member of Arthur Young and Co.’s Washington, D.C., tax practice.

The AICPA Minority Initiatives Committee in September awarded the 2003 AICPA Scholarships for Minority Accounting Students. Grants totaling $506,000 went to 154 students. Information on eligibility and applications forms for the 2004 scholarships are available from the AICPA at www.aicpa.org/members/div/career/mini/index.htm .