Innovator Gets the Gold

At its fall 1998 council meeting, the AICPA gave the Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service to the Professionits highest honorto past chairman of the board Robert Mednick. He has long been a force for change in the profession: Years ago, he suggested a national certification program for CPAs that would better enable them to practice in different jurisdictions. Subsequently, he worked with NASBA to make cross-border practice a reality and helped hammer out the details. As former chairman of the AICPA accountants legal liability committee, he also strongly urged tort reform. Today, new laws protect CPAs from becoming automatic targets of disappointed investors.

A lifelong Chicago resident, Mednick (right, with awards committee chairman Philip B. Chenok) was made a partner of Arthur Andersen in 1971, eventually becoming managing partner for professional and regulatory matters.