AICPA’s highest award honors two influential CPAs

Richard “Rich” Caturano and Paul Stahlin received the 2020 AICPA Gold Medal Award of Distinction. The award is the highest honor granted by the AICPA and recognizes CPAs whose influence on the accounting profession has been especially notable.

Caturano has volunteered in a variety of positions within the profession and the AICPA, including board chair in 2012 and helping establish the National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. He founded Vitale, Caturano and Company, which became one of the 40 largest firms in the United States before merging with RSM US LLP, where he is currently a partner, serving as the firm’s national leader of culture, diversity, and inclusion. In 2018, the National Association of Black Accountants recognized him with the National Achievement in Public Accounting Award.

Stahlin has spent more than two decades volunteering within the profession and the AICPA, serving on several task forces and committees and as AICPA chair in 2010. He helped launch the CPA Vision Project and updated the CPA Horizons 2025 project. He was also integral in establishing ties between the AICPA and CIMA, which ultimately led to the creation of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Stahlin, who started his career with PwC, then known as Price Waterhouse & Co., has held several executive leadership positions throughout his career. He retired in 2014. Stahlin also received the Somerset County Business Partnership Citizen of the Year Award and the Montclair State University Carpe Diem and Distinguished Alumni awards.