Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
When financial planning pioneer Sidney Kess passed away last September at the age of 97, he was long-established as an active thought leader, contributing to the field for over 70 years. One unfinished project was a podcast interview about the history and future of CPA financial planning for which he had prepared notes. Sid was a legend, and his life was an open book, literally! In fact, it’s titled The Sid Kess Approach (Wiley 2017). Yet, his podcast notes expanded on his extraordinary foresight and contribution to the integration of personal finance disciplines.
After serving in France and Germany during WWII, Sid earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at CUNY’s Bernard M. Baruch College, a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, and a Master of Laws from NYU’s Graduate School of Law. He passed the CPA exam and the bar exam in New York. Having such an education set the expectation for his eminently brilliant career. Among his many accomplishments, Sid taught hundreds of thousands of professionals through his courses and many times more by authoring dozens of books and contributing to countless articles.
Although Sid became legendary for his tax, estate planning, and legal expertise, his true calling and passion were simply helping people. In working with clients, he saw the need for comprehensive, integrated counsel rather than compartmentalized recommendations. Consequently, Sid advocated that valuable financial advice required expertise across areas like taxes, investments, and estate planning. Early in his career, he saw technical interrelationships and promoted a holistic planning approach focused on clients' overall needs and goals. He then pushed the accounting profession to expand skills to encompass a holistic personal finance knowledge base, allowing CPAs to vastly improve their service and value to clients.
Through books, conferences, and training programs, Sid equipped CPAs to position themselves as integrated planners. Long before “crowdsourcing” was coined, Sid asked his workshop and seminar attendees to submit financial planning tips. Over the years, he collected thousands of tips, which he then published. In 2010, the AICPA established the Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education. This award recognizes CPAs who have made significant and outstanding contributions to tax and financial planning.
In the early 1970s, Sid began providing tax planning tips to New York Times reporter Bob Metz. The collaboration became an annual column. And the column turned into a book for NYT subscribers. In the same decade, the tax code propelled financial planning by creating tax-advantaged accounts, like 401(k)s, and IRAs. Americans needed guidance to integrate tax, investment, and estate planning implications. Sid became one of the first professionals to provide personal financial planning advice to the public through a prominent national publication.
As a long-term member of the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee, Sid tirelessly championed that cause. For instance, Sid helped drive the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation. Ten years ago, he helped CPAs become the first professionals subject to regulatorily enforced financial planning standards. In 2015, his contributions were recognized with the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award. Recently, Sid supported the successful effort to integrate financial planning into the CPA exam.
Over the last 15 years of his life, Sid forged a close professional friendship with Andrea Millar, past director of personal financial planning at the AICPA. Both shared a passion for the integration of technical personal finance with life planning or coaching. In that relationship, Sid found a kindred spirit to advance his vision of helping people in the most meaningful way possible.
In paying tribute to Sidney Kess, let’s celebrate a trailblazer whose vision advanced financial planning into an integrated and holistic discipline. Sid's unwavering commitment to helping others and his foresight in recognizing the interconnectedness of personal finance elements have left an indelible mark on the accounting profession. As we carry on his legacy, the Sidney Kess approach continues to guide professionals toward comprehensive planning, emphasizing the broader needs and goals of clients. Sid's enduring impact resonates in our ongoing work, the lives he touched, and the transformation of the profession he so profoundly shaped. Through our continued dedication, we honor a remarkable individual who shaped the past and inspires the future of financial planning.
Jean-Luc Bourdon, CPA/PFS is the founder of Lucent Wealth Planning, a wealth management firm located in Santa Barbara, California. In the past, Jean-Luc served on the PFS Credential Committee and the Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee of the AICPA. He has written numerous financial planning articles for professional and consumer publications.
A message from Advisor Perspectives and VettaFi: To learn more on this and other topics, check out our full schedule of upcoming CE-approved virtual events.
Read more articles by Jean-Luc Bourdon
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
