Six CPAs were recognized by the AICPA and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) during the organizations’ premier event, Engage 2025, in Las Vegas this week.
The awards highlight CPA efforts in a specific accounting specialty area, excellence in volunteer efforts, or significant contributions to the accounting profession.
“The CPAs recognized during this year’s Engage conference positively spotlight the exemplary characteristics and exceptional dedication that comes with holding the CPA license,” Eva Simpson, vice president of member value, tax and advisory services for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, which was founded in 2017 by the AICPA and CIMA, said in a statement. “Each recipient has earned the respect of their peers and serves as an exceptional example of CPAs serving in the personal financial planning and technology advisory services areas.”
The award recipients are as follows:
P. Thomas Austin Personal Financial Planning Scholarship
John H. Chilcott, CPA/PFS, Washington Army National Guard, Camp Murray, WA, was awarded the 2025 P. Thomas Austin Personal Financial Planning (PFP) Scholarship.
CPAs who have fewer than 10 years of experience are eligible to be considered for the scholarship, which covers the registration fee for the AICPA’s Advanced Estate Planning Conference. The AICPA established the scholarship in 2010 to honor P. Thomas Austin, a CPA who chaired the Advanced Estate Planning Conference for three decades and is currently chair emeritus.
Chilcott serves as a quality assurance officer with the Washington Army National Guard, where he provides expert technical guidance to the financial manager and U.S. Property and Fiscal Office on accounting programs, financial systems, and operational business processes. In parallel with his public service, he’s in the early stages of co-founding an estate planning and estate tax firm alongside his wife, who is also a licensed CPA.
Chilcott holds both a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Accounting from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.
Sid Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education
The Sid Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education was presented to Jordon N. Rosen, CPA, MST, AEP, former director and shareholder at Belfint, Lyons & Shuman in Wilmington, DE.
During his time at Belfint, Lyons & Shuman, he headed the firm’s estate and trust practice and served as director of tax practice quality control, providing oversight of the firm’s adherence to its risk management policies.
The AICPA created the Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education to recognize individual CPAs who have made significant and outstanding contributions in tax and financial planning and whose public service exemplifies the CPA profession’s values and ethics.
Rosen is a member of the AICPA Tax Section and is a past member of the AICPA Trust, Estate and Gift Technical Resource Panel and Tax Reform Resource Task Force. He is a past president of the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils, which in 2020 inducted him into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame. He has more than 43 years of experience in public accounting, speaks locally and nationally on tax planning and related issues, and has published more than 100 articles.
Standing Ovation honors
The AICPA honored four CPAs for contributions to their specialty areas with the Standing Ovation award.
The AICPA’s Standing Ovation program recognizes young CPAs who exhibit exemplary professional achievement in personal financial planning, business valuation and forensic accounting, and information management and technology assurance. Beyond making a notable contribution to the profession, nomination requirements include maintaining an active CPA license, being an AICPA member in good standing, and holding either the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), or Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential.
Personal Financial Planning Standing Ovation
The two recipients of the 2025 Personal Financial Planning (PFP) Standing Ovation all hold the PFS credential. They are (in alphabetical order):
- Andrew Christakos, CPA/PFS, CFP, Christakos Financial, Cranford, NJ
- Matthew Kidd, CPA/PFS, Blunden & Kidd Accounting & Consulting, Livonia, MI
Technology Advisory Standing Ovation
The two recipients of the 2025 Technology Advisory Standing Ovation award all hold the CITP credential. They are (in alphabetical order):
- Justin Headley, CPA/CITP, CISSP, CISA, CISM, Warren Averett LLC, Birmingham, AL
- Joenny Marin, CPA/CITP, CISA, CISM, CBIZ, Troutman, NC
AICPA & CIMA Engage 2025 concludes on June 12.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the AICPA
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Tags: Accounting, AICPA, Engage 2025
