Stuart Kessler, CPA, PFS, JD, LLM, AEP, is a Senior Tax Managing
Director in the New York office of RSM McGladrey. A specialist in
personal financial planning, he was cited by Accounting Today in 2003 to 2007 as "one of the 100 most influential people in accounting" and as one of the top people in personal financial planning.

An active member of both the AICPA and the New York State Society of CPAs ("NYSSCPA"), Mr. Kessler has served as Chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("AICPA") Board of Directors and President of the AICPA Foundation, and he is currently serving on the AICPA's Governing Council and the Awards Committee.

He has also served on its Special Committee on Governance and
Structure, Special Committee on Regulation and he was Hospitality
Chairman of the Centennial Meeting. Mr. Kessler is also a former
President of the NYSSCPA and of its Foundation of Accounting
Education, and he currently serves on the Future of the Profession Oversight Committee.

Mr. Kessler has earned the Personal Financial Specialist ("PFS") from the AICPA and the Accredited Estate Planner from the National Association of Estate Planners. He is a past chairman of the Executive Committee of the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Division, and for three years, he chaired the AICPA's National Technical Conference on Financial Planning. Mr. Kessler makes frequent lecture and television appearances to discuss tax issues and personal financial planning topics.

At present, he is also chairing the International Standards
Organization's Technical Committee, which established international standards for personal financial planning in 2006.

Recently installed as the first living member of the NYSSCPA Hall of Fame, as well as elected to the Brooklyn Technical High School Hall of Fame for his lifetime achievements in the accounting profession, Mr. Kessler has been recognized by Money magazine as one of the outstanding tax practitioners in the U.S. and by Worth magazine as one of our country's top financial planners. He has been an editor of the Estate Planning Column of the CPA Journal and a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Estate Planning Council. Additionally, he served on the editorial board of the Financial Planning Journal.

Mr. Kessler earned a BA from Brooklyn College, an MBA from the City College of New York, a JD from Brooklyn Law School, and a LLM in taxation from New York University.