Blogs

Karen Giunta, CPA and Sanford Zinman, CPA Recognized for Their Lifetime Achievements

NCCPAP Gold Awards are not to be taken lightly. In fact, they are not given out frequently. In addition, the previous recipients have the responsibility and honor of selecting the new recipients. As NCCPAP (the National Conference of CPA Practitioners) continues to celebrate its 40th Anniversary as an organization of ‘CPA practitioners helping CPA practitioners’, two individuals have been recognized for their lifetime achievements not only as CPAs, but also as contributors, advocates, and selfless volunteers to the entire organization. Congratulations to Karen P. Giunta, CPA from Melville, NY and Sanford (Sandy) E. Zinman, CPA in Tarrytown, NY for being recognized as Gold Award Winners for 2019.

Karen Giunta, CPA, is a former Membership Chair, Treasurer, and President of NCCPAP at the National level, as well as former Vice President and President at the Chapter level. A self-described ‘doer’, Karen has served on the Long Island Tax Professionals Symposium (LITPS) Committee for over 17 years—since its inception. A self-employed sole practitioner, Karen became involved in both accounting and NCCPAP through her late husband.

According to Karen, “I went back to college in my forties with the intentionof never majoring in accounting, because I wanted to do something different than my husband. After discovering I was not meant to be a liberal arts major or a finance major, I realized Accounting was my true calling. I worked in my husband’s office and his practice was expanding, so we tried practicing together. And it worked. When he died unexpectedly, our clients knew me, so they felt that they would continue to be taken care of and stayed with my practice. After over 20 years I still retain those clients. At that time, my extended NCCPAP family reached out to help me, so that’s when I became truly involved in the organization.”

Karen continues, “I’ve always been passionate about the organization and still go to national meetings even though I’m no longer on the Board. Our Nassau/Suffolk Chapter is very strong with an incredible mix of people who are dedicated to the LITPS. We are a professional organization and want to capture young people who want to go out on their own; we can be their mentors. I was totally shocked that the Gold Award was given to me. It is a recognition of how passionate I am about the organization and the profession. Here I am...yesterday, today and tomorrow working on the LITPS, our Chapter’s premium event, our pride and joy.”

Sandy Zinman, CPA, is high on the list of tax rock stars and is considered one of the ‘go to’ individuals to testify on the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance or consult with NY State’s Tax Commissioner; however, he like many of his generation had more humble beginnings. As a first generation American, he was encouraged to go to college and pursue a career. He started in retail, having worked for both Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman in accounting and finance roles. A colleague asked him if he did Accounting work and hired him on the spot. According to Sandy, “That was the impetus to start my business. I did tax returns at night, then took a job near my home to allow me more time to work on my business.” So, in 1983, Zinman Accounting was formed.

As a former Chapter President and Tax Committee Chair, Sandy is a huge advocate of NCCPAP. “From the first time I joined NCCPAP and still today, I feel that I get more out of NCCPAP than I put into it. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to have peers that I consider to be more knowledgeable than I am about certain issues—people I can turn to who give me great advice as sole practitioners. While we as CPAs have access to many sources for information, such as the IRS and others, I don’t think there’s any organization quite like NCCPAP. Even at our larger events, I’m greeted by hundreds of friends who care about each other. By volunteering, I’ve gotten more out of it than I’ve ever put into it. My experience has just been phenomenal.”

Learn more about NCCPAP’s 40thAnniversary awards winners at nccpap40thanniversary.com/awards/.

NCCPAPis headquartered in Woodbury, NY.

For more information, visit www.NCCPAP.org.

Agency Contact
Francine Carb
fcarb@markitects.com
610-687-2200

Administration Contact
Pat Sornberger
psornberger@nccpap.org
516-333-8282
#News