AICPA Honors CPA for Contributions to Financial Planning

Steven Levey, CPA/PFS, CGMA, has been presented the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Special Recognition Award for 2014. The Institute presents the award to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to a particular area of the profession.

“Over the past 30 years, Steve has served as a thought leader and role model for the profession, specifically in personal financial planning,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, as he announced the award at the AICPA’s Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference. “He has been a pioneer in building a successful personal financial planning business within a CPA firm and he has truly been generous in sharing his knowledge and insights to everyone in the profession.”

Levey added financial planning services to his firm in the early 1980s and, in 1986, became one of the first CPAs to attain the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential. It distinguishes those CPAs who have attained advanced knowledge in tax, estate, retirement, investment and insurance planning.

Since that time, Levey has contributed substantially to the development of the personal financial planning discipline at the AICPA and within the CPA profession. He has chaired numerous financial planning conferences and served on the executive committee of the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning Division, the National Accreditation Commission and the Investment Planning Resource Panel among other committees and task forces. He has been a leader in leveraging technology in the provision of financial planning services and continues to teach CPAs how to implement financial planning services through a two-day workshop at the AICPA Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference.

Beyond his volunteer service to the AICPA, Levey’s professional accomplishments include a highly successful career as senior principal/CEO of GHP Horwath and senior principal of GHP Investment Advisors, Inc. He has been recognized as one of the top 250 best financial advisors in the U.S. by Worth magazine and has been featured in various publications as an expert in financial planning. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Denver.