Jim is a past chair and current member of the AICPA Tax Practice Responsibilities Committee and a past chair of the S Corporation Technical Resource Panel (TRP). He also served on the AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee. He recently chaired the E-signatures task force and helped AICPA successfully encourage the IRS to extend indefinitely allowing e-signatures. He has also authored several Tax Adviser and Journal of Accountancy articles.

“It is my honor and pleasure to present James W. Sansone, CPA with the Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award,” said Blake Vickers, chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee and global head of tax at Alamo Group Inc. “Jim’s decades long involvement with the Tax Division has been and continues to be, a great asset to the AICPA. As a volunteer member of so many committees and TRPs, he has imparted his influence and expertise to the issues that are so important to the AICPA and its members. Through this work, he has passed along his strong values to the next generation of CPAs.”

The Arthur J. Dixon Award is the highest award given by the accounting profession in the area of tax and given for distinguished services in the area of taxes in recognition for a “career” of contributions and volunteerism. It is given to a CPA who demonstrates true professionalism in the spirit of Arthur Dixon. Dixon was a recognized leader in the profession, serving on various state society and AICPA committees, with a long record of service to the Tax Division, culminating in his chairmanship of the Tax Executive Committee from 1977–80. Following his passing in 1981, the Tax Executive Committee established the Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award in his honor.

Anette Nellen, CPA, CGMA, Esq. – 2024 AICPA Jonathan Horn Distinguished Service Award

Annette Nellen, CPA, CGMA, Esq., a professor and MST Program Director at San Jose State University, was awarded the Jonathan Horn Tax Division Distinguished Service Award to recognize her above and beyond efforts and contributions this past year to the AICPA Tax Division. She has been an extremely active AICPA member for more than 30 years. In the last committee year alone, Annette has served as chair of the Digital Assets Tax Task Force and as a member of the Disaster Tax Relief Task Force, State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction PTET Task Force and State Tax Guidance on Digital Assets Working Group of the SALT Technical Resource Panel (TRP). In the past committee year, Annette was involved with 16 of AICPA’s submitted comment letters and was one of the primary drafters of at least seven of those letters.

She is a member of the AICPA & CIMA National Tax Conference steering committee, developing the agenda and identifying speakers for this year’s conference. She also served as a speaker at AICPA’s 2024 ENGAGE conference and has been the author or co-author of multiple articles for The Tax Adviser. Annette is also a past recipient of the AICPA Sid Kess Award for Excellence In Continuing Education and the AICPA Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award.

“Annette is one of our most dynamic members and is often the glue that keeps things moving,” said Cheri Freeh, vice chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee and President and CEO at Hutchinson & Freeh, P.C.. “Her involvement with the AICPA has lasted more than three decades, showcasing her dedication to the profession and her fellow members. Without her involvement in the multiple comment letters that we submitted to the Treasury and IRS, those letters may not have happened or would not have been completed in a timely manner. She has been instrumental in creating many current year member resources, including recording a podcast, authoring and editing articles and helping to plan this year’s National Tax conference.”

The AICPA Jonathan Horn Tax Division Distinguished Service Award is bestowed for outstanding current contribution to the AICPA Tax Division for the past committee year. Recipients have made a substantial contribution over the past committee year to the Tax Division’s work product through notable, extraordinary personal effort, and are awarded this honor by the AICPA Tax Executive Committee. The Tax Division Distinguished Service Award’s name was recently changed to posthumously recognize and thank Jonathan Horn, CPA, a former TRP volunteer, AICPA staff member, and past recipient of this award.