[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 170 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2081-E2082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         SCHWARTZ, KARSIF & CO., P.C. MARKS 35 YEARS OF SERVICE

                                 ______


                            HON. JON D. FOX

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 31, 1995

  Mr. FOX. Mr. Speaker, when Bill Karsif and Sid Schwartz decided to 
enter into an accounting partnership, the two CPAs flipped a coin to 
determine the name of the firm. Sid Schwartz won the toss.
  Since that time, some 35 years ago, Sidney A. Schwartz and William 
Karsif, both 67, have never looked back and have been consistently 
progressive in operating this CPA and financial planning corporation 
which still carries their names.
  Schwartz, Karsif & Co., P.C., currently has offices at the Executive 
News, Building L, 2300 Computer Avenue, in Willow Grove, PA.
  These two talented CPAs who have specialized in providing accounting 
services and financial planning for small businesses, will mark their 
35th anniversary together on December 12 of this year with a special 
reception for all of their clients, business associates, and friends.
  The two became friendly as a result of their membership in the 
Adelphi Lodge of B'nai B'rith and their neighborhood association in the 
East Oak Lane section of Philadelphia.
  Schwartz is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton 
School and Karsif is a graduate of Temple University. Both are members 
of the American and Pennsylvania Institutes of CPAs. Schwartz is also a 
certified financial planner and is active in the CFP Institute.
  When they decided to form a partnership, Karsif was working in his 
own private practice and teaching at Pierce Business School, while 
Schwartz was also in his own private practice. Schwartz teases about 
earning $40 per week back then, while Karsif muses about earning $5 per 
hour.
  The two businessmen joined together with one small office located in 
Center City Philadelphia and an office in the Mt. Airy section. ``We 
knew that together we could offer better services for our clients,'' 
they note.
  Through the decades that followed, their general accounting practice 
grew from the original partners, with one junior accountant and a 
secretary, to a multimillion dollar professional corporation with 24 
professionals plus clerical and support staff.
  SK&Co grew and acquired an expertise in many areas of small 
businesses including scrap metals, commercial contract cleaning 
services, commercial and residential real estate and construction, 
professional corporation in medicine and law, manufacturing, laboratory 
research, boarding homes, and personal care facilities. Their current 
client list spans businesses and corporations in some 25 States.
  The firm has expanded its offices three times since its inception in 
1961, moving to Cheltenham, PA, in 1971; Rydal, PA, in 1982; and 
finally to its spacious modern office complex in Willow Grove.
  Schwartz says that the company was one of the first to run personal 
income tax forms on an in-house computer system and has never farmed 
out client work to outside service bureaus, specifically to maintain 
absolute confidentiality.

[[Page E2082]]

  In the late 1980's, following on the heels of its latest expansion, 
the firm added SKC Financial Planning Inc., an affiliated company, to 
its services. Schwartz, Karsif & Co. was one of the first accounting 
corporations to provide asset management and financial planning for the 
benefit of its clients.
  Schwartz and Karsif now hold the title of cochairman of the board and 
spend their time mainly in tax and financial consulting. They are also 
active in the area of succession of family-owned businesses. They share 
the overall responsibilities for expanding the firm's client base.
  The current day-to-day operational responsibilities are now being 
managed by Martin G. Kalos, 44, of Melrose Park, PA, who is the new 
president and managing shareholder, and Doris C. Liu, 48, of Washington 
Crossing, PA, who is secretary-treasurer and shareholder. Kalos has 
been with the corporation for 18 years and Liu has been a part of SK&Co 
for some 14 years.

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