Partner

Joe Liss has been involved in many aspects of accounting over the last thirty-two years.  A certified public accountant since 1968, he joined Brown, Kaplan & Liss LLP in January 2000 because he was eager to join a team of highly skilled professionals working in a close-knit environment. 

Joe came to Brown, Kaplan & Liss LLP from Klayman & Korman LLC where he had been managing a diversified practice for the past fifteen years. His business client base includes such service organizations as medical and dental practices, advertising agencies and market research firms, and law firms, as well as wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers.  He also provides tax and financial consulting services for a large group of individuals who are not affiliated with one of his business clients.  Joe enjoys working with small, owner-operated businesses, and individuals.  He is a hands-on accountant who maintains close professional relationships with his clients.

Joe’s professional experience includes accounting, auditing, income and estate tax planning, as well as business consulting and strategic planning.  His track record shows a gift for thinking “outside the box” when minimizing tax liability.  For example, efficient estate planning enabled one client, upon the sale of a business, to transfer $8.5M to his children without paying any estate or gift taxes. This increased the family’s net worth by over $4M.

Joe’s career has given him a widely varied background.  Having started at what is now Deloite & Touche in 1968, Joe went on in 1972 to become CFO at KPK Corporation, a diversified entrepreneurial enterprise with operations in real estate development, commercial steam heat distribution and hardwood lumber milling, drying and brokering.  He served on the boards of directors of KPK Corporation and Seattle Steam Corporation.

In 1978, Joe returned to public accounting and established his own practice with offices in Skokie and Batavia. He was able to grow his firm and successfully merge it with a number of larger firms.  Today, this entity has become Klayman & Korman, LLC.  His credentials as a successful entrepreneur in his own right are impeccable.

Joe has served on the boards of directors of several not-for-profit organizations.  For the past two years, he has participated in Mayor Daley’s Principal for a Day program, and plans to do it for a third year.  He has also served on the business advisory council of the William Howard Taft High School in Chicago.

Licensed to practice in the State of Illinois, Joe’s professional affiliations include memberships in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society.

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