Hats off to Hal! 2005 CalCPA Distinguished Service Award winner: Harold S. "Hal" Schultz.

• Position: News & Trends - California Society of Certified Public Accountants

For a career devoted to the betterment of the accounting profession, Harold S. "Hal" Schultz is CalCPA's 2005 Distinguished Service Award winner.

Schultz, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Irvine, is a 33-year veteran of the CPA profession and his contributions to the profession have been numerous and constant.

He has been a CalCPA Council member since 1991, and served as CalCPA president in 1997-98. He has served on the CalCPA Accounting Education and Careers Committee since 1992, serving as chair in 1995-97. Schultz also is chair of CalCPA's Leadership Development Committee, and previously has chaired CalCPA's Nominating Committee; the Special Committee on Certification and Licensing; and the Accounting Education Planning Task Force.

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And if that wasn't enough, Schultz has been a member of the CalCPA Committee on Professional Accountability.

But it's his work on CalCPA's Government Relations Committee, where he is co-chair, that has left the most indelible mark on CalCPA--and the profession. He began working on the committee in 1991 and has played a major role in ensuring a fair regulatory environment.

"Hal has contributed so much to the profession on both the national and state level that our successes as a result of his efforts are too extensive to chronicle," says Robert A. Petersen, chair of the CalCPA Government Relations Committee.

"While Hal is a large-firm representative appearing before regulators, he's always been balanced for the good of the profession as a...