Expert Witness Testimony

We have represented CPA firms in a number of disputes, including:

• The valuation of a deceased partner’s interest in a CPA firm that had no buyout provision in their partner agreement.
• The valuation of a terminated partner’s interest in his former firm.
• Determination of reasonable compensation for a firm partner.
• Validity of justification for CPA firm non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.
• A Tax Court case in which I testified regarding the extent to which the compensation earned by several partners of a firm was or was not reasonable and excessive.

Our typical approach is as follows:

1. Obtain an overview of the case from both the client firm and his/her attorney.
2. Based upon these overviews, I request materials and data needed to conduct my work.
3. I review the materials and prepare my expert witness report.
4. Testify in court, if necessary.

When a case requires us to put a value on a CPA firm, we do this based on our knowledge of:

• How partners internally value their firms for partner buyout purposes.
• An evaluation of dozens of factors that determine a firm’s value such as profitability, the firm’s location, the firm’s personnel, compatibility with other firms.
• What the market is currently paying for firms similar to the firm under evaluation.