Financial Expertise
I have been working in some form of business enterprise since my graduation with the Stanford MBA in 1975. I have worked with corporations with sales in the multi-billion dollar and family owned business with sales below one million dollars. I have worked with startup companies in the asphalt and software industries, have raised private funding for startups, worked with banks providing financing to my clients, provided forensic accounting services to attorneys and testified at various trials as a financial expert. The most interesting of these assignments was an arson case where my client was facing a murder charge – my goal was to explain to the jury why there was no financial motive for this arson. I have also taught management classes at San Jose State in their Engineering program and have designed and conducted training classes for an environmental company.
Over these 38 or so years of work experience I have developed various areas of technical experience. I am an expert in the operation of small business, especially family owned business, as these have their own set of requirements and unique constraints if they are to remain profitable. I know how the securities markets work and invest money for some clients. I am very well versed in the Federal and State of California taxation of individuals and families. I am very familiar with the standard approaches and techniques used in estate tax planning. Even though the Federal exemption is now so high (currently at $5.25 million) that many families do not believe they need to worry about “estate tax planning”, there are still many areas where good planning and a thoughtful approach will pay off.
My general approach to an assignment is to ensure that I have the knowledge, experience and insight to provide value to my client. I am able to identify both current problems and potential future problems, based on my experience of similar situations in the past. I am good at proposing solutions to problems I identify – I see my role as a problem solver, someone who is able to provide the client with options. As a CPA, I am inclined to be detail oriented but I also recognize that this is not always enough – I take the time to share the big picture with my clients so they can make informed decisions. While I am comfortable with complexity, I can still convey the important parameters to all interested parties.
Expertise with Relationships
This section reminds me of the oft repeated nostrum, “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment”. In 1998 I had a client who was not taking my advice on the operation of his business and he eventually told me that he considered a possible bankruptcy filing to be “nothing more than a minor inconvenience”. After getting over my shock, I decided I needed to go back to school to learn something of the human psyche so I was more comfortable and accepting of a larger range of human views and perspective. I intended to take a few classes but ended up with completing the Masters degree in Counseling and Psychology. Since 2002, I have worked with a range of therapy clients, from teenagers to individuals to families and couples. This is very fulfilling work. It takes a great deal of skill to be in the room with an agitated or upset or depressed client and provide him or her with the safe environment that is an essential ingredient to successful therapy. The skills used in that therapy session are transferable to other arenas of life, as in negotiating the emotional issues in a financial dispute.
