Forensic Accountant & Business Valuation Expert for Georgia Matters

Working With Out-of-State Counsel

Joey Friedman, CPA, P.A. is a litigation-focused forensic accounting and business valuation firm engaged by counsel in Georgia matters. The firm is based in Florida and works nationwide, handling records-based analysis remotely and traveling for deposition and trial testimony as a matter requires. Mr. Friedman has testified in state, federal and foreign courts, for plaintiffs and defendants, in civil, criminal and marital proceedings, in jury and non-jury trials alike. The firm does not prepare income tax returns and does not provide tax planning services. The firm accepts engagements in other states as well — see states served for how the analysis differs elsewhere.

Divorce in Georgia is heard in the Superior Court of the county in which the matter is filed. Federal matters are heard in Georgia’s three federal judicial districts — Northern, Middle and Southern. Mr. Friedman is regularly engaged in matters in states across the United States, as well as in international matters, and the firm accepts Georgia engagements in state and federal proceedings alike.

Retaining a forensic accountant from outside the state is common in financial disputes, and in some matters it is preferred:

• Conflict distance. An out-of-state expert is less likely to have prior or ongoing relationships with the parties, their businesses, their banks or their other advisors.
• Records-based work travels. Tracing, normalization and damages analysis are performed on documents and data. The location of the analyst does not change what the records show.
• Independence is visible. Where the parties move in the same local professional circles, distance from those circles is easier to explain to a finder of fact — and in front of a jury, visible independence carries more weight than it does with a judge who sees experts every week.

Why the Jury Right Changes the Engagement

Georgia divides marital property equitably — fairly rather than automatically equally. What distinguishes Georgia from every state discussed so far is who decides.

One party’s demand is enough

Either spouse may elect a jury trial on the financial issues, including the division of property. The other side cannot veto it. The election is made by written demand and has to be made before the case is called for trial, which makes it an early decision for counsel rather than one that can be revisited at the courthouse door. That means the possibility of a jury has to be planned for from the beginning of an engagement, not addressed once a trial date appears.

A jury needs the reasoning, not just the conclusion

A judge who handles family matters routinely will follow a capitalisation rate or a normalization adjustment without much explanation. A jury will not. The analysis does not change — the arithmetic is the arithmetic — but the exhibits, the order of explanation and the language have to carry a lay listener from the records to the conclusion without asking them to take a step on faith. An opinion a jury cannot follow is an opinion a jury discounts.

Cross-examination lands differently

In front of a judge, an attack on method is argued to someone who knows what the method is. In front of a jury, the same attack is argued to people who do not. The defence against it is built in advance: assumptions stated plainly, each figure traceable to a document, and a method the expert can explain in ordinary words without abandoning it.

Personal versus enterprise goodwill

Where a business depends on one individual, part of its value may not transfer to a new owner. The firm calculates and separates the transferable value from the non-transferable value and documents the basis for each. This is a financial calculation, not a legal determination — how that split is treated is a matter for the court under Georgia law.

Forensic Accounting and Litigation Support

Business Valuation Disputes

Valuation of closely held businesses for marital dissolution, shareholder and partnership disputes and buyouts, including the normalization questions that decide most of these cases: owner compensation, discretionary expenses, related-party transactions and customer concentration.

Hidden Asset Tracing

Following money through business accounts, related entities and personal accounts to establish what exists and where it went — common in divorce and in partnership disputes where one side controlled the books.

Exhibits Built for the Finder of Fact

Schedules and visual exhibits designed for whoever is deciding — tied to the underlying documents, readable without a financial background, and able to survive being walked through backwards by opposing counsel.

Economic Damages and Lost Profits

Quantifying what was lost, on a method that survives cross-examination, and identifying where an opposing calculation departs from the records it claims to rest on.

Fraud and Embezzlement Investigations

Reconstruction of what happened from the underlying records — misappropriation, fictitious vendors, payroll schemes and diversion — documented so it can be presented to a court, a board or an insurer.

Rebuttal and Opposing-Expert Review

Review of an opposing expert’s report to identify method departures, unsupported assumptions and figures the underlying records do not support.

Deposition and Trial Testimony

Expert testimony in state, federal and foreign courts, in depositions, mediations, arbitrations including AAA, and jury and non-jury trials, for plaintiffs and defendants alike.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a jury really decide how our property is divided in Georgia?

Yes. Either spouse may demand a jury trial on the financial issues, including equitable division, and the other spouse’s consent is not required. The demand is made in writing and must be made before the case is called for trial, so counsel needs to decide early. Most cases are still decided by a judge, but the option belongs to either party.

Does a jury change the valuation itself?

No. The analysis and the numbers are the same. What changes is the presentation — the exhibits, the sequence and the language have to take a lay listener from the records to the conclusion without any unexplained steps.

Does Georgia split marital property fifty-fifty?

No. Georgia applies equitable division, which means fair in the circumstances rather than automatically equal.

Which court hears a divorce in Georgia?

The Superior Court of the county where the matter is filed.

Should we elect a jury?

That is a litigation strategy question for counsel, not an accounting one. What a financial expert can tell you is how the evidence would need to be built for each route, and that the difference is real.

Can a Florida-based expert testify to a Georgia jury?

Yes. Mr. Friedman has testified in both jury and non-jury proceedings, and the firm travels for trial testimony as a matter requires.

What records are needed to start?

Business tax returns and financial statements for several years, the general ledger in native form, bank and credit card statements, payroll records, and any loan applications or personal financial statements. Incomplete records do not prevent the work; they change its sequence.

What credentials should a financial expert in a Georgia matter hold?

For matters that may reach a hearing or a jury, the relevant considerations are accounting credentials, experience with the specific analysis at issue, and a record of testifying and being cross-examined. Mr. Friedman is a CPA accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) by the AICPA and a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Discuss a Georgia Matter

Joey Friedman is a CPA accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) by the AICPA, a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, with more than 25 years in accounting and forensic practice and an expert witness practice serving attorneys and litigants nationwide since 2014. To discuss whether the firm is the right fit for a matter — including scope, timing and whether an out-of-state expert suits the case — call 954-282-9615 or use the contact form.