Forensic Accountant & Business Valuation Expert for New York 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 New York 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. 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.

Matrimonial matters in New York are heard in the Supreme Court of the State of New York — the only court that can grant a divorce — filed in the county where a party resides. Business and commercial disputes of sufficient size are assigned to that court’s Commercial Division. Federal matters are heard in New York’s four federal judicial districts. Mr. Friedman is regularly engaged in matters in states across the United States, as well as in international matters, and the firm accepts New York 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.

What Equitable Distribution Means for the Analysis

New York divides marital property by equitable distribution rather than as community property. Equitable means fair in the circumstances, which does not require an equal split. In practice that shapes a forensic engagement in four specific ways.

Characterisation is contested, not arithmetic

Marital and separate property must be identified before anything can be divided, and in a closely held business the line is rarely clean — premarital contributions, inherited capital, commingled accounts and appreciation during the marriage all have to be traced through the records rather than assumed.

The valuation date is a live question, not a formality

New York requires marital property to be valued as of a date, and which date governs can move a business valuation materially. Where the date is in dispute, the defensible approach is to compute the conclusion at each candidate date and show the difference, rather than advocating for one.

An unequal split has to be argued from the facts

Because the outcome is not presumptively equal, the financial record carries more weight than it does in a state that divides down the middle: contribution, dissipation of assets, earning capacity and the tax consequences of a proposed division are all evidentiary questions before they are legal ones.

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 New York law.

Forensic Accounting and Litigation Support

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.

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.

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

Does New York split marital property fifty-fifty?

No. New York applies equitable distribution, which means fair in the circumstances of the case and not automatically equal. That is why the financial record matters so much: an unequal division has to be supported by facts about contribution, conduct and capacity.

Which court hears a divorce in New York?

The Supreme Court of the State of New York, filed in the county where a party resides. It is the only court that can grant a divorce in New York.

As of what date will a business be valued?

New York requires marital property to be valued as of a date, and the date that governs can materially change the conclusion. Where it is in dispute, the sound approach is to compute the value at each candidate date and present the difference rather than argue for the one that helps.

Can a Florida-based expert work on a New York case?

Yes, and it is common. The analysis is performed on documents and data, which does not depend on the analyst’s location, and the firm travels for deposition and trial testimony as a matter requires. Distance from the local professional community can also make independence easier to demonstrate.

How is marital property separated from separate property in a family business?

By tracing rather than assumption. Premarital capital, inherited funds, commingled accounts and appreciation during the marriage each leave a record, and the characterisation has to be built from those records.

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.

Do you review another expert’s report?

Yes. Rebuttal work is a substantial part of the practice — identifying method departures, assumptions the record does not support, and figures that cannot be traced to a source.

What credentials should a financial expert in a New York matter hold?

For matters that may reach a hearing, the relevant considerations are accounting credentials, experience with the specific analysis at issue, and a record of testifying. 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 New York 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.