DiGabriele, McNulty, Campanella & Co. (DMC CPAs) has established itself in New Jersey and nationally as a sought-after team of forensic accounting and valuation professionals. The firm’s experts, led by managing partner Jim DiGabriele, are sought by both prosecuting and defending attorneys for the ability to bring unbiased and objective clarity to financial matters. Whether called upon to determine the worth of a business, or to identify compensation due to a party within a complex contract dispute, the firm’s professionals provide financial analysis and deliver recommendations that contribute to final court decisions.
Approach
Establishing an accurate, unbiased determination of financial value for personal income, a business or the fairest outcome of a contract disagreement is challenging given the high emotions and outlooks of different stakeholders in a legal dispute. When called to help make such a determination, DMC CPAs forensic accounting experts rely upon an objective methodology, developed to meet the particular needs of each case, and in-depth financial analysis to establish a rigorously developed opinion.
In one case, for example, a plaintiff sought payments from an ex-spouse for child care expenses she believed had not been included in the agreement establishing the terms of the divorce. The court relied on the forensic accounting expertise of DMC CPAs who investigated those expenses for which the party sought compensation to determine if they had indeed, been covered in the agreement. The defendant had also recently started a business and DMC & Co. examined the business finances to assess the owner’s income as a determinant for any final reward due to the plaintiff.
In another case, a divorce proceeding led the court to seek DMC CPAs advice in the valuation of a company owned by one of the parties. Because a variety of valuation methodologies result in different determinations of financial value, DMC CPAs outlined three possible valuation methodologies and clearly explained for counsel the methodology it pursued to develop its final calculations, thereby emphasizing the unbiased and objective basis of its conclusions.
DMC CPAs forensic accounting experts also bring objectivity to contract disputes. One particularly complex case involved one promotor of a multi-year concert series who alleged that other promoters had not provided the agreed-upon compensation from a contract agreement. DMC CPAs delivered an exhaustive review of contracts, receipts, checks and other documents that represented four years of financial transactions between the promoters, to determine whether all parties had complied with the contract terms. DMC delivered the final findings with copies of all the documents for purposes of any additional review needed by the court’s legal team.
Findings
After reviewing a case and establishing a methodology that will drive the most objective and unbiased assessment of financial facts, DMC’s forensic accounting professionals provide a comprehensive investigation of all documents, transactions and agreements pertinent to each case and the needs of the court. In its findings, such as for the two marital and business dispute mentioned above, DMC delivered an oversight of its findings, a clear and precise explanation of the methodology it chose to affirm its findings, and rigorously collected copies of all pertinent documents used in its calculations.
In the promoter dispute, DMC completed its investigation of financial documents of several promoter stakeholders in the concert series over a four-year-period to conclude that the contract terms had not been met and recommended a precise amount the firm believed was owed the plaintiff. In the case of the business valuation, DMC relied upon the valuation methodology most pertinent to the situation based on similar cases and valuations conducted in the past for similar purposes. In the case of the dispute over child care support, DMC determined the defendant’s income based on the revenue, expenses and overall profitability of his company, and pinpointed which expenses were not covered in the divorce agreement and remained pertinent to the case.
Conclusions
When business or interpersonal disputes end up in the court system and legal teams seek an unbiased determination of financial worth, they often turn to the professionals at DMC who have established a reputation for forensic accounting and valuation expertise. For nearly 30 years, Jim DiGabriele and his team have established themselves as sought-after partners capable of separating the emotional elements of cases from the objective insights needed to deliver final financial decisions.
While establishing a reputation with its legal partners, DMC has also participated in the larger dialogue within the industry by contributing to peer-reviewed journals that are read and considered by other forensic accounting experts. As a New Jersey-based firm, DMC has also helped to cultivate the next generation of forensic accounting experts by working with a well-regarded state university to develop a certificate program in its accounting department. The program was developed by DiGabriele, who also serves as the program’s primary lecturer.
DMC CPAs professionals are known for their lack of bias and their objectivity. Financial determinations in legal matters often begin and end with the expertise of Jim DiGabriele and his forensic accounting team.