They show up in celebrity divorces (think Kevin Costner), big bankruptcies (think FTX) and financial fraud cases. But you don’t have to be famous to benefit from the help of a deep diving accounting pro.
By Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes Staff
As a stay-at-home mother of three involved in a nasty divorce, the Virginia woman saw early on in the process that her soon-to-be ex-husband had the advantage. The business he owned had been supporting the family. Now, she realized, she knew next to nothing about its revenues and likely value. And so she resorted to what has long been a go-to move in high dollar business disputes, celebrity break-ups and big bankruptcy cases: she hired a forensic accountant.
Cheryl B. Hyder, a Fairfax, Virginia, practitioner, not only uncovered information that proved crucial to the court ordered division of marital assets, she also explained the numbers in layperson’s terms. The divorcee confides she couldn’t really afford to have Hyder testify in court (she charges about $400 an hour for court appearances) and fortunately, she didn’t need to. The CPA’s written analysis was enough to persuade the judge that more resources were available for support than her ex previously claimed. “Whoever controls the data, controls the narrative,’’ says the woman, who asked not to be named since her divorce was so contentious.
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