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Email Gerry

716-630-2420
716-630-2401

Gerry is a Partner with Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP and specializes in providing tax and business consulting services to clients in a variety of industries, including equipment manufacturing, distribution and leasing, Internet services, consumer product manufacturing and distribution, timber, real estate, environmental services and construction.

He has over 25 years experience in accounting and taxation, including 13 years with a “Big 4” Firm.  He has supervised and provided tax and business consulting services to clients in a variety of industries including private equity, manufacturing, financial services, distribution, biotechnology, timber, real estate, environmental services and health care.  He was selected to participate in his former firm’s national tax service coordinator program, served as a conference leader and was actively involved in numerous strategic initiatives for the firm. From 1992 through 1997 he held the positions of controller, treasurer and director of HFW Industries, Inc., an entrepreneurial manufacturing company in Buffalo, New York. 

His selected experiences include:

• Responsible for the delivery of all tax advisory and compliance services to a variety of privately-held clients and their owners, including multi-state and international tax businesses.  Focus is on providing tax savings strategies and business consulting that aligns with the goals and objectives of business clients and their respective owners.

• Assisted numerous clients with planning for a tax efficient transfer of their business holdings, including modeling of transaction scenarios, assisting with due diligence matters, coordination with legal team on tax matters for sale agreements and working with owners to assist them with achieving personal and business objectives for the transaction.

• Assisted clients with structuring the acquisition of business operations in a tax efficient manner. Includes identification of tax opportunities and risks, assistance with due diligence of target companies, coordination with legal team on tax matters for purchase agreements, and addressing tax reporting issues or acquisitions.

• Involved in the conversion of C corporations to "pass-through entities" (i.e., S corporations and limited liability corporations) to avoid double taxation of income generated by the business and position owners for a tax-efficient structure for a future sale of the business and estate planning.

• Responsible for the identification and delivery of tax planning and method change projects for a variety of clients to accelerate tax deductions and implement efficient processes. Projects included inventory method reviews, bad debt reserve deductibility, IC-DISC structuring, state and local incentives planning, transaction cost analyses, state tax structuring, cost segregation and fixed asset studies, among others.

• Assisted attorneys as expert witness with tax enforcement matters and tax criminal defense cases for their clients. Included assistance with forensic accounting, assistance with defense strategies and communications with government taxing authorities on behalf of client.

Affiliations:

• New York State Society of CPA’s

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

• Canisius College Council on Accountancy

• Treasurer / Board of Directors – WNY United Against Drug & Alcohol Abuse, Inc.

• Vistage / TEC Executive Committee – Past Member

• Finance Council/School Board – Saints Peter & Paul Parish, Hamburg (Past)

• Girls’ softball and basketball coach (Past)

Education:

• Canisius College - BS, Accounting 1985