People

James O’Brien is a Partner and leader of the Forensic, Litigation and Valuation Services team at Grassi, based in the New York City office and residing in Pennsylvania. He provides a variety of forensic, financial consulting, and accounting services to attorneys, insurance companies, governmental agencies, and public and private corporations. He routinely addresses disputes within government bodies, public school districts, as well as companies in the construction, insurance, healthcare, technology, commercial, and real estate sectors.

Before joining Grassi, Jim spent 30 years with international and regional public accounting firms, as well as two years with a specialty consulting firm. He concentrates his practice on providing expert witness services, litigation consulting, and forensic investigations. Jim focuses his practice on assisting clients in reconstructing financial activity to document whether fraudulent and/or inappropriate financial transactions have occurred. Jim routinely testifies in court, helping the trier of fact determine the quantum of damages. Forensic investigations encompass analysis of financial statements, tax returns, general ledgers, and other original books of entry. Jim also routinely analyzes contracts and agreements in dispute, which requires estimating damages and lost profits related to the dispute. The matters generally involve breach of contract claims, intellectual property disputes, and/or other contractual issues.

Jim is a recognized thought leader throughout the forensic accounting sphere. He was selected as one of nine principal authors for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Forensic & Valuation Services Practice Aid “Forensic Accounting-Fraud Investigations.” This Practice Aid was developed as educational and reference material for the approximately 400,000 AICPA members to provide guidance when performing these consulting services. The Practice Aid is considered the industry standard for performing forensic accounting services.

In addition to drafting the Practice Aid, Jim was also a co-author of the Report Writing Guide “Forensic Accounting: Investigation Report Writing.” The Guide offers AICPA members a valuable resource, providing best practices and approaches for drafting a forensic accounting report. Jim was also selected as one of seven principal authors of the AICPA Forensic & Valuation Services Practice Aid 10-1, “Serving as an Expert Witness or Consultant.” This Practice Aid was developed to assist practitioners who serve in these roles with the technical guidance necessary to perform these services. Attached is a copy of Mr. O’Brien’s Curriculum Vitae, including his Rule 26 disclosures.

Jim is a member of the AICPA and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). He is also a CPA and is certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) by the AICPA. He is also a professor at Temple University, where he teaches forensic accounting. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from York College of Pennsylvania.