Expert Witness

Expert Witness Testimony

"Is there anyone so wise as to learn from the experience of others?" ~ Voltaire

Stephen Kirkland has been engaged as an expert witness in more than 300 (un)reasonable compensation cases since 1995. Most of those cases settled without going to trial. However, Stephen has provided courtroom testimony in five U.S. Tax Court cases involving the reasonableness of executive compensation. In addition to tax-driven cases, Stephen has been engaged to provide executive compensation reports and expert testimony in court cases involving shareholder disputes, bankruptcy, discrimination, and marital dissolution.

Testimonials are listed on the Home page. Here are additional testimonials:

“Stephen is an acknowledged expert in executive compensation who exhibits painstaking attention to essential details when analyzing information and reaching credible conclusions.”
Jim Brennan
Independent HR, Compensation and Total Rewards professional
New Braunfels, Texas

“My Firm was representing one of our most prestigious clients who had just received an IRS audit adjustment notice disallowing over $10,000,000 of officer compensation. We engaged Stephen to assist in appealing the agent’s decision. He prepared an analysis and report. Ultimately, the IRS deemed the compensation to be reasonable and allowed the deduction for 100% of the officers’ compensation.”
Robert Kimelman, CPA, CGMA
Greene, Dycus & Co., PA
Sanford, Florida

"Stephen Kirkland was our consultant during an IRS audit of our company. The dispute regarded my compensation which the IRS deemed to be excessive. Stephen’s professionalism, understanding of the IRS mode of operations, along with his highly effective presentation resulted in a 100% victory. I would highly recommend him in this capacity as he is a skilled negotiator."
Morris Cregger, CEO
Cregger Company, Inc.
Columbia, South Carolina

"Stephen, I wanted to follow up and thank you again for your efforts in support of our audit activities. We resolved the audit favorably on the officer compensation issue. The IRS agreed to drop their disallowance of the officer compensation deduction. Thank you again for your efforts in supporting our successful defense."
Brian M. Blacher, Tax Director
Siemens Power Generation, Inc.
Orlando, Florida

"I retained Stephen Kirkland as an expert in executive compensation for my client, a leading supplier of nutritional products. I had previously retained special tax counsel to represent my client and brought on Stephen as our expert. At stake was a potential tax assessment of over $2.0 million. Stephen was absolutely amazing. His expertise and authoritative expert report persuaded the IRS to concede their position and agree to a nominal assessment, saving my client hundreds of thousands of dollars. Stephen was brilliant and easy to work with. He interacted with my special tax counsel and my client in an extremely professional manner. He demonstrated a real commitment to the case and a desire to learn all about the President of the company. I would recommend Stephen to any attorney looking for an expert that has an intimate knowledge of complicated tax matters.”
Richard L. Goodman, Esq.
Richard L. Goodman Co., L.P.A.
Niles, Ohio

“I retained Mr. Kirkland upon the recommendation of another partner in my firm. The task was to examine and expose the weaknesses in a complex loss of income claim asserted by the Plaintiff who had been injured in an automobile accident and filed suit against my client. Plaintiff was engaged as an insurance salesperson working out of her home for multiple large insurance companies on a commission basis. Her tax returns and other documentation of her claimed loss of earnings and earning capacity were fairly extensive and unintelligible to a lay person. Mr. Kirkland did an excellent job of critically reviewing and unraveling the evidence we were able to marshal for him and his assistance in preparing me to depose the Plaintiff and the Plaintiff’s expert was invaluable. Furthermore, Mr. Kirkland did a superior job of preparing for and testifying at his deposition. He reduced an otherwise complicated lost wage claim to language understandable by a layman and particularly the Plaintiff’s attorney leading to an excellent outcome with which my insurance client was very well pleased.”
Bo Bowman, Esq.
Rogers Townsend & Thomas, PC
Columbia, South Carolina

“Stephen is an excellent professional consultant in matters of taxation, accounting, and employment benefits. Always current and detail oriented.”
Mike Munden, Esq.
R. Michael Munden, Esq., P.A.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Atlantic Executive Consulting charges a $5,000.00 fee if Stephen Kirkland is designated as an expert witness in any case without his prior knowledge and consent.