Darlene Shaffer

Darlene Shaffer

Contact Information
Fax: (908) 782-4328
Website:
Address:
39 Route 12, Flemington, New Jersey, United States 08822
Description:

Numbers run in Darlene Shaffer’s family–she recently hired her 17 year-old granddaughter, a rising high school senior, to work Saturdays in her home office so she could show her the ropes of bookkeeping and whet her appetite for a possible career in accounting or owning a business.

Darlene began her first accounting job back in 1987 and has worked in the field for over 30 years. She works closely with businesses, individuals, and non-profits and has continued her professional education with a specialized focus in non-profit organizations, estates and trusts, business valuation and litigation support (business and marital divorce).

It began back when, at 22, she found herself divorced, with two preschool children, and no way to support them. She took a factory job, working in the hot metal department of a glass factory, but after three years when the recession hit in the mid-1980s, she was forced into unemployment.

She immediately started taking college courses at the University of Pittsburgh and had finished two semesters before losing her unemployment compensation. Looking for more, she applied for grants and scholarships and took out student loans to continue her education at the University of Pittsburgh. She graduated with a BS degree in Management with an Accounting Emphasis in less than three years, while working two and three part-time jobs to make ends meet.  Still feeling the affects of the recession in her native Pittsburgh suburbs, she was forced to move away from friends and family.  She relocated to New Jersey to begin working in a regional accounting firm.

Darlene is now a principal at BKC, Certified Public Accountants, where she has been helping clients reach their financial goals for many years. She is trained in Interdisciplinary Collaborative Law which, she says, allows her to assist divorcing couples in reaching a financial settlement without court intervention and a long, drawn out and costly litigation process.  She specializes in Business Valuation and Litigation Support work.

Her Mantra:  A Collaborative Divorce keeps relationships intact–it keeps families from being torn apart and gives them the tools to work together going forward. It is an investment in the family’s future post-divorce.

Some of her fields of practice include:

  • business valuations;

  • forensic accounting and analysis;

  • support for case development;

  • discovery and depositions;

  • record construction;

  • review of opponents report;

  • shareholder, member, and partner disputes;

  • creation of buy/sell agreements;

  • ownership succession and wealth transfer;

  • gift and estate tax determinations;

  • charitable contribution of company stock;

  • stockholder agreements;

  • S Corporation conversion/built-in gains tax;

  • intangibles (goodwill, customer lists, etc.);

  • fair value financial reporting;

  • goodwill impairment testing;

  • economic damage assessments;

  • marital dissolution and settlement options;

  • divorce property settlements;

  • evaluation of tax matters in proposed settlements;

  • expert witness testimony;

  • banker/lender collateral investigating;

  • undue influence; breach of contract;

  • financial statement misrepresentation;

  • misappropriation of funds; professional malpractice (tax and accounting);

  • alternative dispute resolution;

  • strategic alternatives assessments;

  • document/agreement review;

  • internal control assessments and monitoring;

  • claims verification; loan applications;

  • business interruption;

  • fraud prevention and performance audits;

  • fiduciary accountancy for estates and trusts;

  • due diligence and transaction structures;

  • reorganizations and recapitalizations;

  • cash flow analysis; mergers and acquisitions;

  • purchase price allocations;

  • selling or buying a business;

  • commercial litigation;

  • Collaborative law.

When Darlene is not doing financial work, she enjoys international travel, gardening, movies and spending time with her four grandchildren.


Professional Certifications:

  •  Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

  •  Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV)

  •  Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF)

  •  Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)

  •  Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA)

Memberships:

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

  • New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants

  • National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts

  • International Academy of Collaborative Professionals

  • New Jersey Collaborative Law Group

  • Greater Middlesex Somerset County Estate Planning Council

Board Appointments:

  • Former Treasurer, Family and Community Services of Somerset County

  • Former President, Vice President and Treasurer, Hunterdon Helpline, Inc.

  • Immediate Past President, Former Vice President and Treasurer, New Jersey Collaborative Law Group

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