Emily A. Wright, C.P.A.

EXPERIENCE AND SPECIALIZATION

Emily is a Principal at the firm and specializes in taxation, financial analysis, valuation, and technical writing for accounting, tax, financial and valuation related engagements, including written correspondence with federal and state internal revenue auditors and other regulatory agencies, drafting financial statement footnotes, and preparing extensive written reports for many types of cases including forensic, financial, and valuation engagements.

Emily has experience resolving shareholder disputes for minority shareholders, working through tax consequences of buy-sell transactions resulting in technical terminations of partnerships, in addition to making installment sale elections under Article II § 2.1(C), making § 754 elections to adjust the basis of partnership property, and preparing asset acquisition statements under IRC § 1060, to allocate sale prices of assets sold, based on the aggregate fair market value of assets, between seven classes under U.S. Treasury rules and regulations.

As an investment adviser representative in the state of Washington, Emily serves as a director to a private fund adviser regulated by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). Regulatory compliance, fund administration, and overseeing back office functions are important parts of this position. The Washington State DFI regulates and examines a variety of state chartered financial services, and also provides education and outreach to protect consumers from financial fraud. Its five divisions govern a wide range of financial enterprises and individuals, such as banks, credit unions, mortgage brokers, and securities issuers. Emily’s undergraduate studies in finance, together with accounting and the C.P.A. and P.F.S. credentials, give her a unique combination of skills to work on finance, accounting and investment related projects, including financial analysis, the capital asset pricing model, derivative securities, and investment performance calculations and analysis.

Tax planning and return preparation also represent an important part of Emily’s practice, ranging from estate and gift tax planning to preparation of tax returns for private foundations and nonprofit organizations. Additional experience includes providing attestation services for companies with over $20 million in annual revenue. These engagements require adhering to various AICPA standards, including Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAEs) and Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARs), as applicable.

Emily’s expertise also includes preparation of business valuations under Statements on Standards for Valuation Services (SSVS), issued by the AICPA, including valuations prepared for estate tax purposes, gift tax purposes, dissolutions, and sales of businesses or business interests. Additional areas of knowledge include working on retirement plan audits including offering opinions with respect to compliance with the Department of Labor’s Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and retirement plan administration as well as tax return preparation. Other proficiencies include successful resolutions of U.S. Treasury audits as well as examinations by various federal and state regulatory agencies, including the DFI and Washington State Department of Revenue.

Previously, Emily worked in Portland, Oregon for a multi-state not-for-profit insurance company with more than 3 million members, where she prepared financial statements under both Statutory Accounting Principles (SAP) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP). She also worked to improve the financial statement footnotes process, worked with the company’s external auditors while assisting with the annual audit, and worked to implement various process improvements, along with additional research projects.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA)

  • Personal Financial Specialist (P.F.S.): Demonstrates expertise and financial planning insight, and is the only personal financial planning credential exclusively offered to C.P.A.’s.

Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants (WSCPA)

PRESENTATIONS

Security Analysis & Investments, Gonzaga University Beta Alpha Psi
Business Valuations, Gonzaga University Beta Alpha Psi
Education Payoff, Central Valley High School

EDUCATION

Gonzaga University, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Business Administration, Concentrations in Accounting and Finance