About Thomas Neches & Company · Los Angeles
Thomas Neches & Company LLP is a Los Angeles-based forensic accounting and CPA expert witness firm founded on January 1, 2000 by managing partner Thomas M. Neches. The firm has been retained in more than 700 engagements nationwide and Mr. Neches has testified as a CPA expert witness more than 100 times in state and federal courts across Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New York and Oregon. It specializes in economic damages, lost profits, lost business value, reasonable royalty analysis, fraud examination and piercing the corporate veil for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Thomas Neches & Company LLP is a boutique Los Angeles CPA firm built around the practice of its founder and managing partner, Thomas M. Neches, CPA/ABV/CVA/CFE/CFF. Since its founding on January 1, 2000, the firm has been retained in more than 700 engagements — in every one of which Mr. Neches personally manages the analysis, authors the reports and provides the expert testimony. With more than forty years of professional experience (and roughly thirty-three years devoted almost exclusively to litigation services), Mr. Neches applies computer database and statistical techniques to assemble and analyze voluminous, complex financial data for attorneys handling cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Before establishing his own firm, Mr. Neches was Senior Partner of Simpson & Company (a litigation-focused CPA firm), a partner in the litigation services practice of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), a manager in the management consulting group of Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young), and head of the technical staff at The Assessment Group, a consulting firm that performed economic and cost analysis for the U.S. Navy. He also served as a Judicial Arbitrator of the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles and as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School from 2003 to 2013, where he taught Introduction to Accounting to second- and third-year law students. The firm’s largest case in dollar terms was Image Technical Service, Inc., et al. v. Eastman Kodak Company — a landmark antitrust action in which the jury awarded plaintiffs $23,948,300 (trebled under antitrust law to $71,844,900) based on Mr. Neches’ expert testimony. The firm serves attorneys across a broad range of practice areas (antitrust, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, business valuation, fraud, insurance bad faith, intellectual property, lender liability, personal injury, sexual harassment/retaliation, wrongful death and wrongful termination) and across industries including banking, entertainment, insurance, manufacturing, retail, securities and wholesale.
- In business
- Founded January 1, 2000 (26 years)
- Owner
- Thomas M. Neches, CPA, ABV, CVA, CFE, CFF — Managing Partner
- Serves
- Nationwide — cases accepted across the United States; testimony provided in state and federal courts in Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New York and Oregon (headquartered in Los Angeles, CA)
About Thomas Neches & Company LLP
Thomas Neches & Company LLP is a Los Angeles-based CPA firm that focuses on forensic accounting and CPA expert witness services for litigation attorneys. Since its founding on January 1, 2000, the firm has been retained in more than 700 engagements covering a broad range of case types and industries. In every engagement, Mr. Neches serves as the hands-on manager of the analysis, the author of all reports and the CPA expert witness providing testimony. The firm maintains credentials in accounting, business valuation, fraud examination and financial forensics, and Mr. Neches participates in Continuing Professional Education classes every year to keep them current.
- Founded January 1, 2000
- More than 700 engagements since founding
- Mr. Neches has testified as a CPA expert witness more than 100 times
- Forensic accounting, economic damages and business valuation services
- Clients served on both plaintiff and defense sides
Managing Partner — Thomas M. Neches, CPA
Thomas M. Neches is the founder and managing partner of the firm. He holds a BA in Mathematics and Literature from UC San Diego and an MS in Operations Research from UCLA. He is a Certified Public Accountant, is Accredited in Business Valuation, is a Certified Valuation Analyst, is a Certified Fraud Examiner and is Certified in Financial Forensics. Mr. Neches has more than forty years of professional experience and has spent the past thirty-three years providing litigation services almost exclusively. He has testified as an expert in state and federal courts in Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New York and Oregon.
- BA, Mathematics and Literature — UC San Diego
- MS, Operations Research — UCLA
- CPA, ABV, CVA, CFE, CFF
- More than 40 years of professional experience
- Testified 100+ times as a CPA expert witness
- Member of AICPA, NACVA, ACFE, ASA and ABA
Professional Background and Prior Roles
Before founding Thomas Neches & Company LLP in January 2000, Mr. Neches held senior roles at several of the largest professional services and consulting firms in the country. He was Senior Partner of Simpson & Company, a CPA firm specializing in litigation services; a partner in the litigation services practice of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers); a manager in the management consulting group of Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young); and head of the technical staff at The Assessment Group, a consulting firm that performed economic and cost analysis for the U.S. Navy. He has also acted as a Judicial Arbitrator of the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.
- Senior Partner — Simpson & Company (CPA firm, litigation services)
- Partner — Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), litigation services practice, Los Angeles
- Manager — Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young), management consulting
- Head of Technical Staff — The Assessment Group (U.S. Navy consulting)
- Judicial Arbitrator — Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County
Teaching and Publications
Mr. Neches was an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Law School from 2003 to 2013, teaching Introduction to Accounting to second- and third-year law students. He is an approved MCLE provider and has been an instructor in numerous regional and local courses on litigation services. He is the coauthor of the chapter "Use of Expert Witnesses" in Prosecuting and Defending Insurance Claims (John Wiley & Sons, 1989).
- Adjunct Professor — Loyola Law School (2003–2013)
- Approved MCLE provider
- Instructor in regional and local litigation-services courses
- Coauthor — "Use of Expert Witnesses," Prosecuting and Defending Insurance Claims (Wiley, 1989)
Expert Witness Services
The firm’s core offering is CPA expert witness testimony and litigation support. As a forensic accountant, Mr. Neches applies computer database and statistical techniques to assemble and analyze voluminous, complex financial data, and communicates his findings in language accessible to judges and juries. His practice works on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, and the firm is often retained in cases requiring precise calculation of economic damages, valuation of businesses or quantification of losses.
- Testimony in state and federal court
- Testimony on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants
- Database and statistical analysis of complex financial data
- Author of all expert reports
Types of Cases Handled
Thomas Neches has provided expert testimony in a wide range of case types. His case work covers antitrust actions, contract disputes, fiduciary-duty claims, fraud, intellectual property, lender liability, personal injury, insurance bad faith, sexual harassment/retaliation, wrongful death and wrongful termination matters. Litigation issues he has addressed include lost profits, lost business value, reasonable royalty, alter ego / piercing the corporate veil, unjust enrichment, lost earnings and reasonable compensation analyses.
- Antitrust
- Breach of contract
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Business valuation
- Criminal contempt
- Criminal fraud cases
- Insurance bad faith
- Intellectual property
- Lender liability
- Personal injury
- Sexual harassment / retaliation
- Wrongful death
- Wrongful termination
- Alter ego / piercing the corporate veil
- Unjust enrichment
- Lost earnings
Industries Served
Mr. Neches has been retained as a CPA expert in matters spanning several major industries, allowing him to address industry-specific accounting and valuation issues in litigation.
- Banking
- Entertainment
- Insurance
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Securities
- Wholesale
Business Valuation Services
In many cases economic damages can alternatively be calculated as future lost profit or lost business value; lost business value can appear less speculative to a jury than projected future profits, and the tax treatment of any award may be more favorable for businesses. Thomas Neches is a credentialed and experienced business-valuation expert witness — Certified Valuation Analyst and Accredited in Business Valuation — and has performed numerous expert valuations in litigation contexts. The firm values businesses for a broad range of purposes, including litigation support, mergers and acquisitions, marital dissolution, estate and gift tax planning, ESOPs, charitable contributions, fairness opinions, solvency opinions, purchase price allocations, buy/sell agreements and bankruptcy.
- Buy/sell agreements
- Capital infusions
- Charitable contributions
- Collateral valuations
- Bankruptcy liquidation value
- Eminent domain proceedings
- Employee benefit plans / ESOPs
- Estate planning and taxation
- Expert testimony / litigation support
- Fairness opinions
- GAAP valuations (FAS 141, FAS)
- Gift taxes
- Insolvency opinions
- Loan applications
- Marital dissolution
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Purchase price allocations
- S Corporation Elections
- Sales and divestitures
- Shareholder transactions
- Solvency opinions
Representative Engagements and Trial Testimony
The firm’s website lists a long catalog of representative engagements and trial testimony spanning business valuation, breach of fiduciary duty, sexual harassment/retaliation, wrongful termination and other matters. Notable cases publicly referenced include Image Technical Service, Inc., et al. v. Eastman Kodak Company (the firm’s largest case by amount awarded at trial, in which the jury awarded plaintiffs $23,948,300, trebled under antitrust law to $71,844,900), Professional Audio Concepts, Inc. v. Conrad Viva, et al., Vladimir Brkic v. Price Waterhouse LLP, PMC, Inc. and Winkler Forming, Inc. v. Paul Winkler, et al., Lynda Burton v. First Interstate Bank, Howard Karlitz v. Viewpoint School, et al., Jeffrey Kovach v. First Alliance Mortgage Company, and a series of matters against the City of Los Angeles and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles. A summary of trial and deposition testimony during the past four years is available for download on the firm’s site.
- Image Technical Service, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co. (antitrust — jury award of $23,948,300 trebled to $71,844,900)
- Professional Audio Concepts, Inc. v. Conrad Viva, et al.
- Vladimir Brkic v. Price Waterhouse LLP
- PMC, Inc. and Winkler Forming, Inc. v. Paul Winkler, et al.
- Lynda Burton v. First Interstate Bank
- Howard Karlitz v. Viewpoint School, et al.
- Jeffrey Kovach v. First Alliance Mortgage Company
- Sunny Chow v. Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, et al.
- Multiple cases against the City of Los Angeles and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles
- In re: Richard Terrance Knight; Eli Tamanaha v. DroneBase
- Summary of Trial and Deposition Testimony — available on the firm’s website
Contact and Location
Thomas Neches & Company LLP is headquartered in downtown Los Angeles at 633 West 5th Street, Suite 2800, Los Angeles, California 90071-2039. Inquiries can be directed to Mr. Neches by phone at (213) 448-7750 or (213) 624-8150, or by email at [email protected]. The firm’s website is www.thomasneches.com.
- Address: 633 West 5th Street, Suite 2800, Los Angeles, CA 90071-2039
- Phone: (213) 448-7750
- Alternate phone: (213) 624-8150
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.thomasneches.com/