Advisors
Christopher Gaffney, CPA, MST
Partner
Contact
Clifton, NJ
973.472.6250
cgaffney@saxllp.com
Expertise
Manufacturing & Distribution
Tax Department
> SEE BIO
Marc Blumenthal, CPA
Marc Blumenthal was a Partner at Sax for more than 35 years before transitioning into his current role as Senior Advisor. Over the years, he has served as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, head of the Tax Department, Partner in Charge of Marketing and Business Development, and founder of the Financial Managers Forum. Marc currently leads the partner development and succession planning efforts at the firm.
Marc specializes in tax and advisory services for closely held businesses and has extensive experience consulting business owners in the areas of strategic planning, succession planning and sales and acquisitions.
Marc frequently speaks about a variety of management consulting topics to local business and community groups and has been published numerous times. Marc is a Certified Public Accountant in New Jersey and a member of New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is also an active member of numerous business, trade and professional organizations.
Marc is the founder of the firm’s Financial Managers Forum (now CFO Focus), a peer-to-peer professional development and networking group focused on the critical business issues for Chief Financial Officers and other financial managers.
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Christopher Gaffney, CPA, MST
Christopher is a Partner at Sax and a member of the firm’s Manufacturing and Distribution Industry Service Group. He has more than 20 years of public accounting and tax experience, providing tax consulting, transaction structuring, and tax compliance and planning services to public and privately held companies. His expertise includes structuring taxable and tax-free transactions for large and mid-size companies, analyzing the tax costs and benefits of stock versus asset transactions, researching and consulting on tax issues, reviewing tax provisions and uncertain tax position assessments, and providing tax planning and compliance for multi-state and consolidated corporations and multi-state partnerships.
Christopher is a Certified Public Accountant in New Jersey and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants.
An active member of his parish, Christopher enjoys reading, camping and traveling.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Rothstein Kass and Co. PC
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Master’s degree in Taxation, Fairleigh Dickinson University
COMMUNITY
- Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Member of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
> CLOSE BIO
Lawrence M. Gradzki, CPA, JD, LLM
Larry is Director of Business Tax Services at Sax and co-chair of the firm’s Estate and Trust practice. He also concentrates his efforts on tax planning for closely held businesses and high-net-worth individuals. A member of Sax since 1983, he was a tax associate and tax manager before being named Partner in 1992. His areas of expertise include structuring sophisticated tax transactions for clients, including tax deferred exchanges, corporate reorganizations, and sales and acquisitions of businesses.
His depth of expertise is also leveraged within Sax, where he develops the professional staff through a multitude of training and continuing education programs. He frequently speaks at firm events on topics related to taxation, estate planning, and corporation structuring.
Larry is a Certified Public Accountant in New Jersey and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, for which he has served as a member of the State Tax Committee.
An avid golfer, Larry resides in Morris Township, N.J.
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Fairleigh Dickinson University
- LLM (Taxation), University of Bridgeport School of Law
- Juris Doctor, Seton Hall University School of Law
COMMUNITY
- Member of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants State Tax Committee
- Member of the Mount Saint Mary Academy Advancement Council
- Member of the Estate Planning Council of Bergen County
- Past Chairman of the Board for the North Jersey Regional Chamber of Commerce
> CLOSE BIO
Shivani Jain, CPA, MST
Partner
Contact
Clifton, NJ
973.472.6250
sjain@saxllp.com
Expertise
Manufacturing & Distribution
Tax Department
> SEE BIO
Shivani Jain, CPA, MST
Shivani is a Partner at Sax and Leader of the firm’s tax practice. She has been with Sax since 2004 and specializes in tax planning and compliance for multistate businesses and high-net-worth individuals.
Shivani’s technical competencies and superior client service abilities bring added value to many of the firm’s largest clients, including those with multistate operations and revenues from $10 million to $1 billion. She is an integral member of the firm’s Manufacturing & Distribution Industry Service Group, where she provides industry-specific tax services and oversees client assignments and project scheduling.
Shivani is also instrumental in the firm’s employee development program, conducting CPE training, standardizing tax procedures and communicating tax law updates to staff and clients.
EDUCATION
- Master’s degree in Taxation, Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, University of Mumbai
COMMUNITY
- Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
> CLOSE BIO
Steven Kaplan, CPA
Steven was a Partner at Sax for more than 30 years before transitioning to Senior Advisor. He has more than 40 years as a tax practitioner and is the head of the firm’s Family Tax Services Group, comprised of individual tax, estate and trust tax, transfer taxes, private foundation and estate tax planning. Steve specializes in the development and implementation of sophisticated estate and income tax planning techniques. He oversees and is regularly involved in numerous corporate, individual, fiduciary and estate planning tax matters of varying complexity on behalf of clients.
Steve is both a Certified Public Accountant and an Attorney.
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Brooklyn College
- Master of Laws degree in Taxation, New York University
- Juris Doctor, Brooklyn Law School
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Hillard Kaufer, CPA, MBA
Hillard has been a Partner with Sax since 1994 and is the Director of Tax Controversy. With more than 35 years of experience, Hillard has developed relationships and established credibility with numerous key decision-makers at all jurisdiction levels of federal, state, and local taxing authorities at the Internal Revenue Service.
His technical knowledge, expertise, and understanding of the IRS’ practices and procedures allow him to navigate his way through a complex government agency, to achieve the best result for his clients.
Hillard’s particular area of expertise is representing clients before the IRS to successfully resolve a conflict or lessen their financial burden, addressing such issues as:
- Tax audits
- Collection problems
- Penalty assessments
- Appeals
He has received numerous recognition awards from the IRS, and was named one of the “Top 50 IRS Representation Practitioners” by CPA Magazine, in 2008.
Hillard is a Certified Public Accountant in New York.
EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, Brooklyn College
- Masters of Business Administration degree in Taxation, Long Island University
COMMUNITY
- Member of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
- Member of the State and Local Tax Committee
- Member of the Cornell Law School State and Local Tax Study Group
- Member of the Internal Revenue Stakeholder Liaison Practitioner Panel
- Volunteer with the American Diabetes Association
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George Livanos, CPA
George is a Partner in the Tax Department of Sax, specializing in corporate, partnership and individual income taxation. He joined Sax in 2003 and has more than 25 years of experience, working closely with both publicly and privately held businesses to ensure that they are compliant with the latest tax laws, advising clients on the impact of proposed business transactions, and the potential effects of proposed tax legislation.
George is also the Tax Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Real Estate Industry Service Group, where he provides tax consulting services to real estate developers, owners and operators. Serving clients in the Financial Services area, including broker-dealers and hedge funds, George is a Certified Public Accountant in both New Jersey and New York.
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Fairleigh Dickinson University
- Master’s degree in Taxation, Fairleigh Dickinson University
COMMUNITY
- Member of the Education Committee of the New Jersey chapter of NAIOP
- Treasurer for the New Jersey Solar Energy Coalition
- Treasurer for SUNPAC
- Member of the New York and New Jersey State Societies of Certified Public Accountants
- Certified Public Accountant in both New Jersey and New York
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Marqus White, CPA
Marqus White is a partner in the Sax tax department and leader of tax for the firm’s Not-for-profit Industry Service Group. With more than 20 years of experience, he provides expert tax compliance, planning and advisory services to nonprofit organizations, closely-held businesses and individuals. He frequently addresses not-for-profit boards on regulatory issues, audit findings and tax compliance recommendations.
Marqus oversees the firm’s electronic tax filing procedures and tax software implementation. He leads the development of policies and practices that govern the firm’s use of technology and other resources in the tax department, and is responsible for tax-related training and education programs for staff and clients alike.
EDUCATION
- Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Seton Hall University
COMMUNITY
- Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Member, New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
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