Curriculum Vitae
Experience & Expertise
Bernard W. Bunning is Senior Partner and manager of operations for a multi state CPA firm, including the wealth management advisory group and the tax and litigation group. Mr. Bunning is responsible for managing corporate finance engagements, including mergers and acquisitions, company divestitures, and debt and equity financing. Bernard also advises clients on the planning considerations and tax implication of investments and financial products. He has more than 30 years of experience in business appraisal, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, litigation support and planning for high net worth individuals. Mr. Bunning has successfully defended his conclusions as an expert in his areas of expertise with state taxation agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, and Federal and State Courts. Mr. Bunning is also a managing director of The McLean Group offices in Northern California, Reno, Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming. The McLean Group is a private investment bank with twenty offices across the United States, providing merger & acquisition, business valuation, capital formation, executive advisory and litigation support services. The firm focuses on serving middle-market business generating $5 million to $300 million in revenues.
Mr. Bunning's bankruptcy and insolvency experience includes a strong understanding of the bankruptcy codes, over twenty years working with clients on insolvency and bankruptcy issues, and appointed numerous times to represent tax and accounting issues by the Federal Bankruptcy Court in both the Sacramento and the Rocky Mountain jurisdictions.
Mr. Bunning has prepared and supervised the preparation of hundreds of valuations studies and financial analyses of private companies, including partnerships, corporations and sole proprietorships. He has prepared lost profit analyses, financial forecasts, cash flow analyses, analyses of the tracing of assets, cost and damage calculations, management and business reviews, and analyses and other services requiring his investigative mentality. He has been involved in successful negotiations for the sale of numerous businesses including situations and transactions with banks under the threat of liquidation and foreclosure.
These studies and analyses have been for a broad variety of purposes, including acquisition searches, mergers, reorganizations, dissenting shareholder actions, estate and gift income taxes, minority shareholder issues, estate planning, sales, recapitalization, the analysis of financial and working capital needs, private placements, financing, liquidations, corporate planning, breaches of contracts, and other litigation matters.
Mr. Bunning has an MS in Taxation, an MBA, a Juris Doctorate, (JD) and an LLM (Master of Laws) in Taxation. He is authorized by the US Department of Treasury as an Enrolled Agent with the Internal Revenue Service and is a Diplomat with the American Board of Forensic Accounting. He also is a Fellow with the American College of Forensic Examiners, and a Fellow and Advisor on the American Academy of Financial Management’s Board of Standards. Mr. Bunning is currently enrolled as a candidate for a Masters of Laws in International Finance and Taxation (LL.M.) from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
Mr. Bunning is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Iowa, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wyoming, and Colorado. He is a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), AICPA Personal Financial Specialist, (PFS) and Forensic Certified Public Accountant (FCPA). He is accredited by the AICPA in Business Valuations, (ABV) as well as Certified in Financial Forensics, (CFF). In addition, he is certified in Mergers & Acquisitions, (CM&A) and Corporate Finance as a Master Financial Manager, (MFM). Mr. Bunning is a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) registered representative and limited principal (Series 6, 26, 63, 65).
