Why I Keep My License
John B. Mason Jr. CPA
In 1990, I passed the CPA exam. This was following my older brothers, Patrick Mason, Esq., Frank Mason Sr., and my father, Jack Mason, who had his own practice as a CPA for 35 years in Memphis. With four years of accounting experience under my belt, I began law school. There I realized my unfair advantage against my peers with my experience as an accountant. Business law, contracts, and commercial transactions were much easier to understand. In my career as a divorce lawyer, knowing tax and financial statements was especially helpful when dividing marital estates. I taught family lawyers to handle complex assets such as pensions, stock options, real estate, and forensic accounting. In addition, I taught forensic accountants about family law and how to best serve their clients, speaking at hundreds of conferences nationally, regionally, and locally.
For roughly ten years, I served as a liaison between the American Institute of CPA’s Forensic and Valuation Services group and the ABA Family Law Section. Because I attended both organizations’ national conferences, I made friends with many of the nation’s leading family lawyers and expert witnesses in forensic accounting and business valuation. I worked with many on articles and developing training. Through these connections nationally and locally, referrals came. For that, I am grateful to everyone who trusted me.
As a result of that time, I was asked to write the Forensic Accounting Deskbook, published by the ABA Family Law Section. Taking me almost two years to write, this book is a translation of what family lawyers need to understand about money, divorce, forensic accounting, and expert witness testimony. This became my magnum opus.
CPAs are known for their integrity and competence. Even though I do not practice accounting, and have not for almost 30 years, I retain my CPA license and keep my membership in the AICPA and Tennessee Society of CPA’s. To do so requires eighty hours of CPE every two years. Without question, being a CPA and maintaining my CPA license has helped my divorce practice flourish. The money and the time spent has been well worth it, continuing to push me forward.
Miles Mason, Sr. JD, CPA
My father’s practice announcement opening his CPA practice in Memphis in 1959.
