Matthew Schwartz, CPA/CFF, CFE, CIRA
Partner
A Partner in the Insolvency and Litigation Services Department, Matt co-manages a division at Bederson that from 2012 to 2020 was awarded over 45 medals in New Jersey Law Journal’s “Best Of” surveys for forensic accounting, bankruptcy valuations, litigation accounting, business valuations, economic damages, expert witness testimony, corporate investigations and matrimonial financial expertise. Matt is responsible for overseeing engagements and testifying regarding all aspects of forensic engagements, including bankruptcy, insolvency, fraud, damages and tax matters.
He has appeared and testified in Bankruptcy and State Courts in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. He has been retained by Trustees, Secured Creditors, Creditors’ Committees, Debtors, Plaintiffs and Defendants and has served as Liquidating Agent. He has also investigated and uncovered numerous defalcations, leading to recoveries and arrests. In that capacity, Matt received recognition from the FBI in 2010 for his work on New Jersey Affordable Housing—one of the largest bankruptcy fraud cases in New Jersey’s history.
In addition to his financial investigative work, Matt has completed the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediator’s Civil Mediation Training Program as well its Civil Mediation Apprenticeship.
Matt has lectured on insolvency and tax matters for organizations including various chapters of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, Hunterdon Medical Center, Essex County Bar Association, Lorman Education Services, AGN (an international affiliation of independent and separate accounting firms), Association of Commercial Finance Attorney Law Firms, publicly held companies, the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors and the NJ Association of Legal Administrators. He has also developed and taught courses on tax, EDP investigations and insolvency as well as college-level courses at Warren County Community College and Kean University.
Matt is a member of professional organizations including: the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where he chaired the Bankruptcy Task Force; New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants; and The Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, where he served as President in 2014. He is also a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, The Turnaround Management Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute, where he served on the “Cracking the Code” Editorial Board. His other publications include IRS Access to Pension Funds and Where’d the Money Go? Restructuring Cash Flow both published by the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Matt is Chairman of the Board of Alzheimer’s New Jersey. He is Past President of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce and Past President of the West Orange Lions Club. He served as Treasurer and Capital Campaign Steering Committee Member of Latino Justice PRLDF, an organization which champions the legal and educational rights of Latino-Americans. Matt majored in economics at the University of Virginia where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and graduated with Distinction and he earned an MBA in Accounting from Rutgers University.
Matt and his family reside in Somerset County.
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Education & Certifications
- B.A. Economics, University of Virginia – with Distinction
- MBA in Accounting, Rutgers University
- CPA/CFF (Certified Public Accountant/Certified in Financial Forensics)
- CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner)
- CIRA (Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor)
Services
- Insolvency and Reorganization
- Forensic Accounting
- Turnaround Consulting
- Litigation Services
- Workout Consulting
- Shareholder Disputes
- Attorney Trust Accounting
Professional Affiliations
- NJCPA (New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants)
- AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) – Chaired Bankruptcy Task Force
- ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners)
- AIRA (Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors) – President, 2014-2015
- TMA (Turnaround Management Association)
- ABI (American Bankruptcy Institute)
Recent Presentations
- Commencement Speaker – Rutgers Professional Accounting MBA Program, Rutgers Business School, Newark, New Jersey – 8/18/17
- CLEs on Trust Accounting – Defending Against an Attorney Ethics Grievance – 12/9/16, 12/12/19, 12/16/20 – Essex County Bar Association
- Surviving an Audit – Essex County Bar Association -3/12/17
- Tax Implications of §363 Sales, ABI (American Bankruptcy Institute) 2017 Spring Meeting – 4/21/17
Awards
- FBI – Work on largest fraud/bankruptcy case in NJ history (NJ Affordable Housing), 2010
- West Orange Chamber of Commerce – Outstanding Service to Chamber and Community, 2013
- AIRA Emanuel M. Katten Award for service to the organization and the profession
- 2021 NJBIZ Leader in Finance Honoree
