Ken Simon, CPA, MBA, JD
Manager
Ken Simon, CPA, MBA, JD
Manager
Professional
A teacher at heart, Ken has a passion for passing knowledge along to his clients.
Ken Simon joined Walter Shuffain after many years of public accounting experience. He is responsible for tax compliance, tax research and tax planning as well as representing clients with federal and state tax authorities. Ken helps clients embrace regulatory changes in a way that benefits them today, but also years from now.
Ken has always liked working with numbers. He has a career-long niche in the estate and trust field, having been trained by the national tax office of Arthur Anderson. He also spent time with the international tax firm Ernst & Young, and he has considerable big-firm client experience relating to professional service firms, high-net-worth individuals (including both corporate executives and entrepreneurs,) financial services firms, startups and nonprofit organizations. Ken also works with expatriates and active stock market traders. He has particular experience in entity structuring, retirement issues, stock-option planning and derivative investments. Ken enjoys the constant changes in the tax field that occurs each year that present new challenges for many clients.
I like to understand the political dynamics behind new federal and state tax legislation. This understanding helps me to look for the greatest tax benefits, or in some cases, the ability to minimize additional tax costs.
In the estate and trust area, Ken believes all clients need some type of estate planning. In particular, he focuses on private foundations, charitable planning, split-interest trusts, business succession planning and multi-generational tax strategies for select families where long-range planning is critical for wealth retention.
Before studying accounting in graduate school, Ken was the executive director of an international exchange program for young political leaders, funded by the U.S. State Department. Ken loves to teach, and he may have become a university professor if he had not chosen accounting. He enjoys training Walter Shuffain staff and helping clients understand their financial opportunities. Because each client represents a unique situation, Ken believes that personal attention and understanding a client’s goals and perspectives are key to client satisfaction and achieving maximum results.
Ken earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from George Washington University. He received a Master of Business Administration in Finance, a Master of Science in Accounting and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from American University. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant as well as an attorney. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Virginia Society of CPAs, the American Association of Attorney-CPAs as well as the Virginia State Bar.
Personal
In his free time, Ken enjoys traveling, history and involvement in national and local political campaigns.
Contact:
p: 914.500.7038
e: ksimon@wscpa.com
Making a significant difference in the lives of certain clients—along with their families and businesses—is what I am most proud of accomplishing in my career.
