DON GURSEY.

Distinguished by Personality and Integrity

The offices of Gursey Schneider & Co. LLP are flush with personality, not just a single expression of taste--each employee's individual personality permeates their space. As you weave your way through the halls, you'll find one office filled with UCLA memorabilia, another that displays the many fruits of world travel, while yet another shows off a love of antiques. People at Gursey Schneider express themselves.

Don Gursey is no exception. Step into his southeast corner office that looks out at Century City and you'll see yet another unique expression of personality. Here you'll find a photo gallery of Gursey's four children--Darlene, 39, Greg, 37, Nicole, 29 and Kim, 28--as well as his longtime sweetheart Marlene Burdman. This glimpse at the 2000-01 CalCPA president's personal side tells you that Gursey is a family man. A box of cigars and frequent sailboat references provide a peek at how he prefers to spend his free time. The television running CNBC in the corner and the piles of paperwork uncover yet another side to Gursey's personality, while the twinkle in his eyes tells the rest of the story. Add a firm handshake and plenty of quick wit, and you'll know without a doubt: Don Gursey is a charmer.

DEFINING HIS NICHE

Gursey, a West Los Angeles native and UCLA graduate, never set out to be a CPA. "I wanted to be a businessman," he says. "My father used to take me to work with him where he manufactured coffee makers and I became fascinated with business. I loved the deal." Even after passing his CPA exam, Gursey didn't plan to practice accounting. Although an afficionado of numbers, Gursey confesses, "I was more fascinated with business than taxes or auditing."

Since the accounting profession didn't have quite the niche he was looking for, Gursey created one for himself. "I've always loved law," he says. So, when an office opened up in a suite filled with lawyers shortly after Gursey opened his own practice, he moved right in.

"I started working on some of their cases and became even more intrigued by the field," notes Gursey.

The attorneys were eager to use the young accountant's services, and Gursey was interested in learning everything he could. Soon, a new opportunity knocked at Gursey's door and he hasn't looked back since.

The Family Law Act of 1970 eliminated fault in California divorces, and it also eliminated many of the private investigators that had made careers out of finding "fault" in marital dissolutions. "Instead of discovering someone in bed with his mistress, the game became equal division of assets," says Gursey. It became the ideal game for an accountant with an interest in the law.

"These were cases in which a 50-50 financial split wasn't clear, so they needed an accountant to figure things out." As Gursey's success with these cases continued to build, so did his client base and a niche industry was born.

With his legal connections and some previous investigative experience for insurance companies under his belt, Gursey began consulting for lawyers working on high-stakes divorce cases.

At the same time that he was building his business, Gursey was building a reputation with his peers, both for his in-depth knowledge of the constantly changing law, and for his outgoing personality. "I retained him in case after case," says Paul Gutman, an attorney and now superior court judge. "He analyzes and testifies amazingly well, but he is strongest at sharing ideas. Don's earned a tremendous reputation for his integrity, and that goes a long way in this industry."

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Soon, Gursey's litigation support practice was so strong that he stopped doing taxes altogether. "I basically prepared for cases and went to court for years," he says.

In 1979, Gursey partnered with Stan Schneider, a CPA who focused on tax and auditing. Over the years, the firm has expanded its services to include tax accounting, auditing, business management and bankruptcy--as well as litigation support--and employs more than 70 accountants and staff.

Schneider says Gursey's leadership role has been important both to the firm's growth and to the marital dissolution field. "He leads by example," Schneider says. "Don's a leader in his field and his staff learns from his experience and expertise."

Through Gursey's involvement in litigation support, he began to make more contacts in the industry and establish himself as an expert. "I've seen him work," says friend and associate Gary Jacobs, an attorney who has worked on cases with and against Gursey. "His approach isn't stuffy or severe and he likes to tell jokes," says Jacobs. "But in the end Don accomplishes what he sets out to do."

Gursey's contributions haven't only been in the courtroom. He has lectured throughout the state on the tax ramifications of divorce, and written many articles on litigation support, tax matters and other accounting issues. Gursey also has served as the tax editor for the Family Law News, a publication of the State Bar of California.

CALCPA PRESIDENT

Gursey joined CalCPA in 1962, but didn't become active until 1984, the same year the first Litigation Committee was formed. His niche industry was growing and this "businessman" who "only liked the deal" suddenly found himself in a position to network with and learn from other CPAs, as well as contribute ideas of his own. Gursey has served on the Government Relations and Amicus Curiae 

committees and is a former Litigations Section Steering Committee chair.

Gursey says his plans for his term as CalCPA president are simple. "My main job is to ease Susan Waters into her role," he says. Gursey adds that it's important to him that as CalCPA's new executive director, Waters gets a good introduction to both the profession and organization during her first year.

Gursey also wants to increase diversity within CalCPA's membership and leadership. "I want to get more Big Five employees and partners really involved, and I'd also like to see more women and minorities in leadership."

Gursey sports a down-to-earth approach to his presidency: "I'm lucky to have David George [as first vice president] and a great board to do all the real work." I get the ceremonial job, he quips, "I'm like the Queen of England."

ALL JOKING ASIDE

"His approach may seem loosey-goosey," says Jacobs. "But underneath is a very knowledgeable man who is very serious about his work."

His other colleagues and associates agree. "He's gregarious and outgoing," says Schneider. "People feel comfortable around Don and that helps him work well with them and communicate."

In fact, Gursey sees communication as a guiding force during his presidency. He strongly believes that a diversity of viewpoints will strengthen CalCPA, not weaken it. "I hope that members--not just leadership--will let me know their feelings on where they'd like the organization to go in the next year," Gursey says. "I want to be available to everyone and to all ideas."

The year ahead--with the Uniform Accountancy Act, California Board of Accountancy sunset review, a new organizational governance and forever-changing professional issues--would be challenging to any incoming president. However, with his distinct brand of humor and ability to focus on the issues, Don Gursey is certainly up to the task.

Jane Girard is CalCPA's online producer and editor.