James Donenberg, CPA, Partner

Background

Jim Donenberg, CPA, MBA, Partner with Warady & Davis LLP and formerly a principal of Rosenfeld Zweig & Donenberg Ltd., draws on thirty four years of accounting experience, both private and public, in manufacturing, retail, not-for-profit accounting and professional practices, bringing a fresh outlook to analysis of company operations, financial analysis, income tax, and estate planning.

In the private sector, Mr. Donenberg has assisted healthcare providers and organizations in planning issues relative to their practices and institutions. In the past, he has served as chief financial officer of a retail health care distribution company and provided computer consulting, business valuation and planning services. He has participated in business succession issues and has extensive experience working through the problems of generational and shareholder and board of director transitions.

In public practice, he has assisted clients in entity and tax planning, financial projections, bank loan negotiations, divorce negotiations, general financial analysis and tax research relative to various complex issues that present themselves to clients in particular situations. He has assisted clients in analyzing and implementing wealth preservation plans, including family limited partnerships and family limited liability companies and other asset protection structures. He has advised not-for-profit entities on indirect cost allocation, various compliance, and long range planning issues unique to these entities.

Mr. Donenberg approaches client concerns by first listening and trying not to pre-judge a client's situation before understanding the owners’ perceptions and perspective.

Professional and Civic Affiliations

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Illinois CPA Society - Member of the Litigation Services and Healthcare Committees
• Greater North Shore Estate Planning Council
• MSI Global Alliance

Community Involvement

• Executive board member and President of the Men’s Club of synagogue Congregation Beth Shalom
• Long record of dedication to various causes for the needy

Education

• M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• B.S.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Professional Accounting Program at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management
• C.P.A. license in the state of Illinois
• C.E.A. in business valuation from the Illinois CPA Society

"I pride myself in taking a personal interest in those I assist. It's not easy to manage a business as I personally know, and as such, understand the difficulties. I use my experience in the private sector to make constructive, practical suggestions to solve problems. Oftentimes, the accounting issues are secondary to larger business or personal strategic issues. In these situations, I try to put my accounting expertise in the background and use my knowledge to identify and make constructive suggestions to resolve the entire issue at hand."