News
Prominent Affordable Housing Expert to Lead Firm’s Tax Credit Investor Services
January 6, 2010 (Bethesda, Md.) – Reznick Group, a top 20 national CPA firm, today announced the appointment of Fred H. Copeman, a former Ernst & Young tax partner, as a principal in the firm’s national real estate consulting practice. Copeman will lead the firm’s new Tax Credit Investor Services practice, which will focus on providing due diligence and other advisory services to institutional investors in tax credit projects.
Copeman is a nationally recognized expert in the affordable housing industry, with particular expertise in low income housing, historic rehabilitation and renewable energy tax credits.
“Adding Fred Copeman to Reznick Group’s real estate consulting practice is an incredible coup for our clients and potential clients in the tax credit industry,” said Ken Baggett, Reznick Group’s managing principal and CEO. “For more than 30 years, Fred has developed a sophisticated understanding of investment due diligence, real estate underwriting, partnership taxation, the Federal tax incentives for community development, and public policy and regulatory advocacy related to these areas.”
About Fred Copeman
Copeman was with Ernst & Young for 23 years and was made a partner of the firm in 1995. During his tenure at E&Y, he provided tax credit advisory services to more than two hundred Fortune 1000 companies and 20 of the top 25 commercial banks in the US. Copeman is one of the authors of a series of studies of the housing tax credit program, including "The Low Income Housing Tax Credit: The First Decade," commissioned by the National Council of State Housing Agencies, and "Understanding the Dynamics: A Comprehensive Look at Affordable Housing Tax Credit Properties."
Copeman graduated with honors from Georgetown University, received a juris doctorate, cum laude, from New England Law and earned a Masters of Science in Taxation from Bentley College. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association and is a Trustee of the Hingham Affordable Housing Trust in Hingham, Massachusetts. Copeman has testified before the Ways and Means Committee of the US House of Representatives and played a leadership role in advancing legislative proposals concerning tax credit investments. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has been widely quoted in the financial press, including Barrons, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Financial Times.
About Reznick Group
Reznick Group is a top 20 national CPA firm providing accounting, tax and business advisory services to clients nationwide. The firm’s industry experience includes affordable housing, financial services, renewable energy, healthcare, non-profits, professional services, commercial real estate and technology. For more information, visit www.reznickgroup.com.