From, The Layman, Volume 35, Number 3
Steve Brown, forensic CPA
by John H. Adams, Posted Monday, Jun 3, 2002
Give Stephen G. “Steve” Brown 25 or so boxes of financial records and the task of determining what someone – or some business – is worth and he dives into what he describes as a faith-informed endeavor.
“It’s a search for truth,” says Brown, a forensic certified public accountant, an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Haines City, Fla., and a director of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. “The truth will set you free. It’s getting to the real story. Numbers don’t lie. We’re dealing in light, rather than darkness.”
It’s also a search for justice. Forensic accountants chase a trail of money and investments to determine what would be fair settlements in alimony and child support, as well as the value of businesses for purposes of sale, insurance or estates. Brown sometimes uncovers some closely guarded secrets – like the worth of a father who was $200,000 in arrears in child-support payments. Once Brown had determined his means, the father wrote a check for the full $200,000.
Brown has earned the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Nationally, there are 300,000 CPAs, but only 1,300 (0.4 percent) have taken the extra 80 hours or so of coursework and passed a grueling exam to include the ABV in their resumes. Also, the American Board of Forensic Accounting has named Brown a diplomate. ABV accreditation and forensic accounting are closely related.
In Orlando, Brown is a rarity in another way. He is a native of the city of Disney World and the Orlando Magic. Orlando had a population of 42,000 when he was born there in 1944; today, it’s 1.7 million. He has been a CPA in the Orlando area since 1972, having graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. degree in accounting.
In his statement of faith submitted to the Presbyterian Lay Committee before he became a director in 1999, Brown described his relationship with Jesus Christ and his wife, Bernadette and his family. “He is my Lord and Savior. It is awesome to think one can have a personal relationship with the creator of the universe. He has blessed me with a believing family, particularly my wife and my mother. I have finally seen the need to make him the center of my life.”
Brown served the Presbyterian Lay Committee for four years as its chairman and CEO. Previously he served as its treasurer.
After Summit Presbyterian Church in Beaver Falls, Pa., on March 21, 2001, became the first Confessing Church within the Presbyterian Church (USA), Brown went to the session of First Presbyterian in Orlando to recommend that it join the movement. The session voted yes – unanimously – giving mega-church impetus to a movement that now includes more than 1,260 congregations, including 66 with 1,000 or more members. He also played a key role in the decision by the Presbyterian Lay Committee to endorse and wholeheartedly support the movement.
Steve and Bernadette Brown share three hobbies – college football, golf and snow-skiing. She retired in 2000 from the Central Florida Kidney Center as a dialysis nurse. An expert on the kidney, Mrs. Brown spoke at numerous civic club and community meetings to explain dialysis.
Brown has worn a number of hats in Christian ministries, civic and professional work. He is a past director of the Christian Service Center for Central Florida, a ministry to homeless people; a member of the Fee Arbitration Committee of the Florida Bar; a past member of the Grievance Committee of the Florida Bar; and past chairman of the American Red Cross of Central Florida.
He has also served as chairman of the Center for Drug-Free Living and he worked with the United Way.