Merrill R. Norman is a principal in the firm of Norman, Townsend & Johnson, LLC, a financial and litigation support consulting firm with its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its purpose is to provide high-quality, integrated consulting services to clients with special emphasis on litigation support including economic assessment, evaluation and reconstruction of accounting and financial data, asset and business valuation and accountants' liability litigation. The Firm services clients primarily in the Western United States, although its principals consult thoughout the country.

Norman Loebbecke Associates, a predecessor firm to Norman, Townsend & Johnson, was founded in 1990 by Merrill R. Norman and James K. Loebbecke. Both principals have had successful careers as partners with Big Four accounting firms, with Mr. Loebbecke also being an internationally recogniced academician. Together, they shared the belief that they could provide the types of services offered by the Firm more effectively in a smaller, more specialized firm environment.

 

In mid-2002, Mr. Norman was called by his church to preside over the New Jersey, Morristown Mission. Prior to serving in that capacity, the name of the firm was changed to Norman, Townsend & Johnson to reflect the expanded roles of the then active partners. Mr. Norman returned to practice in July of 2005.

 

As a former Partner-In-Charge of the Management Consulting Department in the Salt Lake City office of KPMG Peat Marwick, Mr. Norman has held many regional and national positions with the firm and previous firms. The following are representative of the positions held:

 

• Member of the Board of Directiors - Nominating Committee

• Member of National Office Budget Review Task Force

• Member of Firm's Long-Range Planning Committee

• Instructor and member of Firm's Curricular Development Committee

• Regional Partner in Charge of Litigation Support

He became a Certified Public Accountant in 1972 and spent his initial years in public accounting as a member of th eAudit Department where he attained the position of Senior Manager. In this capacity, he managed audits of numerous companies, both publicly and privately owned, in diverse industries. He was admitted as a partner in 1980.

 

In addition to overseeing a major audit and tax clients, his career has increasingly focused on providing financial and management consulting services to the Firm's clients, as well as many law firms throughout the Western United States. He has become recognized as an expert witness in numerous accounting, financial, business valuation and economic disciplines. He received the designation from KPMG Peat Marwick of "Business Valuation Specialist" with emphasis on companies holding real property. He has lectured and taught on many subjects before local CPA associations and internal training seminars for CPA and law firms.

 

For more than 35 years, he has served as an expert witness in numerous matter, having testified on approximately 200 occasions before groups such as the following:

 

• Special Presidential Commission

• Securities and Exchange Commission

• Department of Energy

• Internal Revenure Service

• Federal and State District Courts throughout the Western United States

• Federal Bankruptcy Court

• State Tax Commissions

• Public Service Commissions throughout the Western United States

• Numerous county and city regulatory commissions and committees

He has appeared and testified in behalf of plaintiffs or defendants in matters involving:

 

• Multi-state utility rate determiniations

• Business Valuations

• Economic feasibility

• Economic loss

• Antitrust

• Multi-state utility rate determinations

• Bankruptcy

• Fraud

• Securities violations

• Accountants liability

• Product Liability

• Contract Claims

A representative sample of clients in whose behalf Mr. Norman has been engaged as an expert witness includes:

 

• Numerous national insurance companies

• Ford Motor Company

• Touche Ross & Company

• First Wisconsin National Bank

• Hilton Hotels, Inc.

• Everest and Jennings

• Sinclair Oil Company (Oil and Gas)

• Sinclair Oil Refining (Refining)

• Silver Eagle Refining (Refining)

• Caribou Oil

• Flying J (Corp. Valuation & Refining)

• U.S. Attorney of the state of Utah

• Utah Department of Business Regulation

• Mirage Resort Hotel

• Utah Power and Light (Electric Utility)

• Bell Helicopter

• Gates Rubber Company

• New Mexico Public Service Commission (Major Utilities)

• Bonneville Pacific Corp. (Electric Utility)

• Wyoming Regulatory Division (Gas and Electric Utility Matters)

• Salt Lake City

• Ogden City

• Zions Bank

• Valley Bank & Trust

• First Security Bank

• Illinois Security Division

• Utah State Tax Commission

• AMACA

• General Motors

• ALCATEL

• Ford Motor Company

• Sun Valley Resorts

• Baxter Health Care

• State of Utah

Mr. Norman has extensive experience in state and local taxation and has represented major property owners before county and state taxing authorities. Tax matters include sales and use tax and state and locally administered ad valorem taxes.

 

Mr. Norman and members of his firm have performed extensive consulting in behalf of Indian tribes and nations. Some of the more pertinent engagements include an analysis of electrical power usage and rates performed for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and an analysis of all sources and uses of trust monies by the State of Utah as trustee for the Navajo Nation extending for more than one-half century.

• American Insititute of Certified Public Accountant.
• Utah Association of Certified Public Accountant.
• Beta Gamma Sigma.
• Betal Alpha Psi.
• National Honor Society.
• Wall Street Journal Award for Scholastic Excellence.
• NDEA TILTIE IV Fellowship for Doctoral Studies.
• Best Lawyers in America: Directory of Expert Witnesses.
• Numerous trade associations.
• The National Registry of Who's Who.
• Frequently appears as a guest speaker to university groups, lawyers, trade associations and CPA associations.
• Instructs bankers organizations • Instructs in national firm training programs for CPA's.
• Member of the board of Ethics, Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Organizing Committee. The Board's regular duties were expanded, and it ultimately performaed a comprehensive investigation of improperieties by local bid committee offers and certain International Olympic Committee members.

Mr. Norman earned a bachelor's degree in accounting, graduating with honors: a Master of Business Administration degree and has completed an additional year of post-graduate studies in economics and finance. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of numerous academic honorary societies.