Michael O'Brien

Michael O'Brien is Atlantic Canada's leading forensic accountant, with a 17-year career that has taken him from employee fraud investigations to complex multi-million-dollar shareholder disputes and criminal tax proceedings. After earning his CA designation and completing the CICA In-Depth Tax Course, Michael obtained his Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential and shifted his practice entirely to forensic and litigation support work. He founded O'Brien Forensic Accounting to serve lawyers, insurers, and businesses across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Michael's forensic tax practice covers CRA's criminal investigations directorate (CID) process, the distinction between tax avoidance and tax evasion, and the defence of clients facing gross negligence or tax evasion charges. He has been retained as an expert witness in over 40 civil and criminal proceedings, providing testimony on business valuation, economic loss calculations, hidden income calculations, and fraudulent financial statement analysis. His business valuation work is grounded in the principles of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CICBV) and regularly involves determining the fair market value of private company shares for purposes of estate administration, shareholder buyouts, and matrimonial property division. Michael is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the CICBV, and the Law Society of Nova Scotia's Experts Directory. He writes for Tax Simplified to help business owners understand the red flags of tax fraud, the mechanics of a CRA criminal investigation, and the devastating consequences of tax evasion versus the legal alternatives of tax planning.