Ira Zorn is an audit partner and a lead member of our Construction group. As a certified fraud examiner, Ira also plays a major role in the firm's forensic accounting efforts. Ira provides a variety of attestation services including audits, reviews and compilations. His ability to understand the underlying issues of a firm's accounting systems and financial needs allows him to offer tactical business consulting for a diverse range of closely held businesses such as construction, manufacturing, distribution, financial services and service-related companies. Ira also handles due diligence assignments related to the buying and selling of businesses. He sees his main role as one of providing ideas to help his clients grow their businesses as well as strengthen their positions in the marketplace. "There are no cookie-cutter answers to any question. While the issues are often similar and we usually have working solutions, these need to be personalized to the business and the people involved." Ira is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society. He became a certified public accountant in 1984 after receiving his B.S. in Accounting from Western Illinois University. He has spent all but one year of his professional career at Blackman Kallick. From 1998-1999, Ira was the controller for Blinderman Construction Company, a Chicago-based general construction contractor firm. Many of his clients at Blackman Kallick began working with him when he was a new member of the firm and continue relying on him today. He credits these long relationships to his level of care, his systematic approach, as well as his "what you see is what you get" demeanor. "I do not like my clients taking big risks. Which means I have to find ways for them to achieve the same results, but by a more systematic and reliable method." Ira is also, as he puts it, a "crazy" long distance runner. He has completed marathons in California, Nevada, New York and, of course, Chicago. After suffering a bicycle accident in which he fractured his hip and was laid up for more than four months, Ira trained to get himself back into shape and recently completed a marathon in Washington, D.C. He shrugs off his recovery. "I have always taken care of myself physically. It was important for me to get back the abilities I had before the accident, so I worked really hard until I was running at the same level as before."