Mary Sunderland is an Enrolled Agent, the highest credential awarded by the Internal Revenue Service. She is licensed to prepare individual, business and trust tax returns and represents clients before all IRS administrative levels for audits, collections, and appeals. Mary is also admitted to practice at the United States Tax Court. She is a VIce President of New Jersey Society of Enrolled Agents. For the National Association of Enrolled Agents, she is Chair of the NAEA Tax Preparation Education Sub-Committee and an instructor for NAEA/Gleim EA Review Course. In 2014, she became a Fellow of NAEA’s National Tax Practice Institute, having completed a rigorous three-year curriculum in advanced IRS representation. In April 2015, she became a US Tax Court Practitioner having passed the non-attorney US Tax Court Exam. Mary also volunteers at the US Tax Court calendar call, and provides pro bono tax representation through Taxpayers Assistance Corporation, the public service division of Agostino & Associates and pro bono tax preparation through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.
She became a Certified Financial Planner® in December 2012. She earned her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1990 and is a member of the CFA Institute.
Mary spent 20 years on Wall Street as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for small and large companies. From 1999 to 2004 she was with Principal Investment Management managing over $2.0 billion in large cap growth portfolios. She joined Principal after a 10-year career with Skandia Asset Management. At Skandia, she directed their $3.0 billion U.S. equity large cap growth portfolios and U.S. technology portfolios. She had more than a decade of prior experience with Value Line. Mary received an MBA in finance from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a BA in economics from Northwestern University.
Enrolled Agent (EA) – Enrolled agents (EAs) are America’s tax experts. They are the only federally-licensed tax practitioners who both specialize in taxation and have unlimited rights
to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service.
United States Tax Court Practitioner (USTCP) – Generally, only attorneys may represent clients in Tax Court. However, under Tax Court Rule 200, nonattorneys may be admitted as Tax Court Practitioners. Nonattorneys must pass a demanding written admission examination, be sponsored by two members of the Tax Court bar, subscribe an oath or affirmation, and pay a registration fee. The four-hour bar exam is given every other year in November, at the United States Tax Court building in Washington, DC. The examination consists of the following four parts and is designed to test the applicant’s knowledge of these subject areas: (1) Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure (2) Federal Taxation (3) The Federal Rules of Evidence (4) Legal ethics, including the Model Rules of Professional Conduct of the American Bar Association.
NTPI Fellow ™ – The National Tax Practice Institute™ (NTPI®) teaches enrolled agents, CPAs, and tax attorneys how to represent their clients. Representation requires expertise in the tax code as well as knowledge of the system and how it works. Enrolled agents who successfully complete Levels 1, 2 and 3 (in order) join the ranks of the prestigious NAEA National Tax Practice Institute™ Fellows. Fellows are the crème de la crème of representation experts, and are highly qualified to represent their clients.
Certified Financial Planner ® ( CFP® ) – The CFP® certification process, administered by CFP Board, identifies to the public that those individuals who have been authorized to use the CFP® certification marks in the U.S. have met rigorous professional standards and have agreed to adhere to the principles of integrity, objectivity, competence, fairness, confidentiality, professionalism and diligence when dealing with clients.
Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) – The Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) credential is the most respected and recognized investment designation in the world. The curriculum covers academic theory, current industry practice, and ethical and professional standards to provide a s trong foundation of advanced investment analysis and real-world portfolio management skills. A work experience requirement and an annual attestation to ethics ensure careerlong professional excellence by those who have earned the charter.
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst ™ (CDFA ™ ) – A CDFA™ is someone who comes from a financial planning, accounting or legal background and goes through an intensive training program to become skilled in analyzing and providing expertise related to the financial issues of divorce.