William Timlen

Tax Partner, Public Accounting

William Timlen, CPA, has over three decades of experience in tax, accounting, and management. He focuses on partnership taxation and passive activity loss rules, with attention to profit and loss allocations and distributions. He advises borrowers on the tax implications of debt restructurings and distressed real estate transactions, including foreclosures, deeds-in-lieu, and bankruptcy. He also works closely with real estate owners and developers on tax planning strategies. He supports high-net-worth individuals and families, including assistance during complex federal and state tax examinations.

Timlen’s Professional Career

Tax Partner, EisnerAmper

William joined a New York-based firm in 2016 as a Tax Partner in the Real Estate Group. The firm is recognized as a top 15 international tax advisory organization. Over the past 10 years, he has generated more than $2 million in new business, including $1 million in 2018. His work includes clients among the largest participants in the New York City real estate market. He also strengthened the NYC Real Estate Group by recruiting experienced professionals across both tax and audit practices.

As a member of the Real Estate Group Leadership Committee, he helps guide the Real Estate Practice. His responsibilities include contributing to thought leadership, supporting business development, assisting with education initiatives, and working on branding strategies. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Career Journey

Timlen began his career in 1993 as a Staff Accountant at a CPA firm in Princeton, New Jersey. During his four years there, he prepared tax workpapers and completed federal and state partnership, individual, corporate, and trust tax returns. He also prepared, compiled, and reviewed financial statements, researched tax matters, and assisted managers with client-related tax correspondence.

In 1998, he joined a global firm as a Supervising Senior. In that role, he prepared detailed audit workpapers for international Fortune 100 companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. This experience strengthened his knowledge of audit procedures and large-scale financial reporting.

Owner, Timlen & Company

William Timlen later established his own accounting firm in Princeton, New Jersey. His firm focused on tax consulting for high-net-worth individuals, real estate partnerships, and corporations. Within the first three years, he built a business generating more than $600K annually. He developed strong client relationships, created tax planning strategies, implemented management advisory recommendations, and conducted detailed tax research to support client planning.

After running his firm for 10 years, he accepted a Tax Manager role at a firm in New York. In this position, he reviewed complex partnership, corporate, trust, and individual tax returns. He advised clients in the real estate industry on like-kind exchanges, helping them defer millions in taxes. He also conducted tax research to support compliance and planning and represented clients during tax examinations before the IRS and state taxing authorities.

Tax Principal, Friedman, LLP

He then moved to another firm as a Tax Principal in the Real Estate Group, where he worked for seven years before joining his current organization. In this role, William provided tax and consulting services to a broad client base, including large multinational real estate and development companies, professional service firms, and high-net-worth individuals.

He served as the lead tax contact for one of the firm’s largest and most profitable accounts. He maintained and developed the client relationship, led tax engagements, handled billing and collections, and managed teams of tax managers and senior staff. He also focused on business development by identifying cross-selling opportunities within the firm’s existing client base and building new relationships through professional networking.

He was also part of a management group responsible for identifying opportunities and offering practical recommendations to improve the NYC Tax Department's efficiency, effectiveness, profitability, and morale.

Education

William Timlen attended a college in Rhode Island, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. During his time there, he played as a pitcher in the Division 1 Baseball program for four years.

He attended a high school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he was an All-State Baseball Player for two years.

Personal Life

He was born and raised in New Jersey and now lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his family. William is married and has two sons who are in college. One son is a senior at a university in Connecticut, and the other is a junior at a university in Miami. He follows college basketball and football, especially teams affiliated with his schools.

He is also a golfer and a member of a country club in Greenwich. He enjoys traveling across the United States and abroad.

He will be celebrating his 55th birthday this May. William Timlen continues to manage his professional responsibilities while maintaining a steady personal life with his family.