Robert Lyons, CPA, MST

About

Robert (Rob) Lyons, CPA, MST, is a Tax Director, Exempt Organizations in the Nonprofit, Government & Healthcare Group at Marks Paneth LLP. Mr. Lyons brings to this role the skills he has developed during more than 30 years of providing tax and consulting services to his clients in the nonprofit, higher education, and public sector industries. His experience includes handling substantial exempt organization tax issues. Mr. Lyons has testified in front of the House and Ways Committee in Washington, DC establishing the current treatment of affinity royalty arrangements. He has also been involved in special projects related to unrelated business income for exempt organizations, including but not limited to state filing issues, including settlements, foreign filing requirements for off-shore activities and use of exempt bond proceeds. Mr. Lyons has advised clients on the use of for profit subsidiaries as well as disregarded entities.

He has led numerous training seminars for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In 2010 and again in 2013, Mr. Lyons received the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award. This award recognizes the discussion leaders who achieve the highest overall instructor knowledge and presentation scores in leading AICPA seminars.

Mr. Lyons was an adjunct professor in the Kogod School of Business Graduate Department at American University in Washington, DC. He has also authored six books and forty articles to date concerning exempt organization issues.

Prior to joining Marks Paneth, Mr. Lyons was the Tax Managing Director with a Big Four accounting firm, where he focused on tax and compliance issues for many of their largest clients, including public charities, private foundations, colleges and universities, social services and membership organizations, and cultural institutions.