Since 1996, the Funding Research and Experimental Development (FRED) Group has been helping clients across North America maximize and keep the amount of money they can claim for R&D and other tax credit programs in the U.S. and Canada.

The FRED Group team is led by seasoned professionals whose strong background in technology development, as well as Big Four accounting and consulting experience, provides the unique perspective required to guide clients through the complicated and often daunting process of applying for and obtaining major R&D Tax Credits and - when necessary - successfully defending those claims before the IRS.

Senior Management Team

Sean Yearout has more than 13 years of experience in tax consulting, corporate audit and business risk services, including more than seven years as a dedicated R&D tax credit specialist with one of the Big Four firms.  Sean has defended dozens of research tax credit studies before the IRS during field examinations, at the appellate level and through litigation support. His R&D experience also includes work-plan development and implementation, development of documentation, interviewing engineers and other development staff, quantifying qualified expenditures, calculating credits and assisting with IRS examinations.

Another Big Four veteran, Fred Hausmann , MBA, has more than 15 years of experience successfully helping companies maximize their claims for R&D and other tax credit programs in the U.S. and Canada. Fred is also a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer with extensive experience as an enterprise-level software developer and project manager for major corporations and government agencies in the U.S., Canada and Saudi Arabia, with particular emphasis on Oracle DBA programming and data management consulting.