Robert Fried

Robert Fried, a practicing certified public accountant for almost four decades, has provided tax, consulting and accounting services almost exclusively to the theatre industry for over 32 years. In 2023 he was awarded a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre. Working on hundreds of theatrical productions during his career, his childhood aspirations of being a professional musician grounded him in the arts and helped drive his passion for the theatre industry.

During the early part of his career, while a partner at the accounting firm that tabulated the Tony Awards ballots, Robert attended the annual Tony Awards ceremony and handed winner envelopes to presenters backstage. In 2002 he founded his own firm with his partner Karen Kowgios, focusing solely on the commercial and not-for-profit theatre industry. Together their firm represented the majority of commercial productions and not for profit theaters in New York City. They also launched an association with UK professionals, which significantly expanded their services internationally. Robert currently works on the majority of productions that transfer from the US to the UK, and for theatrical producers whose shows from the UK are produced within the US. In addition to UK taxes and planning, Robert specializes in cross border planning with Australia, Germany and other foreign jurisdictions.

In his current position with the firm of Withum Smith & Brown, which has a team of over thirty five professionals dedicated to the theatre industry, Robert works with and represents some of the most prominent and successful Broadway musicals including Wicked, Hamilton, Book of Mormon, New York, New York, MJ, Some Like it Hot, Bad Cinderella, & Juliet, Funny Girl, Hadestown, Harry Potter, Six, Kimberly Akimbo, Moulin Rouge, A Beautiful Noise, Sweeney Todd, Shucked, Parade, and others. He also works with and advises many of the industry leading producers and general managers.

Alongside the Broadway League, Robert has participated in successful US Congressional lobbying efforts which ultimately amended tax laws that impacted the commercial theatre industry. During the theatrical closure due to COVID, he provided significant consultation and coordination with the industry, obtaining relief through insurance claims as well as federal funding under the PPP and SVOG programs. He worked closely with the League Government Relations committee, helping to draft and interpret legislation for the NYC Theatrical tax credit.

An adjunct professor for Columbia University for over 20 years in their MFA program, Robert teaches theatrical accounting, and was instrumental in co-founding an exchange program between Columbia University and Stage One in the UK. Through this collaboration, Columbia students receive intensive training about producing in the UK, and Stage One participants receive the same intensive reciprocal learning about producing in the US. Robert serves as Vice Chair and Treasurer of Theatre Development Fund (TDF). He is also a trustee and chair of the Audit and Compliance Committee of the Rogosin Institute, a prominent health care organization affiliated with the New York Presbyterian Hospital system.