Kevin West, CPA - Kevin has over 25 years of accounting and financial business experience. He has worked with small to medium sized companies in various executive financial positions in public accounting and private industry. He brings to his clients a broad range of skills and experience in tax planning and compliance, business valuation, business improvement initiatives, internal control design, cash management and capital financing. Prior to forming West Christensen, PC, Kevin founded CFO Solutions, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in providing CFO assistance to small and medium sized companies in the Phoenix area. Kevin has also held the position of Treasurer or Corporate Controller of several Arizona public companies. Kevin’s earlier assignments included working as a financial analyst for an Arizona financial advisory firm. Kevin began his career as an auditor and tax specialist for KPMG in Phoenix, Arizona. He holds a Masters degree in Accountancy from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. His affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants, and Rotary International. He is a past member of the University of Phoenix faculty lecturing on accounting and finance. Kevin is also fluent in Spanish. Kevin, Ronda and their 7 children enjoy their mountain home, their horses and all the great outdoor activities available in Northern, Arizona. They are actively involved in their church and schools in the Flagstaff, Arizona area.
Tony Christensen, CPA - After a construction accident in 1978, Tony attended Eastern Arizona College and graduated with honors from Northern Arizona University in 1978. After working with a local Flagstaff accounting firm for several years, Tony formed his own firm and has practiced in Northern Arizona ever since. For many years, small business owners have valued Tony's ability to take complicated tax and accounting rules and simplify them for their benefit. He understands that the strength of the country's economy is on the back of small business owners, and he believes they deserve the very best in accounting and tax services. To know Tony, one must also know that he is a Vietnam veteran; he has worked in other businesses besides accounting including construction, business development and restaurant management; he is a past board member of the Coconino Community College; and an active leader in Boy Scouts, his church and community. He has held positions on the Hospital Hospice Board, the Northern Arizona University Advisory Board (College of Business), the BSA Grand Canyon Council, and Rotary. Tony is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants. Tony and Mary (his spouse of 40 years) have two sons and eleven grandchildren. When not working with his clients, Tony enjoys raising and training horses, camping, traveling, scuba diving, boating and spending time with his grandchildren.
Michael Casey MAAT, CPP, EA, ATP - Mike joined West Christensen, PC in October 2001 and has over twenty-five years experience in accounting and taxation, specializing in all aspects of individual, business, non-profit and payroll taxation. His responsibilities include a wide variety of tax planning and consulting services, and he has extensive experience in corporate, individual and payroll tax compliance, and in representing clients before the IRS. He has been a national speaker for the American Payroll Association and has written and published numerous articles for APA and Accounts Payable journals on the subject of “Dealing with the IRS”. In addition, he is an associate professor for Coconino Community College and teaches accounting and taxation courses. Mike holds a BA in accounting from the University of Cardiff, Wales, UK. He completed his ACCA in Manchester, England in 1988 before moving to the US. Mike also holds certificates of certification as an Enrolled Agent, Accredited Tax Preparer and Certified Payroll Professional. He has been an active member of the American Payroll Association since 1993 where he has served on the Board of Advisors, the CPP and FPC Certification Boards and a national speaker. He currently serves on the National IRS Advisory Council that meets in Washington DC five times each year, and also serves on the National American Payroll Association Finance Committee and Government Affaires Task Force. Mike is an active member of the community and has served on many non-profit boards and committees. In his spare time, he likes to garden, is also a musician, plays the piano, sings with the Flagstaff Master Chorale with his wife, and also directs for the Flagstaff Light Opera Company in which members of his family are also involved.
Kai Degomez - Kai started working for West Christensen, PC in 2006. Kai graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelors of Science in Accountancy and a Bachelors of Science in Business Management with an emphasis in Finance. After graduation, he worked for KPMG, LLP for one year in Phoenix and then decided to move back to Flagstaff to work for West Christensen, PC. Kai is currently studying to sit for the CPA exam. He specializes in personal and business taxes as well as complex partnership and real estate transactions. Kai recently built his own home, performing over 50% of the work himself. He also enjoys snowboarding, wakeboarding and fly fishing.
Donald Ignace, CPA - Donald joined the West Christensen, PC team in 2008. He graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy and a B.S.B.A in Finance. His experience began at McGladrey & Pullen, LLP where he gained audit experience in the construction and manufacturing industries as senior associate. He also has experience in individual, partnership, and corporate taxation. Donald is also currently a member of the American Institute of CPA’s and the Arizona Society of CPA’s.
John Winikka, CPA - John is an Arizona native who joined the firm in September of 2006. He moved to Flagstaff as a student in 1988 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Northern Arizona University in 1991. John has worked in accounting in Northern Arizona for over 17 years and is experienced with small and medium sized companies in various fields such as construction, retail and convenience stores, as well as a variety of non-profit organizations. His work relates to internal control design, various types of audits and preparation of financial statements in addition to tax planning, preparation and compliance for individuals and all types of business entities.
Shannon Lozano - Shannon first worked with the firm from 1993 – 1999, left for a few years and returned in 2005. She has worked in the accounting field for over 25 years. Shannon specializes in bookkeeping services, all aspects of payroll administration and reporting, and sales tax reporting. She also assists in the preparation of small business income tax returns. Shannon is a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor, and has achieved her Fundamental Payroll Certification. She is a member of the American Society of Women Accountants, American Payroll Association and the Society of Human Resource Management. Shannon enjoys reading and spending time with family.
Janet Sorenson - Janet joined the firm in 1996. Since that time she has functioned as an administrative assistant, managed the front desk and performed office administrator duties. She prepares payroll reports and performs bookkeeping services for many of the firm's clients. Of key importance is her unique ability to remember all of our clients and a little something about each of them, even if they only come in once a year. Janet enjoys the outdoors, camping, riding quads, boating and gardening. She especially enjoys spending time with family.
Cicely Gutierrez - Cicely joined West Christensen, PC in May of 2007 after moving to Winslow from Phoenix. In Phoenix, Cicely received her Associates of General Studies degree and worked in the non-profit field for 5 years. Cicely works two days a week in the Winslow office, making appointments and being a friendly face for clients who drop by. She does payroll and payroll-related work for various Winslow businesses. Her interests in her spare time are photography, gardening, reading and listening to music.
Under the leadership of Tony Christensen, the firm was founded in the 1980s. Tony built a growing practice in the Flagstaff and Winslow areas, but left Flagstaff to pursue other entrepreneurial goals. Subsequently he returned to the area, and re-built his practice from his Winslow office. After substantially growing the firm again, Tony sold his interest in the practice to Kevin West in 2004. While Tony has stayed active in the business since then, Kevin assumed leadership of the firm at that time. From the beginning, owners and staff have worked together to provide quality tax and accounting services to all their valued clients in Northern Arizona.
The firm is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The firm participates as a member of both the Tax Practice Section and the Private Companies Practice Section of the AICPA. West Christensen, PC is an independently owned member of Firm Foundation.
