A Team Built on Knowledge, Longevity and Expertise

As a small business with a dynamic team of professionals, the Shaw & Associates approach treats every client like a friend and partner. 

Shaw & Associates specializes in serving small and medium-sized businesses as well as individuals throughout Northern Colorado. In addition, Shaw & Associates provides the flexibility and technology to serve clients located throughout the world. We provide expert support and insight to your personal or business finances and we are committed to quality and integrity at affordable rates. 

We are also dedicated to implementing recent technology to create efficient and streamlined processes and reduce environmental impact.

Meet Our Team

Kevin Shaw, CPA, PFS & CEO

Kevin Shaw knows that taxes, accounting and financial planning can be intimidating and confusing. Kevin’s extensive experience has given him the knowledge to proactively manage nearly every financial situation. His positive attitude and enthusiasm for his work is instrumental in providing the expertise and knowledge needed to tackle each client’s unique circumstances.

Kevin is a Certified Public Accountant and owner of Shaw & Associates CPAs & Financial Advisors. He has been a practicing CPA since May 1983. The first eight years of his career was with the international accounting firm KPMG, where he attained the level of Senior Manager. He left KPMG in 1992 to become Chief Financial Officer for Nevada Bob’s Pro Shops, Inc. In 1994 he became Corporate Controller for Hilton Hotels, Inc.

In 1997, Kevin and his family made a lifestyle decision to move to Fort Collins, CO and start his own accounting firm. Shaw & Associates has grown steadily from Kevin preparing individual income tax returns in his home office to a full-service accounting firm specializing in taxation, business accounting, and financial planning.

Kevin is a dedicated community advocate. Since moving to Fort Collins, he has supported groups such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, the Food Bank for Larimer County, and the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, among others. He has also served on the City of Fort Collins Economic Advisory Committee for the last three years. Between managing his firm and civic engagements, Kevin enjoys spending time with his family, hitting balls on the links and running.

Marcy Palm, Accounting Manager

Marcy Palm has a passion for working with business owners and individuals. She enjoys learning about clients’ specific situations and helping them turn complex tax and accounting questions into understandable answers. She believes in empowering others with the tools to make more informed decisions. Her 15+ years of accounting experience in various industries has given her a strong basis from which to work.

Marcy’s corporate accounting experience included working in Financial Reporting for Circuit City Stores, Inc and as a Senior Auditor and Business Analyst for Marriott International, Inc. In 2001, she decided to leave the East Coast and its big cities behind to relocate to Fort Collins and pursue other interests. Since then, she has held various positions including bookkeeping, public accounting, and tax. She has worked for Shaw & Associates since 2005, where she is now the Accounting Manager. Her duties include tax preparation, tax planning, managing bookkeeping operations, and many other functions.

In her free time Marcy enjoys almost any kind of outdoor activity, including skiing, hiking, camping, playing softball, chasing her toddler around the park, spending time with her husband Dave and their son Jacob, and volunteering.

Dave Palm, Financial Advisor

Dave Palm has been managing the financial services division of Shaw & Associates since 2008. He knows the subjects of financial planning and investing can be overwhelming. He enjoys helping people understand these topics, develop and implement strategies to attain their financial goals, and protect what they worked hard to achieve. He strives to educate and advise our clients on financial concepts and strategies to avoid making costly mistakes. 

Dave started his career in financial services with Wells Fargo and spent 10 years in various capacities and locations in Minnesota and Colorado. He developed a strong financial knowledge through his diverse roles, which included helping individuals with budgeting and financial needs and consulting with business owners to improve sales and grow profitability. In early 2008, he and his family decided to return to Fort Collins and to make a career change. He felt the opportunity to become part of the Fort Collins and Northern Colorado communities was important for his family, and he found a good match at Shaw & Associates. Dave is extremely impressed by the firm’s integrity and high standards for client service. These attributes fit well with his business beliefs and values.

When he isn’t in the office Dave can be found riding his mountain bike on some of the local trails and downhill skiing. He also enjoys camping, hiking, and playing almost any outdoor sport. Most of all he enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Cassy Nittmann, Office Manager

Cassy greets every client that walks in the door with a friendly smile and a caring personality.  Her outstanding organization, attention to detail, and her client service skills keep everything running smoothly in the office.  Her duties include coordinating the entire tax process, managing communications with clients and others, and many “behind-the-scenes” functions that allow the staff to concentrate on serving our clients.  She is a genuine people person and has a high level of enthusiasm for providing the quality, professional service for which we pride ourselves.

Cassy’s career began at the largest pediatric office in Northern Colorado, The Fort Collins Youth Clinic. There, she excelled at coordinating with many busy doctors and nurses while providing personalized customer service to each and every patient.

As a Colorado native, she loves the mountains and the beauty that Colorado has to offer.  She values time with family and enjoys watching her two nieces grow up.  In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding, playing soccer, four-wheeling, camping, and reading.

Marcie Hutchinson, Staff Accountant

When most of our clients think of Shaw & Associates’ bookkeeping services, they think of Marcie Hutchinson. Marcie assists a variety of our business clients with duties such as daily bookkeeping, tax reporting, training, and business and financial analysis. Her 20+ years of administrative and accounting experience, attention to detail, and warm personality make her a valuable resource to the firm and her clients. At Shaw & Associates she enjoys the variety in her work, the learning environment, and embraces opportunities to learn new skills in the accounting field.

Originally born in New Jersey, Marcie’s family ventured west in the 80’s, and she grew up in Aurora, Colorado. Her formal education included studying architecture/interior design, business management, and accounting. Marcie’s work experiences included accounting positions in the building, land development, architectural and interior design industries. 

Marcie favors the warm weather months and takes advantage of any opportunity to go camping and savor Colorado’s beauty with close friends. They get a kick out of riding their ATVs and scouting new trails. She has an undying love for music, movies, gardening, reading and exploring her creative side with a variety of crafts. 

Susan Graham, CPA, Senior Accountant

Susan Graham, our newest CPA, brings a wide range of accounting and tax experience to the Shaw & Associates team. She has over ten years of experience in various aspects of accounting and has worked in both public accounting and private industry, and she enjoys helping individuals and small business owners with complex accounting and tax issues. Susan joined Shaw & Associates in January 2011 as a Senior Accountant and became an immediate asset by providing quality tax services to our clients.

Susan has been a Certified Public Accountant since 2003.  She spent the first five years of her accounting career with a Fort Collins CPA firm, first as a Staff Accountant, then as Tax Supervisor. Her job duties included tax return preparation and review, auditing, payroll, and small-business training and consulting. In 2004, she accepted a position as the Accounting Manager for a local real estate development and venture capital business, which she held for over six years.

Susan enjoys spending her free time entertaining family and friends with her husband Seth.  She also enjoys watching her alma mater Kansas State University play football and basketball. Other interests include reading, music, and cooking.

Jim Woodward, CPA, Senior Accountant

Jim Woodward has been part of Shaw & Associates since August 2007 as a Senior Accountant, and he performs a variety of services including tax preparation, consulting and training, and special projects. He enjoys helping business owners become more successful and gain a better understanding of the financial side of their business. 

Jim began his accounting career in 1994 working as a staff accountant for Robert B. Norris, CPA in Fort Collins. For several years, he was self-employed, specializing in small business accounting, and QuickBooks consulting and training. He also spent three years as Controller for Professional Pharmacy Services, Inc., an independent retail pharmacy chain based in Loveland, Colorado. Prior to entering the accounting field, Jim was a professional musician, a remodeling contractor, and co-owner of a small manufacturing firm.

Jim and his family live on the prairie between Wellington and Nunn, Colorado. He enjoys spending time in the mountains with his wife and son. Other interests include music, golf, and woodworking.

Kareen Larsen, Business Development Coordinator

From overseeing newsletters and important client updates to managing the Shaw & Associates web-site, social media outlets, and many other duties, Kareen Larsen is our Business Development Coordinator. Kareen is a true people person and enjoys interacting with our clients and the public. She has always excelled at customer service and believes that effective communication is the key to success in business relationships. She is our master of communication and encourages individuals and businesses to use Shaw & Associates informational updates to minimize tax liabilities and optimize business profitability and efficiency.

After graduating cum laude from The University of Colorado College of Business with a degree in both finance and marketing, Kareen served the Fort Collins and Wellington communities as a licensed real estate broker for ten years. Her focus included rural real estate issues including rural land development consulting. In 2010, she decided to step down to focus on her family and two small children while assisting her husband’s structural engineering firm with accounting services.  

Kareen was a client of Shaw & Associates long before she joined the team in August of 2011. She claims that she and her husband could not run their business without the help and guidance of Kevin and his staff.

Kareen is a Colorado native and enjoys a Colorado outdoor lifestyle with her husband, Blake, and two children. She raises kids, chickens, and a huge organic garden in rural Larimer County.