Ali Bawi, CPA
Founder
Leads every client relationship and reviews the work. Accounting and tax for tech companies, ecommerce, and creative agencies.
LinkedIn profileAbout us
One CPA, one relationship, personal and business together.
Kafoo CPA is a Seattle-based accounting firm built around the business owner, working virtually with clients nationwide.
Why we exist
Nobody was seeing the full picture
Kafoo CPA exists because most business owners are stuck managing their finances across multiple providers, one for personal taxes, another for the books, maybe a third for advice. None of them see the full picture.
We built this firm to change that. One CPA, one relationship, personal and business together, so every decision accounts for the whole picture.
Communication
Insight
Action
Ali Bawi, CPA, Founder
Big-firm expertise, built for small businesses
Ali is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with a decade of experience in accounting and taxation. He founded Kafoo CPA on a simple belief: accounting should help a business stay compliant while also bringing financial clarity for growth.
After years at firms large and small, Ali found his passion in helping small businesses and seeing the impact firsthand. He brings big-firm expertise and proactive advice, working directly with clients to ensure the best results. Ali is a University of Washington alumnus and a member of the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants.
In his own words
Accounting as a growth engine, not a chore
“Over the years, I’ve worked with Fortune 100 giants and small businesses, and the biggest difference I’ve seen isn’t resources, it’s how they use their numbers. Small companies see accounting as a compliance task. Big companies use it as a growth engine.” Ali Bawi, CPA
That gap is why the firm exists, to give small and growing businesses access to the same level of insight and strategy the big players rely on.
How an engagement usually runs
- Clean up the current bookkeeping
- Build streamlined, scalable financial systems
- Develop tailored strategies based on your goals
Credentials and affiliations
Verified, licensed, and accountable
Certified Public Accountant
AICPA
QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor
Intuit
University of Washington
Accounting and Finance
WSCPA member
Washington Society of CPAs
Published contributor
Intuit Tax Pro Center
Background
Where the experience comes from
The path from a Fortune 100 finance team to a firm built for owner-operated businesses, and why the two sides inform each other.
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2024 – Present
Founder, Kafoo CPA
Built the firm around one idea: business owners deserve a single CPA who handles both sides of their financial life.
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2024 – 2025
Director of Accounting, Security Tax Services LLC
Led the accounting function and the systems behind it for a growing tax practice.
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2023 – 2024
Senior Associate, Sweeney Conrad, P.S.
Where the passion for small business work took hold, and where the impact of getting it right was most visible.
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2022 – 2024
Consultant, Deloitte
Big-four methodology, complex engagements, and the discipline that comes with them.
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2021 – 2022
Corporate Strategy Analyst, Starbucks
Seattle. Learning how a Fortune 100 company turns financial data into operating decisions.
Our team
Small firm, senior people
You work with the people who do the work. Kafoo CPA is led by a CPA and supported by seasoned managers with more than 20 years of experience, which means big-firm judgment without the layers between you and it. You are never passed to a junior preparer you never meet.
Vasu Mallan
Tax Director
Vasu Mallan has more than 20 years of U.S. tax experience, including corporate accounting at the Big Four.
He leads the firm's tax preparation, tax review and strategic tax planning work. His clients include individuals and high-income taxpayers, self-employed professionals, small businesses, partnerships, LLCs, S Corporations and C Corporations.
Seasoned managers
Kafoo CPA is supported by managers with more than 20 years in accounting and tax. A tech-forward founder paired with deeply experienced hands is what lets a firm this size take on work that usually goes to much larger ones.
Start a conversationWho we work with
Owner-operated businesses, pre-revenue to $10M
Digital-native companies and main street businesses alike, tech and SaaS, ecommerce, creative and marketing agencies, professional services, and real estate and investment entities. What they share is an owner whose personal and business finances are tangled together, and who wants one firm handling both.
We are equally clear about who we are not for. We do not take on construction contractors, healthcare practices, or nonprofit organizations, each deserves a firm dedicated to its compliance requirements.
10+Years of accounting and tax experience
1Firm for personal and business
50States served virtually
Where to go next
Three stages, one relationship
Compliance
- Individual and business tax preparation
- Bookkeeping and financial reporting
- QuickBooks setup and integration
Optimization
- Tax planning and savings strategies
- Entity structuring and S‑Corp election
- Accounting systems and workflow improvement
Growth
- Fractional CFO and financial advisory
- Cash flow and performance management
- Strategic planning and decision support
About the firm
Questions people ask
Kafoo CPA was founded by Ali Bawi, a Certified Public Accountant with a decade of experience in accounting and taxation. Before starting the firm he worked at Security Tax Services, Sweeney Conrad, Deloitte, and Starbucks. He is a University of Washington alumnus, a member of the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants, and a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor.
No. The firm is led by Ali and supported by seasoned managers with more than 20 years of experience. It is deliberately small, which is why you work directly with a CPA rather than being handed to a junior preparer, but there is a team behind the work.
Our office is at 1700 Westlake Ave N, Suite #200, PMB 1110, Seattle, WA 98109. We are Seattle-based and work virtually with clients nationwide, so where you are located does not limit whether we can work together.
Kafoo CPA was founded in 2024. The experience behind it goes back a decade, across firms large and small, which is the point: a new firm built on established practice, not a first attempt.
Yes. Most of our work is virtual. Documents move through a secure portal, meetings happen over video, and filings are electronic. Being Seattle-based matters for Washington-specific questions; it does not restrict who we serve.