Founding partner and principal Karen Ehmke holds the Personal Financial Specialist designation, signifying that in addition to being a certified public accountant, she has pursued extensive education and experience in personal financial planning. From a client’s perspective, the credential signifies Karen as a professional who is able to balance CPA skills and knowledge (especially tax-related) with the other elements of financial planning. Further, a PFS undertakes significant continuing professional education and is bound to a stringent code of professional conduct. Of nearly 700,000 CPAs in the U.S., only about 5,000 have attained PFS status.