Team Members

Fisher H. Little, Jr., CPA

Fisher received a B.B.A. in accounting from St. Mary’s University. Fisher has worked in public accounting since 1967, joining our firm in 1990. He is a life member of the AICPA, TSCPA, and of the San Antonio CPA Society. His primary practice areas include tax compliance and audit work with non-profit organizations. He was previously a partner at Oroian, Guest & Little for 26 years. Spending time with his wife of over 51 years, and any or all of their 3 children is Fisher’s #1 pastime. As a grandfather, he also delights in his 6 grandchildren. Traveling together with his family to see various parts of the country is a favorite activity. Other favorite activities include gardening, walking, and serving his church.

Primary Practice Areas:

• Not-for-profits

Paul D. Sparks, CPA

Paul is a native of San Antonio and graduated from Texas A&M; University in 1983. He received his CPA certificate in 1985. He is a member of the TSCPA, the AICPA, and the San Antonio CPA Society. Paul has extensive experience in accounting and taxation for individuals and businesses, particularly in the construction, real estate, and related industries. He has been in the practice of public accounting since 1984. In addition to being a Principal of our firm, he is the Chief Financial Officer of a local construction company. He comes from a family of animal lovers, has a large family of dogs and cats at home, and is also a horse lover. His other passions in life include cars, swimming, and hiking.

Primary Practice Areas:

• Construction

Reed Smiley, CPA

Reed merged his successful accounting firm with Oroian, Guest & Little in 2020 after being in practice for 25 years in San Antonio. Before opening his own office, he worked for 20 years for a family business with oil and gas, ranching and real estate development interests. He is a member of the AICPA, TSCPA and the San Antonio CPA Society. He and his wife have been married for 52 years and have been blessed by having a close-knit family with 3 wonderful children and 5 incredible grandchildren. He enjoys spending time in Port Aransas on the beach and gulf coast fishing.

Primary Practice Areas:

• General Tax
• Family Estates and Trusts
• Oil and Gas

David Oroian, CPA - Audit Manager

David has been in public accounting since 1998, beginning his career with a national firm and joining our firm in 2001. His primary practice area includes financial reporting for both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. David received a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from UTSA followed by a Masters in Professional Accountancy Degree from UT - Austin. In addition to attest work, he also performs our annual internal firm peer review and handles our IT environment. Personally, David enjoys watching his children work out at his old Taekwondo school, visiting New York City, attending the San Diego Comic-Con and enjoying rock concerts (121 and counting).

Primary Practice Areas:

• Audits and Reviews
• Financial Statement Compilations

Karen Zhu, CPA – Tax Manager

Karen has been in public accounting since 2008 and has broad experience in accounting and taxation for individuals, business entities, trusts and estates. She graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Master of Accountancy focusing on taxation. Karen has excellent skills in accounting and tax research to help clients solve complex issues and is in charge of our in-house technical training for CPAs and paraprofessionals. Karen is a TSCPA member and is actively involved in the San Antonio CPA Society. She was the recipient of 2017 “Rising Star” award given by the TSCPA. Karen is currently serving as Board of Governors of the San Antonio Estate Planners Council. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in the national parks, volunteering at various organizations, and watching Spurs games.

Primary Practice Areas:

• General Tax Compliance
• Tax Planning and Consulting
• Analysis of Complex Tax Transactions

Teresa A. Balcarcel, EA – Accounting Manager

Teresa joined our firm in November of 2014 and has been in public accounting since 2003. She has extensive experience with bookkeeping and tax for individuals and businesses. She is an Enrolled Agent, licensed to represent taxpayers before the IRS. Additionally, Teresa is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, helping clients with QuickBooks set-up, clean-up and training. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Whittier College in California and Master’s in Accounting from University of Phoenix.

Areas of Service:

• General Tax Compliance
• Business Consultation
• Bookkeeping
• QuickBooks Support

Diana Gari Diaz, CPA

Diana is a graduate of University of Texas at San Antonio, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Accountancy. Diana joined our firm in 2019. She is from Cuba and loves cooking Cuban food. Diana enjoys traveling around the world with her husband and spending time with her family and nephews. She also likes hiking and swimming.

Areas of Service:

• Tax Compliance
• Tax Planning and Consulting

Danielle Wales

Danielle graduated from Abilene Christian University with a Master of Accountancy degree. Danielle joined our firm after working in the Alternative Asset Management practice at PwC. When she is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her two Labrador Retrievers and traveling.

Areas of Service:

• General Tax

Heather Childers, CPA

Heather Childers, CPA graduated from Rice University with a BA in Business & Managerial Studies. She continued her studies in Accounting at University of Houston. Her experience includes accounting, taxation and business services. She is a member of the TSCPA. Heather enjoys exploring new restaurants, photography, hiking and spending time outdoors with her Husband and grown children.

Areas of Service:

• Tax Compliance
• Tax Planning and Consulting

Janine Steele

Bio coming soon.

Areas of Service:

• Bookkeeping
• General Tax Compliance

Dianne Lindsey

Dianne has over 25 years experience in bookkeeping and reporting. She is a tax preparer and assists our clients with their business financial needs. Dianne joined our firm in 2000. She enjoys reading, music, movies, travel, gardening, and spending time with her 2 grandsons. She is the proud mother of 3 sons; she and her husband have spent most of their time over the past years supporting them in their activities and education.

Areas of Service:

• Bookkeeping
• General Tax Compliance

Kara Gelfond

Kara joined our firm in June of 2020 and has 5 years of bookkeeping experience for individuals and businesses. She and her husband Ben enjoy being parents of their energetic 5-year-old little boy, who always knows how to make them laugh. She also enjoys spending time at the beach, entertaining friends and family as well as decorating her fixer-upper home.

Areas of Service:

• Bookkeeping
• General Tax Compliance

Sarah Crowder

Sarah joined our firm in November 2022 and has over 15 years of general accounting experience. She and her husband are the proud parents of four active kids. In her spare time, she loves camping at the beach, watching her kids’ athletic activities, and reading.

Areas of Service:

• Bookkeeping
• QuickBooks Support

Wanda Deines

Wanda has over 25 years experience in bookkeeping and tax preparation. Originally from Maryland, she moved to San Antonio in 1992 and joined our firm in December 2022. Wanda loves the beach, reading, biking and estate sale shopping. She and her husband, Chris, have been married for 28 years and have a son, 3 cats and several hens.

Areas of Service:

• Bookkeeping
• General Tax Compliance

Yili Gari Diaz

Yili is originally from Cuba and has worked as an accounting professional for 18 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance as well as a master's degree in finance. She has two children who are avid soccer players. Yili loves spending time with her family. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking or swimming.

Areas of Service:

• Bookkeeping
• QuickBooks Support

Natalie Saavedra

Natalie joined our firm in December of 2008. She was born and raised in San Antonio. She worked in her family’s business for 22 years prior to joining us. She and her husband have been married over 30 years and have a son they are very proud of. She and her family love to travel, especially on cruises and to the beach. She likes to spend time entertaining family and friends.

Renee McGonigle

Renee joined our firm in July 2013. She is a communications major from Hunter College in New York City. After several years as a news reporter, Renee and her husband decided they wanted to make a “quality of life” change and moved back to San Antonio to be near her family. She and her husband love spending time with their two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Harlow and Luke. Renee is passionate about food and wine and enjoys cooking for family and friends. She also is an avid reader, especially of mystery books.

Samantha Canales

Samantha joined our firm in November of 2021. She was born and raised in San Antonio. She worked previous as a Medical Assistant with an ENT Clinic and as a Paralegal with a Bankruptcy firm prior to joining us. She and her family enjoy being outdoors, swimming, camping and love traveling together. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and most important thing to her is being able to spend time with family and friends.

Nichole Miller

Nichole came from Virginia Beach, Virginia where she worked in a long-term care facility as the assistant manager in the Maintenance Department and the Emergency Coordinator for the facility. Nichole enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and family. She enjoys movies, music and yard work. The most important thing to her is being able to spend time with family.

Kathleen Lipsett

Bio coming soon.