---
title: About Katie Walker, CFO | Tenax Accounting
description: Katie Walker founded Tenax Accounting after building and selling her first firm. Bookkeeping and fractional CFO services from Tempe, for founders nationwide.
image: https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/katie-cpa-tenax-accounting-photo-bookkeeping-and-tax-phoenix-tempe-scottsdale-arizona-colorado.jpg
---

[![Tenax Accounting](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/tenax-logo-primary.png)](https://tenaxaccounting.com/)

[Pricing](https://tenaxaccounting.com/pricing)[Resources](https://tenaxaccounting.com/resources)[Notes](https://tenaxaccounting.com/notes)[Contact](https://tenaxaccounting.com/contact)[(480) 648-9848](tel:4806489848)[Ask Katie](https://tenaxaccounting.com/meetings/tenax-admin/ask-katie-cpa-cfo)

About

# Hi 👋 I'm Katie.

Founder and CFO of Tenax Accounting. Based in Tempe, working with founders nationwide.

![Katie Walker, founder and CFO of Tenax Accounting](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/katie-cpa-tenax-accounting-photo-bookkeeping-and-tax-phoenix-tempe-scottsdale-arizona-colorado.jpg)

Katie Walker, CFO

Founder · QuickBooks expert

## People first, then numbers

I grew up outside St. Louis and graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis with degrees in psychology and accounting. The combination made sense, because understanding people matters as much as understanding numbers. People's histories and nervous systems show up in their businesses, whether anyone names it or not.

I'm neurodivergent, a systems thinker, and not interested in business models that sacrifice people and planet for profits and power. This shapes how I build systems and who I work with.

## The gap wasn't just technical

Early in my career, I worked at SAK Construction, then a boutique general contractor who is now national, and saw what enterprise-level accounting looks like: dedicated systems, real visibility, and leadership that could move with confidence. Then I moved to Colorado and worked in public accounting at Brock & Company. There I saw how most small businesses operate: messy books, under-qualified help, and owners flying blind and hesitant to ask questions.

The gap wasn't just technical. It was human.

![St. Louis flag](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/missouri-flag.jpg)

St. Louis, MO

→

![Colorado flag](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/colorado-flag.jpg)

Boulder, CO

→

![Arizona flag](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/arizona-flag.jpg)

Tempe, AZ

[![SAK Construction](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/SAK-icon.png)](https://www.sakcon.com/)

SAK

→

[![Brock and Company](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/Brock-icon.png)](https://www.brockcpas.com/)

Brock

→

[![St. Vrain Financial](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/svf-icon.png)](https://stvrainfinancial.com/)

St. Vrain

→

[![Tenax Accounting](https://tenaxaccounting.com/hubfs/tenax-icon-1.png)](https://tenaxaccounting.com/)

Tenax

## My first firm

I started St. Vrain Financial in Colorado to close that gap. Over four years, I built it to over 100 clients and showed that small businesses could have the same quality of accounting big companies get, with clarity, with dignity, and with someone who cares about getting it right.

100+ clients · Sold in 2021

**One example:** I helped [OUR Center](https://www.ourcenter.org/), a nonprofit, move from a messy audit full of red flags to a clean financial review. All the while, its executive director retired after almost two decades, a new leader stepped in, and COVID hit. The organization came out stronger because its financial systems held steady.

> "Well-built systems outlive their creator."
> 
> St. Vrain still serves OUR Center and other clients today, under new ownership.

## Tenax

After selling the firm, I moved to Arizona and started Tenax Accounting with everything I'd learned. Today I work with founders and growing businesses nationwide, especially med device companies and nonprofits. I'm based in Tempe and meet clients anywhere in the Valley, or by video wherever you are.

[Pricing →](https://tenaxaccounting.com/pricing)[Med device →](https://tenaxaccounting.com/med-device-accounting)[Nonprofit →](https://tenaxaccounting.com/nonprofit-accounting)

## Less stress. More advantage.

[Ask Katie, CFO →](https://tenaxaccounting.com/meetings/tenax-admin/ask-katie-cpa-cfo)

15 free minutes. Real answers. No pitch.

Tenax Accounting

4411 S Rural Rd Suite 201  
Tempe, AZ 85282

[(480) 648-9848](tel:4806489848)

Firm

[About Katie](https://tenaxaccounting.com/about-katie)[Services](https://tenaxaccounting.com/#services)[Pricing](https://tenaxaccounting.com/pricing)[Contact](https://tenaxaccounting.com/contact)[Resources](https://tenaxaccounting.com/resources)[Notes](https://tenaxaccounting.com/notes)[Succession](https://tenaxaccounting.com/succession)

Industries

[Med device](https://tenaxaccounting.com/med-device-accounting)

Cannabis

Psychedelics

[Nonprofit](https://tenaxaccounting.com/nonprofit-accounting)

© 2026 Tenax Accounting

Guaranteed human

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