Who We Are

AZEEM DHALLA

CPA

Azeem Dhalla has over 20 years of management, accounting, tax and consulting experience in a variety of industries ranging from construction, real estate, professional services and health and fitness. Prior to forming Dhalla CPA in 2010, Azeem had over 10 years of Senior Management experience in a top 100 National Accounting firm.

In addition to essential accounting skills such as financial reporting, tax preparation and planning, Azeem has been responsible for the timely preparation of year-end financial statements and tax returns for third party users such as lenders, banks and sureties. Azeem’s clients have ranged from startups to $30+ million in annual revenues and have successfully navigated significant growth with the help of his financial analysis and reporting.

Azeem’s strengths lie in his ability to communicate with his clients in an effective manner. He enjoys taking a complicated topic and making it easy to understand for his clients and employees. His passion lies in helping others achieve their goals. He is a family man with a teenage daughter, his wife Zeena, and his furry dog friend, Luna.

Azeem volunteers his time for a mission he believes in: The Girl Scouts of Orange County. He currently services as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors. He also volunteers as a dad in his daughter’s Girl Scout troop, and as a goalie coach for the local AYSO.

In his free time Azeem, enjoys playing soccer as a goalkeeper and coaching up and coming goalkeepers. He also enjoys Angels Baseball and Rams Football (they are back in town!) and USA Men’s and Women’s Soccer. He’s an avid astronomy lover, a purveyor of Star Wars movies, a fan of 80’s music and enjoys the comedy of the Big Bang Theory. Some of his favorite books are: “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil Degrasse Tyson, “The 4 Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris, and “World in My Eyes” by Richard Blade.

KELLY PHIPPS

Enrolled Agent

Kelly Phipps comes to Dhalla CPA with 10+ years of experience working in the public accounting industry. Kelly has been with Dhalla CPA over 10 years and in that time she completed her courses at Orange Coast College and obtained her Enrolled Agent designation. She supervises all of our client accounting services, individual tax return preparation, and special projects at our clients offices. On top of all that she is also our office manager. Kelly is known for her exceptional customer service and providing our clients with the personalized attention that they come to expect from the Dhalla CPA Team.

She is a highly organized and self-driven individual, passionate about developing her career in the field of accounting and taxes. Kelly is devoted to her family and is the proud mother of a 6-year-old son. In her free time she enjoys kickboxing, dirt bike riding and camping with her husband and son, and participating in 5k runs and half marathons. Kelly also enjoys watching crime thrillers and loves going to music concerts.

CHRISTINA SHAHAN

Accounting Specialist

Christina was born and raised in Orange County, CA but now lives in Katy, Texas with her husband of 17 years, 2 children and 2 cats. Her hobbies include cooking, camping, dirt-bike riding, DIY projects, traveling, sporting events, concerts and spending time with friends and family. Her guilty pleasures include reality TV and Game of Thrones.

Christina has spent the last 10 years providing excellent customer service and fostering long lasting relationships with customers, including Dhalla CPA clients for the last 5 years. Christina handles the day to day transactions of our client’s monthly accounting and keeps everyone’s accounts updated on a real time basis. This is essential to Dhalla CPA’s mission; which is to provide proactive advice to our monthly accounting clients.

Christina has specializations in using Xero, Quickbooks and ProConnect Tax Online.

Her previous employers include St. Joseph’s Health Mission Hospital, the McCarthy Building Companies, and BMW of Irvine where she honed her customer service and organizational skills.

CINTHIA SANCHEZ

Associate Accountant

Cinthia has worked in public accounting for 7 years where she has gained experience in accounting, financial statement preparation and tax preparation for individuals and businesses of a wide variety of industries. She has spent her career at small firms where she can build a strong relationship with management and clients. Learning she wanted to pursue accounting as a career shortly after completing high school, she earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2017 and joined Dhalla CPA in 2021.

When not at work, Cinthia enjoys spending time with her family watching her children learn and grow along with her husband, CJ. Being the oldest of four children and first-generation college graduate, Cinthia aims to be helpful to her family and a mentor to her younger siblings.