Robert Atkins (Rob) Walker

walker-family-photo-compressedRobert Atkins (Rob) Walker, CPA, MBA, PhD, began assisting university colleagues with international tax issues in the 1980s. It became apparent that there was a need for quality international tax consultation and return preparation. Dr. Walker entered full-time practice in 2002 and has had the privilege of serving clientele in academia, small business, oil exploration, engineering, venture capital, real estate development, and Christian missions in 50 countries across 6 continents. He periodically is called upon to amend tax returns of expatriate employees of multinational firms who are dissatisfied with the assembly-line-like tax preparation services of the large CPA firms. His articles have appeared in Tax Notes and Virginia Tax [Law] Review.

Dr. Walker graduated from Rice University in Houston, TX and passed the CPA exam in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970 while working with Arthur Andersen & Co. in audit and tax. He earned his CPA license in Houston in 1972 while in law school and graduated from Stanford Business School in 1975. He taught at the University of Minnesota in his birthplace, Duluth, MN, and received the Professor of the Year Award. He left academe to become CFO of a laser manufacturer in Sunnyvale, CA. He returned to teaching in 1991 and taught taxation at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, after earning his doctorate in taxation and finance at the University of Texas at Austin. He was awarded the Outstanding [National] Tax Dissertation Award by the American Accounting Association in 1992.

He is married to Janet Wayne Walker, has two children, Lydia and Sam, teaches Good News Club at Brentwood Elementary School, is active in Boy Scouts, plays tennis, is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Central Texas, and speaks some Spanish.

Click here to see Robert Atkins Walker’s full professional résumé

Liz Laurence

Liz & girls (compressed)Liz is a native Austinite,  returning to Austin in 2015 via Lubbock, Dallas, and Germany. She began her career at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell in Dallas, and has also had experience over the years in local CPA firms, investment firms, and small businesses. She received her master’s degree in special education and was a homebound teacher for seven years before becoming a “domestic engineer.” When she returned to full-time work, Liz worked as a CPA, school counselor and educational therapist. From 2012 to 2014 she worked at Black Forest Academy in Kandern, Germany, helping serve the needs of missionary and business families. Liz currently works remotely from Tyler, TX, and has two daughters, one who is a speech pathologist in Dallas, and another who works in Austin for Podium Education.

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Caroline Cienki

July 4th, 2015Caroline was brought up and educated in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, where she received her BA (hons.) in Russian and Soviet Studies. Upon graduation (after a year abroad in Russia), she worked for two different retail-wholesaler businesses, where she was exposed to a wide variety of accounting and administrative functions. After an interlude at The Arts Educational School London, where she received her Certificate in Professional Acting and MA in Acting, she traveled to the US, where she once again turned her attention to business. Upon joining Robert Atkins Walker PC in 2009, she found a new interest in working in tax, and in particular tax with an international outlook. In April 2016, she became an Enrolled Agent with the Internal Revenue Service.  She is currently living in Spain with her family and works part-time remotely.

Click here to see Caroline Cienki’s full professional résumé