W.H. Donald Shaw

When Donald Shaw took his chartered accountant exam, the equivalent of the CPA designation, he placed first in his native country, Northern Ireland. This, after he had already completed law school. Armed with both designations, he founded his own tax practice, but soon decided to move his family away from The Troubles, the decades-long political strife plaguing his home country. He emigrated to Northern California where he immediately began studying for, and quickly passed, the California State Board of Accountancy exam.

Ready to build his own business, he founded Don Shaw CPA in 1980.

G. Michael Shaw

Growing up working at his father’s tax practice alongside his siblings, Michael always assumed he’d follow suit. When he took his first course in accounting, his mind was made up. He studied accounting at Golden Gate University and upon graduation, was immediately recruited by Burr Pilger Mayer as an accountant and auditor. He passed his CPA exam in 1995 and stayed at BPM for the next 5 years. In 2000, he was offered a Manager position, but concurrently received a highly desirable offer from a boutique firm founded by former partners of global financial firm KPMG.

For the next four years, Michael served as Manager of Investor Relations for high- profile and high net-worth individuals. As much as he enjoyed the experience, he knew he would eventually join his father in the family business. Raised in the environment of a close-knit community practice, Michael longed to bring his depth of experience to a more intimate workplace. In 2002, Michael joined Don’s practice. In 2004, they became partners, forming what is today Shaw + Shaw, LLP.