Kenneth D. Gibbs, CPA, Esq.
Partner

Ken is the Firm's tax partner. He received a B.S. degree and a Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University and Master of Taxation degree from the University of New Haven. Ken is a Certified Public Accountant and Member of the North Carolina State Bar.

Ken has over twenty years experience in corporate taxation including compliance, planning, audits, with emphasis on inbound transactions for multi-national conglomerates and handling other controversy matters having served as Director of Taxes and a Financial Controller for Glaxo Wellcome, Inc., Tax Accountant with Richardson Vicks, Sales and Use Tax Accountant at Pitney Bowes, Inc., and a Tax Accountant at Uniroyal, Inc.

He was previously a member of the Tax Executives Institute and the Durham Citizens Review Board. Ken currently holds positions as a member of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accounts, and a board member for The Forest at Duke.

Bruce L. Thomas, CPA, Esq.
Partner

Bruce is the Firm's audit and quality assurance partner. He received a B.S. degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor degree from North Carolina Central University. He also holds certifications as a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Information Systems Auditor, Chartered Financial Consultant, Chartered Life Underwriter and FLMI.

Bruce has extensive governmental accounting and auditing experience having served as Deputy State Auditor and Director of Audits with the North Caroilina Office of the State Auditor; Director of Internal Audit at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Vice-Chancellor of Financial Affairs at North Carolina Central University. While working in the Office of the State Auditor, Bruce directed all financial, performance and EDP audits and managed the Fraud, Waste and Abuse Division. Most recenty, Bruce served as Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel at a local high tech company. Bruce also served as Senior Manager & Director of Computer Audits for Ernst & Young LLP.

Bruce is a member of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, North Carolina Bar Association, National Association of Certified Fraud Examinors, EDP  Auditors Association, The American College and The Society of Financial Service Professionals.

Shawana H. Karkouki, CPA, MSA
Partner

Shawana is a partner in the Firm’s audit practice. She has over twelve years of diversified accounting, audit, assurance, and consulting experience in the not-for-profit, governmental, and private sectors. Shawana received her B.A. degree in accounting from North Carolina A&T State University (Summa Cum Laude) and her Master's of Accounting degree from the McIntire School of Business at the University of Virginia. She served as a senior accountant with Ernst & Young LLP, in Raleigh, NC before joining Thomas & Gibbs CPAs, LLC in 2002. Shawana held positions of senior accountant, manager, and senior manager with the Firm before joining the partnership in January 2012.

Shawana is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in North Carolina and a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants and North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.