Meet our tEaM

 

patrick paulus, cpa - owner

Pat is a founding partner with Capitol Tax & Accounting Group. He was with a large regional accounting firm prior to founding Capitol Tax & Accounting Group. He has provided assurance, accounting, consulting, and tax services for retail, construction, hospitality, and real estate industries. Pat also works with individuals on tax issues specific to their needs, including pass-through business income, tax planning, compliance, consulting, and tax return preparation. Pat is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Valparaiso University.
He and his wife Dana live in Monona, WI with their children Kennedy and Eddie.
You can reach Pat at: ppaulus@cap-tag.com

Ed Bauman, CPA - ACCOUNTANT

Ed is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration - Accounting from UW Madison. Prior to joining Capitol Tax & Accounting Group in December of 2023, Ed worked in public accounting for two years then 29 years in private industry with large multi-state, and international corporations. Ed works with us providing individual and business tax planning and preparation. He and his wife Carrie live in New Glarus, WI. He is a born and raised Wisconsinite, a big Badger sports fan who enjoys spending his free time with family and friends, especially sitting by the pool.

You can reach Ed at: ebauman@cap-tag.com


Amy BLAWusch – Office MANAGER

 Amy has more than five years experience in customer service and administrative roles. Amy has grown up in the greater Madison, WI area and holds an Associates Degree in Business and Meeting and Event Management. She enjoys hiking, fishing and repurposing things.

You can reach Amy at: ablawusch@cap-tag.com


athena croft - accountant

Athena joined the team at Capitol Tax & Accounting Group after graduating from Madison Area Technical College with an Associate Degree in Accounting.  She is continuing her education at UW-Whitewater, where she's pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

When she's not studying, Athena enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, Patty.

You can reach Athena at: acroft@cap-tag.com


Karen ganser– accountant

Karen Ganser has more than thirty years accounting experience with her focus on customer support. Karen is a QuickBooks Pro Advisor and is knowledgeable in bookkeeping, payroll, tax and other various small business needs. Karen holds an Associate Degree in Accounting from Chippewa Valley Technical College. Karen and her husband Marty have two adult daughters and live outside Sauk City, WI with their dog, Cosmo.

In her spare time, Karen enjoys reading, hiking and home renovations.

You can reach Karen at: kganser@cap-tag.com


JIM HENNICK, CPA - SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Jim is a certified public accountant with more than 30 years experience in accounting, specializing in trust and estate tax preparation and administration.  Over the years, he held positions as a trust officer at two regional banks, a legal assistant at two law firms, and most recently an accountant at CPA firms in Seattle, WA and the Milwaukee area.  He has considerable experience with individual tax return preparation and planning, as well as experience with business returns.  Jim enjoys traveling, hiking, biking and camping – and gets a kick out of spending time with his nieces and nephews and the newest additions to their families.
You can reach Jim at: jhennick@cap-tag.com

ANDREW houtakker - accountant

Andrew Houtakker joins Capitol Tax & Accounting Group after receiving his undergraduate degree from Edgewood College.  He is currently pursuing his CPA at Upper Iowa University. Prior to working at Capitol Tax & Accounting Group, Drew completed internships at industry-leading companies working in the accounting and audit departments. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with friends, family, and playing and watching basketball.

You can reach Drew at: ahoutakker@cap-tag.com


Christie Morel – Accountant

Christie has more than 20 years experience in the accounting field working with individuals, businesses, and non-profits. She is knowledgeable in QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Christie enjoys spending her free time watching her four children participate in sports. She has two daughters, whom she is very proud of, playing at the collegiate level for basketball. She also enjoys taking her goldendoodle Bentley to the dog park and on long walks through nature trails. Christie has a love for art and is currently exploring her artistic side with an art form class.
You can reach Christie at: cmorel@cap-tag.com


sara muchka, cpa – senior accountant

Prior to joining Capitol Tax & Accounting Group in 2014, Sara worked for a local public accounting firm where she specialized in assurance, accounting services, and tax compliance for service industries and non-profit organizations. Her focus is working with closely held and family businesses on tax and compliance issues as well as individual tax issues. She is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  Sara and her husband Peter live in Lake Mills, WI with their two daughters Morgan and Molly and their dog Maeve.

You can reach Sara at: smuchka@cap-tag.com


James Proulx, EA - ACCOUNTANT

Before becoming part of the team at Capitol Tax & Accounting Group, Jim owned an accounting firm in Michigan for 28 years. He attended Delta College and obtained his Enrolled Agent status in 2000. His business specialized in personal and business income taxes. In his free time, he enjoys traveling with his wife, Sandy, spending time with family, and working on genealogy.

You can reach Jim at: jproulx@cap-tag.com



Allan Schmid, CPA -  TAX MANAGER

Allan Schmid is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from UW Whitewater. He has been in public accounting for approximately 30 years offering accounting, consulting and tax services for individuals, businesses, trusts, estates, and non-profits.  Allan also has vast experience with QuickBooks. Allan and his two children have lived in Waunakee, WI for eight years. Allan spends his free time fishing, camping and watching his son’s football games, and both children’s hockey games.
You can reach Allan at: aschmid@cap-tag.com