Partners
Layne has been a Certified Public Accountant for over 30 years. These years have included working with one of the largest international firms, a local firm, and as a sole practitioner. He has also worked around 15 years providing CFO and controller services in the manufacturing, construction, retail, and service industries.
Layne has extensive experience in all areas of attestation services including auditing, reviews, and compilations. He has prepared hundreds of financial statements for internal and third-party use. In addition, he has experience in process analysis and design, work flowcharting, and in determining the proper accounting software for businesses. Layne has broad experience in tax planning and return preparation for individual, partnership, limited liability company, and corporation entities.
Layne Peterson
CPA, CFO
Desirée first started working in accounting in 1992. She is a graduate of BYU and an EA. She worked as a staff accountant with Xactware where she also headed up a team to help create accounting software for construction and insurance companies. Desirée spent a couple years doing accounting work in her own practice. Desiree joined Layne’s company (Peterson and Associates CPA, Inc.) in 2012 where she spent several years as a senior associate and then as vice-president. In 2023, Desiree became a partner and the company name changed to Peterson Shafer Inc.
Desirée enjoys spending time with her family and loves watching/playing sports and being at the beach.
Desirée Shafer
EA. President
Staff
Anette Crowther
Office Manager
Anette has over 20 years of experience doing general/legal secretarial work. Before coming to work for our company in 2018, she was a homemaker using her secretarial skills (and much more) as she raised 6 of 8 children in a blended family. Anette enjoys working with clients as they gather their tax information and helping with any other needs they may have. She also enjoys doing what she can to make things run smoothly for our office. Outside of the office, Anette loves serving her family and creating fun places in her home and yard for her children and grandchildren to come and hang out.
Diane Fraughton
Accounting Associate
Diane does business taxes for the company. Her started her education in accounting at UVCC (now UVU) but being a wife and mother of 9 children kept her busy until returning into the world of Balance Sheets and Profit & Loss. She is certified as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Diane’s hobbies include photography, gardening, chickens, beekeeping and grandchildren. She was born and raised in Utah County but has seen much of and loves our country.
Neal Williams
Accounting Associate
Neal was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. In 2009, he moved to Utah. He attended both Utah Valley University and Keller Graduate School of Management earning both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in accounting. Neal joined our team in July 2017.
Neal has expertise in accounting, payroll, and tax returns. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, being outdoors, making salsa, spending time with his dog, and cheering for the Arizona Wildcats.
Kyla Peterson
Accounting Associate
Kyla is a BYU graduate, wife of a hard-working architecture student, and a stay-at-home mother. She is also a full-time working pancreas as her young daughter has type 1 diabetes and requires constant monitoring. Beyond the work, Kyla loves to see other worlds in both movies and books. She is all about family and will work her schedule around to accommodate family time. She is an artist in crafting, watercolor and photography and would one day love to job shadow a photographer for a week.
Kyla works in our accounting department and is also on the tax preparer team. Although sometimes Kyla uses her skills as an amateur photographer and shrub pruner as a side hustle, she never expected to find her way into the finance world. Kyla is highly organized, a quick learner and is good at training which has made her a great asset to the company.
Mariah Peterson
Accounting Associate
Mariah has worked with us seasonally since 2019. She works closely with Anette to ensure our tax process goes smoothly. Mariah is from Gilbert, Arizona. She moved to Utah Valley in 2018 to continue her education in Deaf Studies. Mariah met her husband her first year working for the company and they were married in April 2021. She loves spending time with her spouse and crocheting in her free time.
Greg Anderson
Accounting Associate
Greg is a transplant from Idaho having finished his BBA and MBA from Idaho State University. He served in the military where he learned to scramble eggs. Greg has lived in various locations throughout the Unites States and his love of travel has allowed him to travel to or through 48 of our beautiful 50 states. He settled in Utah about 15 years ago. Having had several positions in operations, his love of numbers, organization, process, and systems drew him back to school in accounting and tax and he is now a CPA. Greg is currently preparing tax returns for individuals, partnerships, and corporations.