Karen M. Whaley, CPA, CSEP

Born and raised in Annapolis, Karen is a graduate of St. Mary's High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Towson State University. Finding accounting to be her true vocation, she returned to school, earned her Certificate of Accounting and successfully passed the Certified Public Accountant examination, in 1991, on her first attempt. 

In August of that year, Karen established a one-person bookkeeping and tax preparation service with the corporate name Accounting Services, Inc. During the next decade, the company grew into Whaley & Associates, P.C., a thriving licensed Certified Public Accounting corporation. In February of 1999, she earned the Certified Specialist in Estate Planning designation.

In her many years of estate and trust work, Karen has had the opportunity to work with several local estate experts. She has presented lectures and workshops on various topics, in tandem with attorneys, the Register of Wills and the Anne Arundel Estate Planning Council. In 2022, Karen was inducted into CFAAC’s Professional Advisor Recognition Society.

Karen is currently a member of the Maryland Association of CPA’s and the National Society of Accountants. She serves as treasurer the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, a nonprofit that provides pooled managed charitable funds to meet community needs, as well as Christ Child Society of Annapolis, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing for needy children in the County. Karen is a proud co-founder and executive committee emeritus of the Anne Arundel County Estate Planning Council.