About our Firm
Our Niche
Over the past fifteen years, Chris Kiyohara and Edwin Takahashi have developed a niche market in Franchise Restaurant operations. Currently, the firm handles close to thirty different franchisees representing Jack in the Box, Del Taco, El Pollo Loco, Applebees Bar & Grill, Papa John’s Pizza, Famous Dave’s Barbeque, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Burger King, Ohana Hawaiian BBQ, Wendy’s, Denny’s and ARCO AM/PM. Our involvement with these franchisees is not limited to the traditional accounting and tax services. We also provide pre-acquisition due diligence, proforma, and breakeven analysis; franchise qualification and analysis; financing procurement and loan covenant compliance; internal control procedure and accounting software consulting; and operational comparisons with industry results. Many of the referrals are from the various franchise lending institutions who come across franchisees who are not prepared or organized with sufficient financial records. We are also asked to provide expert witness testimony and valuation analysis for various franchise restaurant related litigation.
Our Team
Chris began his career in public accounting in 1984. Prior to establishing the firm, he was a partner at Kojima, Kiyohara & Company CPA’s, a Los Angeles based firm which specialized in real estate and international taxation matters. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the California State University of Los Angeles and has a Masters Degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University.
ckiyohara@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Edwin has been in public accounting since 1993. He started his career at Kojima, Kiyohara & Company CPA’s and has conversational Japanese speaking ability. He has a degree in Business Administration from the University of California Riverside and a Masters Degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University.
etakahashi@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Pia has been with Kiyohara & Takahashi since 2000. Pia maintains a degree in Business Economics and a minor in accounting from the University of California at Los Angeles and is currently enrolled into the Masters of Taxation program at Golden Gate University.
pchan@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Joyce started at Kiyohara & Takahashi in 2004. Joyce has completed the CPA exam and is finalizing her experience requirements before submitting her application to become certified. Joyce brings to us her experience from The Rice Garden which is a Chinese quick service food concept similar to Panda Express. Joyce has assisted in their expansion to over thirty units. Joyce graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University at Los Angeles in 1998 and is currently enrolled in the Masters of Taxation program at Golden Gate University.
jlam@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Naomi has been with Kiyohara & Takahashi since January of 2003. She attended Pierce College and has received Certificate of Achievements in Payroll Accounting, Small Business Accounting, and Basic Computerized Accounting. Naomi is fluent in Japanese.
nhiraiwa@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Gahlin has been with the firm since the inception in July of 2000. She has attended California Polytechnic University at Pomona and completed various bookkeeping courses, which enables her to engage in various write-up and payroll engagements. Gahlin is our "in-house" payroll expert. She is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese.
gkiyohara@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Fabian graduated with a BA degree in Business Administration (emphasis in accounting) from California State University at Fullerton in December 2006, in addition to his educational background. Fabian has an extensive work history at Crown Equipment Corporation where he has a field service technician and a sales representative.
fshin@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Hiroko graduated with a BS degree in Business Administration (emphasis in accounting) from California State University at Los Angeles in December 2005. Immediately after graduating she joined Kiyohara & Takahashi. Hiroko comes to us from Japan and is fluent in written and conversational Japanese.
hoda@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
Griselda started with the firm since May of 2002. She performs administrative functions including the processing of tax returns and financial statements. In addition, she performs data entry and light bookkeeping duties. She is also currently enrolled in evening courses to strengthen her accounting and bookkeeping knowledge.
garredondo@ktadvisors.com (323) 278-1300
