More Than A CPA
Meet Kari Apel, CPA
Business owner. CPA. CFO. Advisor. Teacher. Farmer's daughter.
For more than two decades, Kari Apel has helped business owners make sense of the numbers behind their businesses and make better financial decisions.
But her experience goes beyond accounting.
Kari has built and sold a CPA firm, served as a CFO, advised business owners and families, taught financial and tax topics to professionals across the country, and helped clients navigate some of their most important financial decisions.
She created Apel Advisory Solutions because she believes business owners deserve more than someone who simply tells them what happened last year.
They need a partner who can help them understand what the numbers mean, what opportunities they're missing, and what they should do next.
Kari brings a combination of experiences that isn't easy to find in one advisor.
She's been the business owner making the decisions.
She's been the CFO responsible for understanding the financial picture.
She's been the CPA and tax professional looking for opportunities and risks.
She's been the teacher, helping thousands of financial professionals understand complicated tax and financial topics.
And she's been part of a family farm, where she learned early that financial decisions aren't theoretical. They affect families, livelihoods, and the future of a business.
That perspective shapes the way Kari works with clients today.
She doesn't just look at the numbers. She looks at the person, the business, and the bigger picture behind them.
Experience You Can Put to Work
20+ Years
Accounting, tax, financial strategy, and business leadership
CPA
Licensed since 2002
Former Business Owner
Founded and grew her own CPA firm
Former CFO
Leadership experience inside a wealth-focused financial organization
National Educator
Taught tax law and financial management to professionals across the country
Published Author & Contributor
Co-authored and edited national tax and agricultural tax publications
Business & Farm Advisor
Experience working with small and mid-sized businesses, agricultural organizations, families, and high-net-worth individuals
A Career Built Around Helping Business Owners
Before launching Apel Advisory Solutions, Kari built her career across accounting, tax, financial leadership, and business advisory roles.
She founded Apel Associates Inc. in 2008, building a CPA firm focused on personalized accounting and tax services for small and mid-sized businesses. She later sold the firm and spent several years pursuing other professional opportunities, including financial leadership and CFO work.
Along the way, Kari became deeply involved in tax education and professional training. She has taught financial management and tax topics to thousands of professionals nationwide and has co-authored and edited publications including the National Income Tax Workbook and the USDA's Farm Tax Management. She has also served as an expert witness on complex tax and financial matters.
Those experiences ultimately led her back to something she had been missing:
Working directly with business owners and helping them make strategic decisions.
The Evolution of Apel Advisory Solutions LLC
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Kari didn't set out to build another accounting firm.
She had already done that.
In 2008, Kari founded Apel Associates, a CPA firm in Prairie du Sac focused on helping small and mid-sized businesses with accounting and tax needs. Over 13 years, she built the firm, served its clients, and learned firsthand what business owners really needed from their advisors.
Then she sold the firm.
That gave Kari the opportunity to step away, explore other professional opportunities, and gain experience from a different side of the financial world.
But something kept pulling her back.
She missed working directly with business owners.
More importantly, she saw a gap.
Too often, business owners had one person handling taxes, another looking at investments, another working on accounting, and no one helping them connect the dots.
Kari believed there was a better way.
So in 2025, she created Apel Advisory Solutions.
This time, the goal wasn't to build a traditional compliance-focused CPA firm.
It was to build a boutique advisory practice where business owners could get strategic financial guidance, proactive tax planning, and a clearer view of how their business decisions affect their personal financial future.
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Apel Advisory Solutions is intentionally boutique.
That means clients aren't passed from person to person or buried inside a large organization.
You work directly with Kari.
She gets to know your business, your goals, your challenges, and the decisions you're trying to make.
That direct relationship allows the work to stay personal, responsive, and focused on what actually matters to you.
Direct Access
Work directly with Kari, not a revolving team of advisors.Personalized Strategy
Your recommendations are built around your business, your goals, and your financial picture.Long-Term Partnership
The goal isn't simply to solve today's problem. It's to help you make better decisions over time.
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Long before Kari became a CPA, she was a kid growing up on a family farm.
Watching her parents run their business gave her an early understanding that business decisions aren't just about numbers on a page. They're about people, families, hard work, risk, and the future.
That perspective has stayed with her throughout her career.
It's one reason Kari is especially passionate about working with business owners and family-owned businesses. She understands that what happens in a business can have a very real impact on the people and families behind it.
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Kari believes strong businesses and strong communities go hand in hand.
She has served in leadership and volunteer roles with organizations including Sauk Prairie Healthcare, the Sauk County Development Corporation, the Sauk Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Sauk Prairie School District. She has also spent years supporting youth athletics, including nine years as Executive Director of a local volleyball club.
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CFO of the Year Finalist | InBusiness Magazine
Small Business of the Year
Outstanding Alumni Award | UW-Platteville
You Don't Need Another Advisor. You Need a Partner Who Sees the Whole Picture.
Your business is connected to your taxes, your cash flow, your family, and your future.
Kari helps business owners connect those pieces and make decisions with greater clarity and confidence.