Dave Lowe, CPA

Who is Dave Lowe?

Dave Lowe leads tax compliance for venture-backed startups as Vice President of Tax at Kruze Consulting, drawing on 28 years of experience in income tax, State and Local Tax (SALT), excise, and sales tax. He represents Kruze clients directly in tax due diligence meetings with Big Four auditors during fundraises and acquisitions, prepares and reviews startup income tax returns, and advises founders on Research and Development (R&D) tax credits and Section 174 studies. As a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he builds the internal review processes that keep Kruze tax work accurate at scale.

Credentials and Education

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA), State of Kansas, License No. 9556. Verify on the Kansas Board of Accountancy
• Master of Professional Accountancy, Wichita State University.
• Member, Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants (KSCPA)

Experience

I have nearly three decades in tax compliance, working across excise tax, State and Local Tax (SALT), and income tax. During my four and a half years at Kruze Consulting, I initially served as the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit Manager before transitioning to Vice President of Tax, a role I have held for roughly three years.

My work centers around tax compliance and advising our startup clients directly. Our team prepares and reviews income tax returns for our startup clients, and we have built internal review processes that keep a portfolio of hundreds of venture-backed companies consistently audit-ready. Founders come to our team when they’re navigating high-stakes scenarios like secondary stock sales, mergers and acquisitions, or a fundraise that puts a Big Four auditor across the table asking questions about their tax history. Behind every return we file is a review process our team built and continues to refine, which is what keeps quality consistent as our client count grows year over year.

One primary way we support our startup founders is by representing Kruze clients in intensive due diligence meetings with Big Four audit firms (EY, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG) and middle-market accounting firms like Grant Thornton. When institutional acquirers or lead investors deploy a multi-page due diligence agenda inspecting a startup’s complete historical tax filings, our team steps in as direct subject matter experts. A generalist accountant often lacks the specialized tax code fluency required to defend complex R&D credit calculations under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Section 174 rules, deferred revenue treatments, or multi-state nexus exposure. By managing these audit inquiries directly, I help founders preserve company valuation and keep deals moving forward.

Founders need to focus on scaling their core product, not managing taxes day-to-day. They depend on Kruze to represent them and handle it. However, effective tax strategy requires proactive communication whenever a business expands into new states, hires remote staff, or prepares for a new funding round. When founders keep us informed of these operational shifts, Kruze Consulting handles the heavy technical lifting, registering the company in new tax jurisdictions, maintaining compliance before problems form, and executing optimizations like Delaware Franchise Tax calculations.

Areas of Expertise

• Tax due diligence for startup fundraising and acquisitions, including representing clients in meetings with third-party and Big Four auditors
• Research and Development (R&D) tax credits and Section 174 capitalization studies for startups
• Startup income tax compliance and return preparation for venture-backed C corporations
• Accounting Standards Codification 740 (ASC 740) tax provisions, including current and deferred tax
• Net Operating Losses (NOLs) as a strategic tax asset, including carryforward rules and Section 382 limitations
• Delaware franchise tax calculation and optimization
• State and Local Tax (SALT) nexus for startups scaling across state lines