Our Members
Sovereign’s experienced staff comes with over 100 collective years of experience in serving the public’s accounting needs. To contact one of us, please see our contact form or reach out to any team member via the email or telephone extensions listed below.
Diana Shaw Knight is a founding member of Sovereign CPA Group, LLC. Prior to the founding of Sovereign in June of 2010, she was a partner at a Birmingham public accounting firm, which she joined as an associate in 1986, following four years of employment with the Examination Division of the Internal Revenue Service. She assists clients with complex income and estate tax planning, management and accounting matters, business, individual and fiduciary tax compliance, estate and trust management, tax compliance for not-for-profit entities, business valuations, financial planning and budgeting, purchasing and selling businesses, retirement planning, business planning and projections, and assistance with elder care issues.
Diana received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In 1997, she began the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ training program in Business Valuation and obtained her Certified Valuation Analyst credential from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA). The CVA designation is an indication to the professional community the Association’s rigorous standards of professionalism, expertise, objectivity, and integrity in the field of business valuation, litigation support, and related consulting disciplines have been met. Her professional affiliations include American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants, Birmingham Chapter of Certified Public Accountants, and NACVA.
Community service is important to Diana. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Hoover Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as Treasurer of AMBUCS along with being on its Board of Directors.
Diana is a graduate of the 2018 – 2019 Leadership Hoover class and was elected to the organization’s Board of Directors, serving a three-year term as Treasurer. In 2019, she joined the Board of Directors of Community Grief Support – which provides free counseling and support to community members struggling with the challenges related to the loss of a loved one. She has been on the Board of Directors of Hoover’s Aldridge Gardens since 2012 (“Nature and Art in Balance” on a 30-acre woodland garden site) – serving in multiple roles including President. In addition, she is an Associate Director with America’s First Federal Credit Union. Her past affiliations and positions include:
- Treasurer – Hoover Chamber of Commerce
- Board of Directors – Turning Point Foundation
- Board of Directors – Operation New Birmingham’s Magic City Art Connection
- President, Board of Directors – Hoover City Schools Foundation
- President, Vice-President, Secretary – South Highland Child Development Center’s Parent Teacher Alliance
- Special Task Force for Planning Committee – Hoover City Schools System
- Leadership Development Program – Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
Diana is married to retired City of Pleasant Grove Director of Public Safety Robert J. Knight, Jr., and has two children. Her hobbies include photography, reading, cooking, and art.
Jeff W. Maze is one of the founding members of Sovereign CPA Group, LLC. Jeff started his career with Price Waterhouse in 1986 followed by extensive experience at the local CPA firm level before branching off to help form Sovereign. Jeff offers business clients in the Birmingham Area over 25 years experience with a focus on complex income tax matters; corporate and partnership (including multi state), estate and trust, not for profit and individual tax compliance, consulting and planning. He also assists clients with financial and estate planning and elder care family issues.
Jeff is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), AICPA member section for Personal Financial Planning and the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Jeff, a 1983 graduate of the University of Alabama, received his Master of Accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1990. Jeff has also earned his Certificate of Educational Achievement in Tax Planning and Advising for Closely Held Businesses from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, earned his Certificate of Completion from the College for Financial Planning Certified Financial Planner Professional Education Program and completed the Dale Carnegie Course: Effective Communications and Human Relations/Skills for Success.
- A&A – Compilation and Review Engagements
- A&A – Personal – Financial Statements
- Tax – Tax Compliance & Tax Consulting
- Tax – Personal – Financial Planning
- Tax – Personal – Estates and Trusts
- Tax – Personal – Elder Care Services & Consulting
- Tax – State and Local
