Sandra A. Abalos is the Managing Partner of Abalos & Associates, P.C., a full service CPA firm that provides accounting, tax planning, compliance services, profit enhancement, management advisory services and estate planning to businesses in the small and mid-size range. Abalos & Associates has been ranked a top accounting firm in Arizona by a number of publications.
With over 25 years of successful accounting experience, Sandra has become nationally recognized in the areas of taxation, independent contractor status and estate tax reform. As a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business (WHCSB), Sandra has taken small business issues to Washington, D.C., where her voice has been heard. She drafted and co-sponsored the number one issue to come out of the conference: the need to clarify the definition of independent contractor status for small businesses.
Spending countless volunteer hours and her own resources to champion tax-related issues supportive of small business, Sandra served as National Tax Issue Captain for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) at the WHCSB, as well as the Region IX Implementation Tax Chair for the WHCSB from 1995-2005. Sandra met the President, advised national officials about upcoming tax code revisions and testified before Congress on these same matters. She was instrumental in the passage of the Small Business Tax Bill, known as the Small Business Jobs Protection Act, and advocated and won a 100 percent health deduction for the self-employed, an increase in depreciation expensing and a reduction of the alternative minimum tax for small businesses.
Within her own community, Sandra is currently the Director of Public Policy for the Phoenix Metro Chapter of NAWBO. She sits on the Board of Directors for Western National Bank and the Phoenix Tax Workshop Advisory Board, and was named to the IRS Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee for 2000-2001. Recently appointed to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) National Advisory Council, she has served as Director for the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants (ASCPA) and the Phoenix Industrial Development Authority.
After earning her Bachelor of Science with a major in Accounting at Arizona State University in 1979, Sandra became a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Arizona in 1980. She obtained her Master of Accountancy with an emphasis in Taxation from Arizona State University in 1986. Over the years, Sandra has received numerous awards and was most recently named the 2005 U.S. Small Business Administration Arizona Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. She was named to the 2004 Business Journal Valley Influential Class, and was named the 2003 Arizona Small Business Person of the Year. In 2002, she was named the NAWBO Business Owner of the Year, and was awarded the 2001 Public Service Award by the ASCPA. Her greatest honor to date was being recognized as the 1996 SBA National Accountant Advocate of the Year.
Sandra has an outstanding record of public policy leadership, business excellence and community effectiveness. Her awards, achievements and history of recognition on a local and national level make her one of the nation’s top businesswomen.
Education
- Certified Public Accountant - State of Arizona - 1980
- Master of Accountancy - Major in Taxation - Arizona State University 1986
- Bachelor of Science - Major in Accounting - Arizona State University 1979
- Business Organizations
- Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- National Association of Women Business Owners
- Phoenix Chamber of Commerce
- 1995 White House Conference on Small Business Delegate
- SBA Region IX WHCSB Taxation Implementation Chair
- Phoenix Tax Workshop - Advisory Board
- National Federation of Independent Business Guardian Advisory Council
- Abalos & Associates Member of AthenaPowerLink® Program
Awards
- 1996 SBA Arizona Accountant Advocate of the Year
- 1996 SBA Region IX Accountant Advocate of the Year
- 1996 SBA National Accountant Advocate of the Year
- 1996 NAWBO Public Policy Advocate of the Year
- 1998 Impact for Enterprising Women Distinguished Honoree
- 1999 Working Woman Magazine - Entrepreneurial Excellence Award
- 1999 Phoenix Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year Finalist
- 2001 Arizona Society of CPA’s Public Service Award
- 2002 NAWBO Business Owner of the Year
- 2003 Arizona Small Business Person of the Year
- 2003-2008 Arizona Business Magazine - Abalos & Associates Named Top Accounting Firm in Ranking Arizona
- 2004 Business Journal - Valley Influential Class of 2004
- 2005 U.S. Small Business Administration -Woman Entrepreneur Of The Year
- 2007 Enterprising Women - Enterprising Woman of the Year
- 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility
