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SANDY ABALOS PRINCIPAL IN CHARGE BY GEORGANN YARA
With more than 40 tax seasons under her belt, Sandy Abalos’ niche in the accounting world is solid. And Abalos, the principal-in-charge of REDW’s Phoenix office, got off to a quick start thanks to the CPA she worked for while in college. Abalos earned her accounting degree from Arizona State University. When she was unable to get an offer from a major firm, Abalos asked CPA David Schwartz for an opportunity to be a partner in his firm. He agreed. Abalos was 24. “David saw in me what I didn’t,” Abalos says. “He was so accepting of women in the workplace. I will never forget it or take that for granted.” When Schwartz retired in 1988, Abalos, who also holds a Master of Accountancy from ASU, took over the firm that became Abalos & Associates. In 2012, she merged her firm with REDW. Not every man Abalos encountered was as progressive as Schwartz. Once, a male client told her he would not work with her because she was a woman. Abalos had done his work for 10 years, but he never knew it because Schwartz had always presented it to him. Not intimidated, Abalos responded by looking him in the eye saying: “I don’t want to work with you.” By that time, Abalos was amply equipped to face more than condescension. A hard worker and a gifted
archer, Abalos is an NCAA archery champion, winning a national title as a freshman. Born in Riceville, Iowa, Abalos was 2 when she moved to Phoenix with her family for her father’s job with an insurance company. A high school accounting class got her hooked and she pursued a career in accounting. Her community involvement includes the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Upward Foundation and National Association of Women Business Owners, for which she was named 2002 Business Owner of the Year. She has championed issues in taxation as a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business and testified before Congress about the impact of tax legislation. Abalos has three daughters, six grandchildren and two stepdaughters. Her husband of 10 years, Alan Havir, is a semi-retired financial planner and professional musician. Abalos credits much of her success to the focus developed through the master level of archery, a sport that requires inner fortitude and tapping into the subconscious mind. “That internal strength, no one can take away from you. If someone tells me I can’t do something, they don’t know anything about me,” says Abalos, who offers the same advice to those she mentors. “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t. Use that to go forward stronger.”
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