Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Prinzivalli.
Hi Sophia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Not everyone dreams of being an accountant, except for parents!
My dream was to work on Wall Street as a trader. Growing up I had a passion for currency exchange. I thought it was fascinating that one currency could be converted into another so easily. I used to love the fluctuations and how in one summer abroad you could make/lose money in the conversion process. I remember as a child converting to 2-3 currencies in a day to see on paper if you could make money that way, and you could.
This fascination went into college where my favourite class was Foreign Currency. My professor told me I should do this for a living and I could be retired by the time I was 30, just like him. My dad talked me out of it and being 23 years old and listening to my dad I turned it down. That was the last time I ever listened to my father’s advice, from then on I decided to make my own decisions and forge my own way.
I came to the USA at 13 years old and boy was that a culture shock. Imagine this prim and proper English girl who came from the typical affluent English family and who went to an all-girls boarding school starting at 8 years old. Suddenly I am in this country where everyone spoke funny and I saw my parents every day.
I put myself thru college, as after 3 other siblings in school before me, none of them finishing their bachelor’s degree, my mother decided I should just get married and settle down and that education wasn’t important for me. My dad encouraged me to get my education but couldn’t help me out until many years later. So I worked 3 jobs, 7 days a week and went to school at night in order to get my degrees. It was hard and involved a lot of caffeine and eating a lot of pasta as that was all I could afford. But I liked what I was doing, I liked working and the sense of accomplishment in paying my own way to get my degree.
I even lived in my car for several months as I couldn’t afford a place to live. I took whatever job came my way, bookkeeping, admin, voice overs, house sitting, babysitting for friends so I could sleep on their couch etc. I took the untraditional path thru college going to Miami Dade Community College first then finishing up my Bachelors in Finance at Florida International University, finally getting my MBA at University of Phoenix and my CPA in Florida. The latter 2 were paid by my employers at the time
When I graduated FIU, I was recruited by Marriott Hotels into their Assistant Controller Program, that was the first real accounting job I had outside of bookkeeping. I always like to say I was trained by the best! Marriott had the best training program hands down. I learned so much from so many smart people. I left Marriott as I didn’t like the politics and moved to Wyndham hotels and eventually became a Controller or Director of Finance with them. I loved it at Wyndham I felt appreciated and worked for some great people who I am still in touch with today.
My hospitality career spanned 7 years, 6 cities, 4 states and 8 hotels and a stint in the Corporate office as an Internal Auditor, and the one responsible for writing the first Sarbanes Oxley program, I’m not proud of that but I was grateful for the experience! (Not proud of it as the first program in those days had every piece of paper initialed/signed/reviewed, nothing went thru without being on a checklist. Many years later when I had the chance to write another SOX program it was much more lenient and operationally friendly). I became a problem solver and a fixer in the hotel accounting departments, roll your sleeves up kind of person.
Hospitality was a passion of mine and I took that training and the hospitality attitude towards internal & external customers and applied it to my whole career and in my firm.
After hospitality, I went to the largest Property management and services company in the USA and Canada. While working there I helped them get Sarbanes Oxley Compliant, I worked on consolidation of financial reporting and budgeting, monthly management reviews, ERP implementation, mergers & acquisitions and pretty much anything they threw at me that would stick. I worked with the best of the industry and learned so much from these mentors and friends that came into my life. It wasn’t a job it was a family!
After almost 7 years there, I was hit by a tow truck. Yes, hit by a tow truck while on a bicycle on a curb!! I shattered my pelvis, 4 months in a wheelchair not allowed to walk and then suddenly had to learn to walk again. I was never the same mentally or physically … I was better! I was more determined to forge my own direction in life and not wait for things to happen to me or wait for that promotion that never came because I either went to the wrong school or I was a woman. (Yes I was told both many times in my corporate life.)
Climbing the career ladder wasn’t enough for me anymore I felt that there was something more for me. I wanted to help people with their businesses. I wanted to take the years of knowledge I had gained and apply that to small businesses and help them grow. I had a network of professionals who supported and encouraged me to do this.
When I was thinking of starting my own business I went to my former CEO, who instilled the sense of entrepreneurship into all his employees. He was human, kind, tough when needed and encouraging. When I decided to make the leap into entrepreneurism he was the first person I called. He told me just be you and you will do well, I believe in you! Then I leaped with eyes wide open and 2 feet into owning my own accounting firm.
We all have goals and need someone to help us reach them. That’s why I started my own practice, to help complement the business owner’s strengths with the strengths I bring to the table. Building a business is a team effort and doing it all alone can be so hard and lonely! Being a trusted advisor is at the heart of who I am and what I want to be for my clients.
I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table that is beyond the average CPA. I’m a partner to my clients here to help them and listen to them and to help them grow. Advise them in the most important days of their lives regarding their business and other investments.
My firm specializes in Tax planning, accounting & Bookkeeping and taxes. By far my favourite part is Tax Planning and helping my clients save money thru legal tactics and explaining to them why and how they should do things properly. I get joy from helping others and even more satisfaction when I am able to help them understand how their business is financially and how I can help them reduce their tax burden legally and ethically.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not a smooth road at all!
Trying to be a mum and an entrepreneur is hard. Especially for a workaholic like myself!
In the beginning, I tried to build my practice from zero. That was the hardest thing I have ever done and I didn’t have the correct marketing support and guidance that I have now. So after 9 months of trying to build my practice, my husband told me I had to make a decision. The choices he gave me were 1) Go back to Corporate America in a CFO or VP accounting role or 2) Buy a business.
I decided to buy a practice and be my own CEO! I will tell you the first year was tough!
I spent 3 years hustling and hiring, rehiring and building a business that I am proud of today with a team that has now been with me for 3 years! This year in October marks 5 years that I started my own business and now I am glad I did!
With Covid in 2020, like everyone else, I panicked a little at the beginning. But I made sure to reach out to every single business owner and communicate all the changes and programs that were out there to help them without charging them a penny! Some say that was poor business I say it was supporting my clients at a time of uncertainty when they needed someone to talk to about what they were going thru and feeling and know they were not alone. We worked for free helping our clients obtain much needed PPP loans.
2020 brought my clients closer and made me truly an advisor to them and not just their “tax preparer”.
We’ve been impressed with you, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We specialize in Tax Planning, accounting/bookkeeping, tax preparation. We offer Virtual Controller and CFO advisory services for companies that need that level of support but aren’t ready to hire a full time person yet. We also will offer temp services into those roles to cover the time during recruitment so the companies are not left stranded with no support and an open position.
What makes us special? We listen and we truly care! I am responsive. I genuinely like to help people. My team feels the same way about our clients and I’m proud of them.
My favourite part of what I do is Tax planning. There’s satisfaction gained knowing that I can legally help a Client paying $30-50K + in taxes save money. We look at all deductions/expenses and see what is missing that is industry specific. We speak with our clients to understand what is happening in their lives and try to be as proactive as possible in tax planning rather than reactive. Tax Planning is a service that has to be run in the current year to get the most benefit out of it. Once the year is over there is very little I can do to help the client reduce their taxes.
To me if you want to save on taxes you need good accurate financials and a written tax plan. Accurate Financial Statements tell a story that leads into your taxes. There are so many tax planning strategies out there that companies are not taking advantage of because they are not aware of them. They involve a little paperwork and tracking but once running have a big impact. There are also advanced strategies that clients are not aware of that can help them. It’s basically about goal setting and knowing and understanding the client and where they want to go.
Not every CPA does tax planning and a lot of times they will call tax projections as tax planning and that confuses the client. I have to educate new clients that a Tax projection is different from tax planning.
Clients we service are in the following industries:
1. Restaurant
2. Consultants/service industry
3. Real estate agents/investors
4. Automotive Industry
5. Marketing/Advertising
What matters most to you?
My son matters most to me! When I left Corporate America to start my entrepreneurial journey he was only 9 months old. Everything I’m doing is so I can spend time with him and be there for him and not be traveling around the country anymore.
My clients matter to me as without them I have nothing. I am here to serve them as best as I can and to be a trusted advisor to them and create a power partnership.
Contact Info:
- Email: sophia@saspcpa.com
- Website: https://www.sasprinzivallicpa.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SasPrinzivalliCPA
