Sheila Moses left the safety and security of a large accounting firm 25 years ago to start her own company, at a time when there were few women-owned CPA firms.
She struck out on her own in 1994 because she wanted the independence that came from running her own shop.
“Now it is 25 years later, and hundreds of clients later, and I’m so grateful that I did what I did,” said Moses, founder and managing partner of Moses Tax Group P.C. in the Unionville section of Farmington.
Moses has come a long way. When she started the firm, it was only her and an office manager, who initially was making more money than she did. The first year she opened, she prepared 130 tax returns.
Now, the four-person firm has 400 to 500 clients.
Though she declined to disclose her firm’s revenues, Moses said it’s 26 times what she earned her first year. She said she has had no staff turnover, with the exception of one accountant who left when her husband’s job was transferred to Florida. She suspects the low turnover is due in part to the fact that she gives away 20 percent of her net income as bonuses to employees every December.
Moses said she believes the main reason her firm has survived and thrived for a quarter-century is due to exemplary client service. She doesn’t advertise and brings in new clients by referral only.
“They don’t like change, so for them to see me and the same staff that they have worked with year after year, is very comforting to them,” Moses said. “They know that we are familiar with their particular family and business situations.”
As the owner of her firm, she’s able to do as much hand holding as she wants.
“I’ve had clients lose their wallet in Grand Central Station and call me and say ‘Now what do I do?’ ” said Moses, who lives in New Hartford. “I’m not just preparing people’s tax returns.”
And while Moses is in charge, she says her office runs as a team, and her staff is as dedicated to clients as she is.
“We drove a car for a client in Germany to her daughter at school 50 miles away,” Moses said, referring to her firm’s customer-service credentials.
Moses went to the College of the Holy Cross, in the first class of women, where she graduated in 1976. She entered college as a math major, but eventually switched to accounting.
“When I was waitressing at a country club, the summer after graduation, I met the founding partner of my former firm, and he asked me to come in and interview with them. The rest is history,” Moses said. “We had our 25th anniversary in June 2019. We thanked clients, family, and friends at a party at one of our clients, The Simsbury Inn.”