“Leading Edge Ladies”
Schutte & Hilgendorf, PLLC is a women-owned CPA firm, located in Prescott and serving all of Yavapai County. The firm is predominantly women with two CPA owners; Gidget Schutte and Lois Hilgendorf, and three women staff; Katja Lopez, CPA, Crystal Garcia, and Rosie Clayton. Our token male, Adam Rutherford, CPA provides the male perspective and helps to maintain the balance.
As a women-owned business, we take our responsibility seriously to promote the accounting profession to women of all ages. The partner’s personal stories are a testament to the joys and challenges of having a woman-owned business.
Gidget Schutte was raised in Blythe, California and moved to Prescott in 2001 after vacationing here with her family for many years. Out of college in 1990, she worked in public accounting, and industry accounting for the next 18 years. In 2008, just as the economy was taking a dive, the opportunity to buy an existing practice in Prescott came up and she and Lois decided to make a go of it. “We had been doing the work for so many years it just seemed natural that we could now put our name on the door.” The decision was still a tough one, with two young children at home at the time. “The challenge is trying to keep the balance between family and work however the best part is having that responsibility to make those decisions myself as the owner.”
Lois was raised on a farm in southern Minnesota and moved to Prescott with her husband and small children in 1978. Lois went back to get her accounting degree and obtained her CPA in 1992 while working full time for the predecessor firm and while her kids were cycling through high school. “It was very difficult, but I have no regrets and the pride of owning a business has been tremendous.” Her children are grown now and she juggles managing the workload with visiting her 6 grandchildren as often as possible.
Schutte & Hilgendorf offers a broad range of professional accounting, tax, and audit services to individuals and businesses. Our mission is to provide knowledgeable, caring, and prompt service to all our clients. We specialize in providing all of our services to numerous industry specific areas, including non-profit organizations, government, homeowner’s associations, and construction contractors. We also provide tax planning and preparation, sales tax and payroll tax return preparation, on going bookkeeping and QuickBooks setup and training. “We have placed a huge emphasis on supporting the local business community with setting up proper QuickBooks accounting systems. A good accounting system can be invaluable in assisting small business owners manage expenses and identifying avenues for generating revenue.”
Come in and see us anytime in the Crossings at 3140 Stillwater Drive, Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona or call us at 928-778-0079. See our website at www.prescottaccountants.com.
From Daily Courier Women in Business Article, August 13, 2010.
