Gilbert CPAs has been a pillar of the Sacramento community since 1984 and the team’s local roots run deep. Sarah Ellis, a fifth-generation Sacramentan and graduate of Sacramento State, joined the firm in 2001. She says, “I started at the staff level, progressed through all levels of the firm, and I became a partner at Gilbert in 2012.”
Gilbert provides auditing, accounting, tax and consulting services to businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout Northern California, but it’s the company’s internal focus on development, leadership and professional growth that helped Ellis rise through the ranks. While the accounting field has traditionally been male-dominated, that isn’t the case at Gilbert.
“Growing up here in the firm, there was always women leadership,” Ellis says. Throughout her career, she was coached, mentored and given the autonomy to find her own path.
Today, Ellis is one of Gilbert’s 10 shareholders — six of whom are women — and she also serves on the executive committee. As the CFO and COO, she oversees the firm’s operations and finances and works closely with another woman leader: Bobbie Hales, Gilbert’s CEO.
“Our culture of caring is our signature and that translates into the longevity of our team as well as the clients and the people that we serve.” – Sarah Ellis, CFO and COO
The company often hires people right out of college and encourages them to grow in the firm. As a result, much of the talent at Gilbert is homegrown. Ellis says, “We cultivate people from the very beginning all the way to the top. Our desire is for everyone to have the opportunity to continue their career here.”
She credits the company’s continued success to its culture. “Our culture of caring is our signature and that translates into the longevity of our team as well as the clients and the people that we serve,” she says.
That “culture of caring” resonates with the firm’s clients, which include more than 300 nonprofits. Gilbert takes a personal approach and responds quickly to clients’ changing needs. Ellis says, “We care about them so they can care about their constituents.”
