About Sarah Songalia, CPA

But the work that connects all of these roles is much simpler: helping people understand their numbers well enough to make better decisions.

I have spent most of my career helping owners make sense of what their numbers are trying to tell them.

I became a CPA in 1999, and over the years I have worked with businesses at very different stages — from entrepreneurs building their first systems to established companies dealing with growth, cash flow, taxation, governance, succession, and the realities of handing a business to the next generation.

And I have seen the same problem come up again and again.

A business can be growing and still be short of cash.
It can be profitable and still struggle to pay its obligations.
It can have an accounting team and still leave the owner unsure of what is really happening.
It can be successful today and still be completely dependent on the person who founded it.

That is why I have never believed accounting should end with a financial statement.

The numbers should help you decide what to do next — while there is still time to do something about them.

That belief has shaped almost everything I have built.

The work I do today

Quenta Technologies Inc.

I founded Quenta to give Philippine businesses something I felt was missing: a financial system that does more than record what already happened.

Quenta brings accounting, payroll, inventory, tax, document intelligence, and financial visibility together so that owners can understand how the business is performing as it operates.

I think of it as a Financial Command Center for Philippine businesses.

Because every number tells a story. The value is being able to see that story while you can still act on it.

Saavedra Songalia & Associates

As Founder & Principal of Saavedra Songalia & Associates, I work with companies on accounting, audit, taxation, management consulting, financial management, governance, and succession.

This is where much of my work with business owners becomes very practical.

What is happening to cash?
Are margins still healthy?
Are receivables being collected?
Is the organization structured for the size it has become?
Can management rely on the numbers it is receiving?

And, eventually, can this business continue successfully without depending entirely on the founder?

Entrepreneurs Accounting Academy

Through the Entrepreneurs Accounting Academy, I help make accounting and financial management easier to understand and use.

I have always believed business owners should not have to become accountants.

But they should understand the numbers that drive their businesses.

The same applies to finance teams. Training becomes valuable when people can take what they learned and use it at work the next day.

That is the kind of financial education I believe in: practical, understandable, and useful.

Association of CPAs for Sustainability, Inc.

I currently serve as the 2026 President of the Association of CPAs for Sustainability, Inc. (ACPAFSI).

For me, sustainability is closely connected to the work I have already been doing for years.

A sustainable business must be financially sound. It must be well governed. It must understand its responsibilities to people, communities, and the environment. And it must be capable of creating value beyond the next quarter.

That requires both numbers and stewardship.

Three areas of work keep coming together

Over the years, what looked like separate areas of my career have increasingly become connected.

Business Finance & Transformation

Accounting, taxation, cash flow, profitability, financial visibility, management consulting, internal controls, systems, and the financial decisions required to grow a business well.

Succession & Family Business

Governance, ownership transition, next-generation leadership, founder dependence, continuity, and the structures that allow a business — and the relationships around it — to survive a transition.

Wealth & Financial Planning

Retirement, estate planning, protection, liquidity, and helping families preserve the wealth they have spent years building.

To me, these are not separate conversations.

For a business owner, the business, the family, and the wealth created by the business are often part of the same story.

Professional background

Sarah is a:

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1999
• Certified Management Consultant (CMC)
• Chartered Trust and Estate Planner (CTEP®)
• Registered Financial Consultant (RFC)
• Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner (FChFP)
• MDRT Life Member
• SGV & Co. alumna

She is also a member of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and FINEX.

Her professional work and writing have included business finance, succession planning, next-generation leadership, entrepreneurship, accounting, financial education, and sustainability.

She was named a Global FWN100™ awardee in 2014 and received special recognition in the 5th SGV-MAP NextGen CEO Transformative Leadership Program in 2025.

Why I keep doing this work

I have worked with numbers for most of my professional life.

But ultimately, the work has never really been about numbers alone.

Behind every financial statement is someone making a decision.

An owner deciding whether the business can afford to expand.
A family deciding what happens to a company the founder spent decades building.
A management team trying to understand why sales are growing but cash is getting tighter.
Someone preparing for retirement and wondering whether what they have built will really be enough.

Good financial information gives people clarity.

And clarity gives people the ability to act.

That is what I want my work — whether through advisory, education, SSA, or Quenta — to provide.

Not more numbers.

Better decisions because you understand what the numbers are telling you.