Born and raised in Santa Rosa, Jeff Gutsch knew early on where his career path would lead. “I’ve always liked business and have been good with numbers my whole life,” he says. “Accounting was the route I took to be involved in business. I see myself as a businessperson who happens to be in the public accounting business.”
After earning a degree in business administration/
accounting at Chico State and a master’s degree in taxation from Golden Gate University, Gutsch worked for a pension consulting firm then a local accounting firm before joining Moss Adams in 1996. Now the partner in charge of the firm’s Santa Rosa and Napa offices, Gutsch serves as a tax and engagement partner for a variety of wine industry clients. He also writes about the industry for various publications and is a frequent guest speaker at wine industry events.
Share a funny childhood memory.
I’d never missed a day of school since I started kindergarten. So, when I was a seventh grader at Herbert Slater Junior High School, I decided to go to school despite having the flu, as I wanted to keep my perfect attendance streak alive. As the day went on, I felt worse and worse, until finally, I threw up—in class, all over one of the hottest girls at Slater. To this day, that’s still one of the most embarrassing days of my life. Needless to say, from that day forward, if I wasn’t feeling well, I stayed home from school.
Which word or phrase do you overuse most?
“Seriously?"
Are you a creature of habit?
Yes, I like to know what to expect.
Describe the worst thing you ever had to wear to school.
Jeans from Grants with patches over the outside of the knees that my mom sewed on.
What’s your favorite dessert?
The chocolate bread pudding at the Red Fish Grill in New Orleans.
Have you ever helped a perfect stranger?
A few weeks ago, a co-worker and I helped a person who’d come off a curb and fallen out of their wheelchair while trying to cross the street.
How many bones have you broken?
Thankfully, it’s just been fingers and toes. When I was a kid, someone dropped a giant rock on my toe. I also rode a skateboard down a long slide at Doyle Park and broke my finger. And I once broke a finger playing basketball.
What food do you eat almost every day?
Chicken, usually in a Caesar salad.
What’s your favorite holiday of the year?
Thanksgiving. It’s generally a low stress holiday with family, food and football.
What’s your favorite question to answer?
“What do you like about your job and public accounting?”
What’s your favorite question to ask?
“Why?”
Who was your favorite teacher?
I have a few. I had Jason Franci at Montgomery High School for PE and he was also my basketball and football coach. He seemed to understand me, and he still remembers me and seems happy to see me when I run into him. At Chico State, one of my accounting professors, Dr. Wally Lease, was brutally tough—and I couldn’t stand him. Once I began working in public accounting, though, I realized he’d taught me far more than any of my other professors, and he then became my favorite. He’s still there, and I see him a few times per year. When I related my experience to him a few years ago, he chuckled and said he gets that a lot. Along with my parents, those two teachers have probably had the most positive impact on me.
If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?
More wisdom to make good decisions; health, happiness and success for my kids [ages 24 and 19]; and health and happiness for myself.
What do you love to do outside of work?
I like most kinds of sports, travel, good movies and hanging out with friends.
Of all the tools and gadgets you own, which one do you most enjoy using?
My fishing pole and tennis racket.
