Our Firm
SLS was founded in the early 1980s as a tax and accounting firm. In the 1990s, we integrated the ability to provide investments and insurance services, which resulted in an all-encompassing financial planning firm by the early 2000s.
Today, we have individual and business clients nationwide but we still remain true to our roots. The primary communities which we serve include three smaller communities in rural south-central Minnesota including Glencoe, Arlington, and Norwood.
Above all else, we have a responsibility to ensure we are treating each client with care, compassion, and dignity.
Our firm was built on this philosophy, and our passion is still helping clients within our communities work toward and accomplish financial freedom that is in line with their unique goals and dreams. This mission remains as relevant and true today as it did when our firm was founded.
Our Team
Partners
Mona Platt, CPA
Position at SLS: Partner & Tax Preparer
Primary Office: Norwood
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Mona enjoys working at SLS because the staff and clients are like family to her. She enjoys being able to help people out with the services SLS provides and explaining to them what she is doing and how it will benefit them.
Education: Accounting degree from Mankato State University. Mona is a CPA.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Mona enjoys spending time with family and friends. She especially enjoys walking and biking around Cape Coral, Florida.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Seinfeld
Favorite Food: Pizza
Adam Solseth, CPA
Position at SLS: Partner & Tax Preparer
Primary Office: Norwood
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Adam loves working at SLS because of the wonderful team and clients and the flexible work arrangement.
Education: Bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University and Master’s degree in Accounting from the University of St. Thomas. Adam has been a CPA since 2010. He has worked in both the public and corporate sectors of accounting.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Adam enjoys golfing, fishing, tennis, and running. He also enjoys watching the Twins and Gopher football.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Harry Potter Series
Favorite Food: Bar-B-Que Ribs
David Heine, CFP®
Position at SLS: Partner & Financial Planner
Primary Location: Glencoe/Norwood/Arlington
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Dave loves working with the people at SLS – both his coworkers and clients. They bring a smile to his face every day. He genuinely loves what he does.
Education: Bachelor’s of Science with a major in Financial Planning and Insurance and a minor in Accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Dave is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Dave enjoys golfing, spending time with family, and keeping their three dogs under control.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: “Get ya Pull” By Darrell Abbott
Favorite Food: Pizza
Norwood Office
Robie Hickman
Position at SLS: Staff Accountant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Robie really enjoys the people she works with, both fellow employees and clients. The interaction has helped her to assimilate into the area quickly. She loves helping clients organize and understand the numbers behind their business to help them focus on where their dollars should go.
Education: Robie has worked in an office setting for the last 30 years in various places and industries.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Robie enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and reading.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Anything by Nelson Demille. She loves the plots and his wit!
Favorite Food: Pizza
Cassie MacDonald
Position at SLS: Staff Accountant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Cassie enjoys working at SLS because of the team and the variety of clients and businesses she gets to work with.
Education: Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from Metropolitan State University.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Cassie enjoys spending time with family, woodworking and crafting.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Wall-e
Favorite Food: Steak
Laine (Melanie) Piper
Position at SLS: Administrative Assistant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Lanie enjoys working at SLS because each day brings new opportunities for learning and growth. She also enjoys being surrounded by such a supportive group of coworkers.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Lanie enjoys spending time with family, and hiking.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Friends
Favorite Food: Chicken
Glencoe Office
Cindy Lilienthal
Position at SLS: Staff Accountant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Cindy enjoys the wide variety of work she does at SLS and interaction with all their clients.
Education: High School Diploma followed by 40 years of accounting experience.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Cindy enjoys golfing, shopping, and spending time with family and friends. Most of all, she enjoys the time she gets to spend with her two grandchildren!
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Friends
Favorite Food: Pizza and Tacos
Vickie Henke
Position at SLS: Tax Preparer & Tax Planning, with an emphasis on Farms
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Vickie enjoys the commitment that SLS has to their clients, the environment with the people she works with, and the flexibility of her work schedule.
Education: Bachelor’s of Science degree in accounting from Mankato State University. Vickie holds the Enrolled Agent License.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Vickie enjoys traveling, walking, hiking, kayaking, and reading.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: “Always be humble and kind.”
Favorite Food: Shrimp
Kelly Weidendorf
Position at SLS: Financial Services Executive Assistant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Kelly enjoys working at SLS because she loves building relationships with clients.
Education: Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys, staying active, and having coffee dates with friends.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Hart of Dixie
Favorite Food: Macaroni and Cheese
Jean Boughten, CPA
Position at SLS: Tax Preparer
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Jean enjoys her friendly and capable coworkers at SLS, the ability to build relationships, and the respect she feels.
Education: Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting and Business Administration. Finance degree received from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Jean is also a CPA.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Jean enjoys skiing, riding her bike, hanging with her grandkids and volunteering as much as she can.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: “Be Yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” Jean enjoys the movie “August Rush.”
Favorite Food: Sweet Potatoes
Meredith Heine
Position at SLS: Administrative Assistant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Meredith enjoys meeting new people and seeing familiar faces at SLS.
Education: Degree in Early Childhood Development
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Meredith enjoys being with her family, playing with her dogs, and gardening.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Clue – the movie
Favorite Food: Pizza
Leah Serbus
Position at SLS: Staff Accountant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Leah enjoys working in a close-knit firm and community as well as the work-life flexibility.
Education: Bachelors of Science in Accounting and Financial Planning from Minnesota State University – Mankato.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Leah enjoys taking their golden retriever, Shandy, on walks and to the dog park as well as doing other outside activities and spending time with friends and family!
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: “See the Good” and her favorite movie is the The Proposal.
Favorite Food: Steak
Arlington Office
Mariah Schroader, CPA
Position at SLS: Tax Preparer
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Mariah enjoys the wide variety of people that she is able to work with. That is the main reason she loves working at SLS.
Education: Bachelor’s of Accounting and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Financial Planning from The University of Minnesota, Duluth. Mariah is also a CPA.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Mariah enjoys spending time taking her three kids to local fairs and festivals.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Mariah enjoys listening to audiobooks and podcasts. She enjoys a wide variety of genres and entertainment while on the go!
Favorite Food: Tacos
Anessa Swenson
Position at SLS: Staff Accountant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Anessa enjoys working at SLS because it allows her to serve the community that she lives in.
Education: Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from the University of Minnesota, Crookston.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Anessa enjoys spending time with her family and Knox, her mini Australian Shepard, as well as gardening.
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: “Every Day is a Good Day.”
Favorite Food: Tacos
Laura Dykhoff
Position at SLS: Administrative Assistant
Why do you enjoy working at SLS? Laura enjoys working with all the people – clients as well as co-workers.
Education: Beyond high school received a Legal Administrative Assistant Degree, with some additional college courses beyond that.
Hobbies and Activities Outside of Work: Laura enjoys spending time with family – including the grands of course; Walking/hiking; Traveling; Reading; Crafting; Trying to get the perfect nature photo
Favorite book, show, movie, or quote: Movie – Pitch Perfect (any/all of them); Favorite quote: “Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.”
Favorite Food: Our homemade egg rolls and homemade crab wontons
Tax Support Team
The Tax Support Team consists of individuals critical to SLS during tax season.
These individuals include Brenda Seifert who supports our administration staff in the Glencoe office.
BJ Hickman who supports our NYA office administration and accounting staff.
Jim Webb, who is an Enrolled Agent and prepares tax returns for all three offices.
What Makes Us Different
What separates us from the pack is that we have both financial AND tax planning professionals (CPA and CFP®) on our team who work in a coordinated way when it comes to creating a tailored and tax-efficient financial plan.
Having both professionals working together, with broad experience and expertise in navigating various challenges when it comes to tax planning, portfolio management, and wealth protection, is key to what makes us successful, and why our clients are so comfortable and satisfied when working with us
In addition, our overall process is very relationship-oriented and driven. The clients we work with are also the people that we encounter on a routine basis as we are out and about in our community. They are part of the fabric of our lives. We want to see them succeed with their goals as they are a part of both our history and our future in many ways.
Professional Partnerships
A Team Approach
The complexity of a sound financial, business, tax, and estate plan requires a coordinated effort among a client’s various advisors to ensure that plans are professionally orchestrated, integrated, and implemented. In the process of working with us, you will soon learn that developing strategic partnerships with other professionals is a key part of our philosophy and we go out of our way to introduce our clients to strategic partners that have been vetted for integrity and competency. We see it as a real benefit that the tax and financial planning pieces are seamlessly integrated within SLS, if using both is the client’s preference.
Our Back Office Team
Founded in 1963, Valmark is an exclusive, invitation-only consortium of independent wealth transfer and wealth management firms. Valmark Financial Group is comprised of a family of companies including Valmark Securities, Inc., a FINRA-registered securities broker-dealer, Valmark Advisers, Inc., an SEC-registered investment advisor, Executive Insurance Agency, LLC, a Master General Agency for life insurance products, and the Valmark Policy Management Company.
As a collective group, Valmark Member Firms have over $50 billion of life insurance in force and an estimated $6 billion of assets under management, with an additional $25 billion of assets under management controlled through independent Investment Advisors associated with Valmark. This combined buying power gives us access to some of the nation’s top companies, products, and services, enabling us to advocate on behalf of our clients while maintaining independence.
The exclusive, private services available to clients of SLS are provided by one of the most distinguished professional teams in the life insurance and securities industries. Valmark’s senior team houses an office staff of over 100 full-time professionals who are experienced in all aspects of financial, retirement and estate planning, investment analysis and portfolio management, qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, life insurance case design, underwriting and policy management, and regulatory compliance.
One Simple Rule Guides All We Do
Sixty years ago, the founder of our partner firm, Valmark Financial Group, was given the Golden Rule Marble which became an enduring touchstone guiding the firm toward the highest ethical standards in all of its dealings.
When SLS joined the Valmark family of firms, the Golden Rule Marble was presented to us as a guiding principle in all of our practices:
- Serving as an industry model for relationships built on trust and mutual respect
- Addressing the financial needs of our clients with innovative, collaborative solutions
- Safeguarding clients’ best interests at all times
