Eide Bailly Up-and-Comer went from intern to partner

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Aaron Clayton, a partner and head of the assurance department at Eide Bailly LLP.

Name: Aaron Clayton

Age: 35

Hometown: Parkston

What brought you to Sioux Falls: I had the opportunity to intern with Eide Bailly while I was in college, and after that I knew that this was the place that I wanted to be when I graduated. I didn’t necessarily have a plan but quickly realized this was where I wanted to be to start off my career.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls: The relationships that I have built, not only at my employer but with others in the community. It’s great the community is made up of so many people, just like me, that have come here from other surrounding communities. Sioux Falls has an active business community and offers great opportunities to get involved through various organizations. Working with organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, Young Professionals Network, Leadership Sioux Falls, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, HFMA (Healthcare Financial ManagementAssociation) and Junior Achievement has allowed me to meet and build lasting friendship with others in the community.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

The variety and responsibility. I don’t have any day that is ever the same. From working with clients during audits, training and developing our growing staff or spending time getting to know new businesses and clients in our community, every day is different and offers new challenges. Our industry is always evolving, and our clients demand our expertise to make sure that they are staying up to date on all of the changes and requirements within their industry. There is a certain level of professional satisfaction that I think most public accountants get out of knowing that clients rely on us to be the expert. Also the culture of Eide Bailly has allowed me to enjoy a professional career in public accounting while still having an opportunity to be active in the community. Our culture of people first is something that I deeply believe in and can attribute to our success.

How did you get connected to your industry?

By luck. I took some accounting courses in high school to satisfy some credits and really enjoyed them. I remember liking that in accounting things always had to work out, transactions had to balance, which meant there was always an answer. Like many college students, I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I was done with college. I had the opportunity to intern with Eide Bailly during college and really enjoyed the work, the on-the-job learning, but most importantly the people. I have never taken the time to reflect on how I got here, but I would say luck took me to my industry, but the people kept me here.

Describe Eide Bailly in three words.

Integrity, engaging, strategic.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

Topgolf.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I see myself continuing to serve our clients and employees to help lead them through our ever-changing business environment to continue to succeed in their industries and professional growth.

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Eide Bailly Up-and-Comer went from intern to partner

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Aaron Clayton, a partner and head of the assurance department at Eide Bailly LLP.

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