March 4, 2026

This piece is sponsored by Eide Bailly LLP.

In her years growing a career in the financial services industry, one element clearly has stood out for Charity Heaton.

“I’m inspired by looking at what people need in their business and how we can partner to make it better,” she said. “Throughout my years, I’ve been about partnerships, community involvement and how we can help businesses.”

That’s what made her recent transition from banking to Eide Baily LLP not just a natural one but an impactful one.

Heaton now serves as director of business development in Eide Bailly’s Sioux Falls office, building on a career leading in treasury management at both global and community banks for more than a decade.

Before that, she served as a personal banker and branch manager.

“I didn’t come from the audit or accounting world, but my skills in communicating with businesses have translated well,” she said. “It’s about understanding their needs and how we can help.”

Additionally, her volunteer involvement with organizations such as the Sioux Empire United Way, The Furniture Mission of South Dakota and Goodwill of the Great Plains impressed upon her the importance of a role that supports the broader community.

“It was actually through the United Way that I learned about Eide Bailly’s capabilities around helping with enterprise resource planning, or ERP, and I was so surprised to learn that not only do they offer that, but they literally offer more than 300 services to businesses,” Heaton said.

In her role, she now gets to educate other businesses about all that’s available to them.

“They’re often very surprised,” she said.

“Most people in the community don’t understand the breadth of expertise and experience that’s available. Sometimes, there’s also a misperception that because it’s a large firm, the services are out of reach for businesses, when it fact we love to help small businesses and nonprofits.”

For example, Eide Bailly offers many services of value to for-profit and nonprofit health care-related organizations of all sizes, she said.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations around how we can help you position from a competitive aspect around billing, even your relationships with providers,” Heaton said. “It’s really an in-depth assessment and collaborative approach around how to generate revenue effectively.”

Other conversations have involved “how we can help streamline and automate so you’re not spending time on manual processes,” she continued. “I hear a lot about burnout in the industry and how to help staff avoid it. We have services that can help address that.”

She also has helped businesses realize their options for chief financial officer services through Eide Bailly.

“You can do that outsourced or as a fractional service, whether you need it monthly or quarterly or until you feel you’re in a place to hire someone full time,” Heaton said. “In a world where it can be hard to find the right fit for a role like this, it’s nice to utilize the services from a firm like Eide Bailly that has such breadth of experience.”

She also has learned continually about the range of specialized services the firm offers.

“We even have a team that specializes in helping you find locations for businesses,” Heaton said.

“Let’s say you’re expanding a 55-plus living community and trying to determine where to locate next. We have a team that will reach out to different states confidentially on your behalf and look at what’s available in terms of tax and energy credits, employment and building opportunities. It’s serving in an advisory, strategic role to help you secure the best financial scenario for your business.”

She often finds that when reaching out to businesses in her new role, “the first thing they sometimes say is, ‘No thanks, I have an accountant,’” she said. “And that’s great. I’d still love the opportunity to introduce our team and hear what’s going on in their business. And when we meet, they usually say, ‘Wow, I had no idea Eide Bailly offers so much.’ One in particular said, ‘You’re kind of like a one-stop shop,’ and that’s true. There’s so much we do outside of looking at your numbers.”

Heaton already has been a valuable addition to the Eide Bailly team, Sioux Falls market leader Aaron Clayton said.

“It’s been great. She’s the right person for that role, being engaged and wanting to be out in the community along with helping our current and prospective clients better understand what we can do at Eide Bailly,” he said.

“She’s always willing to jump in and make another connection or meet another person, and it’s been really good collaborating with her.”

For Heaton, Eide Bailly’s collaborative approach has stood out.

“It’s all about how we can make an impact in our community for businesses,” she said. “Culture is huge here. They celebrate everyone, whether it’s personally or professionally. They’re very supportive and want everyone to be their best while giving back to the community.”

To connect with Charity Heaton and learn more about how Eide Bailly can support your business needs and goals, call 605-521-9718 or email cheaton@eidebailly.com.

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