CLA’s Five Star award recipients in Minneapolis-St. Paul provide continuity, convenience, and confidence to help our clients chart a path for the future.
Minneapolis — February 9, 2016 — CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA) and CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC (CLA Wealth Advisors), are pleased to announce that four wealth advisors and eight accounting professionals have been recognized with Five Star awards from Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Business, and Five Star Professional.
In the wealth managers category, Chuck Betz, John Gustavson, Tony Hallada, and Michael McConnell, with CLA Wealth Advisors, were honored as wealth managers.
In the accounting category, CLA’s Susan Clark, Lowell Foster, Virginia Harn, Nicholas Houle, Bryon Reinhart, Stacy Rubsam, Dudley Ryan, and Cynthia Sheid received the award.
2016 Five Star Wealth ManagersSM
Wealth manager award candidates were identified by one of three sources: firm nomination, peer nomination, or pre-qualification based on industry standing. Candidates who satisfied 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria were named 2016 Five Star Wealth Managers. Among the criteria were professional credentials, employment tenure in the financial services industry, a favorable regulatory and complaint history, number of clients served, and client retention rates. Below is information about the individuals honored as 2016 Five Star Wealth Managers.
| Five Star Wealth Managers | Experience |
|---|---|
 |
Chuck Betz, CPA, CFP®, CFA® Chuck Betz is a principal with CLA Wealth Advisors who serves as CFO. He is a senior member of the firm’s investment committee and contributes more than 35 years of experience in wealth management and investment advisory services to his relationships with high net worth individuals, professionals, executives, and business owners. |
.jpg "John Gustavson") |
John Gustavson, CPA/PFS, CFP®, CFA® John Gustavson is a principal and senior wealth advisor with CLA Wealth Advisors, with more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is a member of the firm’s investment committee and believes that investment strategies are most effective when combined with financial planning that focuses on a person’s objectives. |
 |
Tony Hallada Tony Hallada has more than 20 years of experience in the capital markets and financial services industry, and serves as the CEO of CLA Wealth Advisors. He has experience owning and managing a small business, and is a member of the firm’s investment committee and the Financial Planning Association. |
 |
Michael McConnell, CPA, CFP® Michael McConnell is a partner with CLA Wealth Advisors, with more than 35 years of experience in public accounting and wealth advisory for business owners, families, and individuals. He specializes in business succession planning, financial planning, estate planning, investment management, life and health insurance, benefit plans, and mergers and acquisitions. |
2016 Five Star Certified Public AccountantsSM
CPA candidates were identified through firm nominations, peer nominations, and pre-qualification based on industry standing. Candidates who satisfied 10 objective eligibility and evaluation criteria were named 2016 Five Star Certified Public Accountants. Among the criteria were credentials, employment tenure in the accounting services industry, more than 50 percent of time spent on taxation and other accounting services, a favorable regulatory and complaint history, number of clients served, and client retention rates. Below is information about the individuals honored as 2016 Five Star Certified Public Accountants.
| Five Star Certified Public Accountants | Experience |
|---|---|
 |
Susan Clark, CPA, MBT, CSEP Susan Clark is a private client tax principal who has been with CLA for more than 20 years. She specializes in trusts and estates, including fiduciary income taxation; estate taxation and estate planning; and individual tax planning and compliance. She provides consulting services on complex gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax issues. |
 |
Lowell Foster, CPA Lowell Foster has been with CLA for more than 30 years. He is a tax principal who oversees corporate and individual tax preparation services, with significant experience serving agribusiness and professional services clients. |
 |
Virginia Harn, CPA, MBT Virginia Harn is a tax principal with more than 25 years of experience in tax compliance and planning for closely held, small- to mid-sized businesses and their owners. She is adept at working with attorneys, bankers, investment advisors, and other outside professionals in forwarding client goals. |
 |
Nicholas Houle, CPA, MBT Nick Houle is a private client tax principal with CLA. He has more than 35 years of accounting and financial services experience, and specializes in financial planning, income and transfer (gift and estate) tax planning, and tax compliance for high net worth individuals and their families. |
 |
Bryon Reinhart, CPA Bryon Reinhart is a principal with CLA with more than 18 years of experience working with closely held companies in the manufacturing, distribution, and professional services industries. His experience includes assurance and tax services, financial projections and forecasting, and due diligence engagements associated with mergers and acquisitions. |
 |
Stacy Rubsam, CPA, JD Stacy Rubsam is a tax principal with more than 33 years of service to private and publicly held clients, including extensive experience in structuring transactions and long-term planning for businesses and their owners. He is a regular presenter at the Minnesota Bar Association's Annual Tax Conference and a past contributing editor of the Tax Advisor, the national tax publication of the AICPA. |
 |
Dudley Ryan, CPA, JD Dudley Ryan, a principal with CLA, has more than 30 years of accounting and financial services experience. He advises closely held businesses and their owners on a variety of tax policies related to ongoing business operations and entity selection, as well as transactional, personal, and succession planning issues. |
 |
Cynthia Scheid, CPA Cindy Scheid is a principal with CLA and principal-in-charge of tax for Southern Minnesota. She specializes in working with mid-size clients, and has extensive experience in business consulting and entity alternatives; accounting services for new and existing businesses; and individual, partnership, and corporation planning and compliance. |
About CLA
CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. With nearly 9,000 people, more than 130 U.S. locations, and a global vision, we promise to know you and help you. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is an independent network member of CLA Global. See CLAglobal.com/disclaimer. Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor.