Focus on the work. We'll hold the books.

For twenty years we have done one kind of work, well: senior-led accounting for organizations whose books actually matter — non-profits running on restricted funds, family businesses balancing distributions, public companies tied to quarterly disclosure, and manufacturers tracking inventory through the floor. We answer the phone ourselves. We close on time. And we put what we promise in writing, because nothing else is fair to ask of you.

This letter is here in place of a brochure. If you would prefer one, we will send one. But our experience is that the organizations that suit us best are the ones for whom this — a plain account of what we will and will not do — is what they were hoping to find.

The shape of an engagement

Most engagements begin the same way. We listen for an hour. We read what you have — last audit, last close, last board packet. Within two business days we send a scoped proposal: which partner is assigned, which workstreams we will own, what we will deliver in the first thirty days, and what we expect from your team in return. If the fit is wrong, we say so plainly, and we recommend someone we trust.

If the fit is right, we close your first month within ten business days. That is not a marketing claim. It is the cadence we hold for every client, every month, because once it slips it does not come back.

We do not have a sales team. The partner who quotes the work is the partner who does the work, and the partner who answers your call at six on a Thursday evening. — M. Ellis, Founding Partner

What we do — and what we don't

The clearest way to describe a practice is to say where it ends. Below is the line we hold. It is shorter than most firm websites suggest, and we think that is a feature.

We take on

Books, close, and reporting — owned end-to-end
Audit liaison, year-round, not just in the weeks before
Restricted-fund & grant tracking
Tax compliance, payroll, AP/AR oversight
Forensic review where something feels wrong
Standing on calls with your board, donors, or lenders
The hard conversation, when it is needed

We don't take on

Statutory audits — we prepare for them; we don't sign them
Investment advice or asset management
Litigation support outside our forensic remit
Engagements without a named senior partner
Pricing that depends on the size of your refund
Replacing a controller who is doing the job well

A recent journal — work this quarter

Apr 14

Closed Period 03 for a regional food bank, on day 8 of the month. Restricted-fund variance against grant restrictions reconciled to the dollar; functional-expense allocations carried to the next audit cycle untouched.

Mar 28

Stood up standard costing for a second-generation precision manufacturer; first month's variance against expected runs came in below 2%, well within the threshold we negotiated with the lender.

Mar 04

Sat through a difficult audit conversation with a family-office client; the answer they needed was not the one they hoped for. Provided in writing, on letterhead, the same afternoon.

Feb 17

Flagged a vendor payment pattern at a public-company client during routine review. Surfaced to the audit committee within forty-eight hours. The committee thanked us; the controller is still our controller.

Who we serve

Four sectors, kept narrow on purpose. We will not serve you well in industries where we have not stood up the controls ourselves.

Non-ProfitRestricted funds, Form 990, donor-ready financials, functional-expense allocations defensible at audit.

PrivateOwner-operator reporting, tax planning, distribution rhythms, family-office governance.

PublicSOX-aware controls, quarterly cadence, audit-readiness held throughout the year, not built up at quarter-end.

ManufacturingStandard costing, inventory reconciliation, intercompany flows, capital-expenditure tracking.

Three promises, in writing

These appear, in the same language, in every engagement letter we sign. They are not aspirations. If we miss them, you are entitled to the remedy stated.

Ninety-day satisfaction review. If, after the first three months, the fit is wrong, we will put a corrective plan in place — or you may opt out, with no penalty and no exit fee.
Ten-day close. Financials, tied out, delivered within ten business days of month-end. Every month. If we miss the date, the month is on us.
Leadership access. Direct contact with a senior partner at all times. Not a queue. Not a junior. Not a callback in forty-eight hours.

With our regards, and the offer of a conversation should it be useful —

M. Ellis

Founding Partner

R. Halloran

Partner · Audit & Forensics

Postscript — to begin a conversation

Reply by post, by telephone, or below.

By post

220 N. Smith St., Suite 402
Palatine, IL 60067

By telephone

847.454.4725
support@sls.com