Ty and Melanie Ludlow, Alyssa Garcia, and Shelly Christiansen Schafer have opened a second office for their business, Sierra Financial, this one located in Suite C on the first floor of 601 South Maine Street as of January 3. They purchased the business, established 30 years ago in Carson City, last November to continue offering a variety of accounting and business setup services.
Ty Ludlow, a Fallon native, is a data analyst with a background in accounting who graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in accounting and information systems. He’s been volunteering with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program in Reno and Las Vegas for the past decade, doing tax returns for low-income individuals. Melanie said she didn’t think Fallon had a VITA program, and they are willing to help anyone who needs their services.
Melanie Ludlow, Esq., is an attorney whose focus is on tax law. She graduated from Villanova University School of Law, and laughingly said, “I love tax law, and reading the tax code. It’s fun!” She volunteered as a law student for a low-income tax clinic arguing cases before the IRS and negotiating compromise offers.
Alyssa Garcia holds a Master of Science in Management and Leadership, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and is also an Annual Filing Season Program participant. In part, her bio on the company’s website states her passion for preparing taxes grew from her involvement with the VITA program.
Shelly Christiansen Schafer has a Master’s Degree in Accounting with 35 years of accounting experience, and loves numbers. “Our team is excited to begin serving the people of Fallon with a location in the heart of downtown. Our goal is to assist clients with all things financial including tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services.” She and Alyssa will be primarily in the Carson City office while Ty and Shelly will staff the new Fallon office, although Melanie said she would be in Fallon more often during tax season and inclement weather.
Melanie and Ty found themselves doing something they talked about when they were first married 12 years ago. “We joked about opening a tax service business with our backgrounds, and here we are celebrating our 12-year anniversary with four daughters and doing just that.” The Ludlows moved back to Fallon two years ago after being in Carson and Las Vegas, choosing Fallon for the new office because they live here, and Ty grew up here. “He has a lot of family and friends here.” They also recognized that the closure of the Lane and Associates office last year left a need for tax preparation services. “We’ll be available to all those who lost their CPA.”
The Fallon office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., and by appointment on the weekends. Melanie said they can do in-person consultations, or the client can do a “drop and go” where they would drop off the client intake form and other documents. Then they can come back at their convenience to sign their return, they also offer in-person consultations. “We understand that most people can’t meet during the week. It can be hard for them to get away, so we offer a lot of different options, whatever is convenient for our client.”
The easiest way to get started with Sierra Financial is to just stop by the Fallon office or give them a call at 775-481-7393. One can also visit their website, www.sfataxes.com, download the client intake form, and return the completed form to the office. “We like to start with this as the prior year tax return doesn’t answer all of the questions we would have. We want to keep this as simple and painless as possible.”
Melanie closed by saying, “With another tax year looming ahead now is the time to get your affairs in order and make an appointment to meet with a partner at Sierra Financial. You may be pleasantly surprised by how much we can help you to keep more money in your pocket. We look forward to serving our friends and neighbors in the Oasis of Nevada and beyond.”
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