Anders + Summit: A Merger Story

Anders + Summit

Merger Story

When Anders approached us about merging, it felt different. They sat us down and said, “Here’s where we think accounting is going, and here’s how we think Summit and Anders can partner to realize that future.” That got us listening. A FUTURE-ORIENTED PARTNERSHIP

Anders is a brick-and-mortar, St. Louis-based firm with more than 55 years of experience, offering traditional, full-service accounting, tax, audit, and advisory services to growth- oriented companies, organizations, and individuals. The differences with Summit— a younger, smaller, fully distributed firm with a national presence—are crystal clear. And yet, there was also an obvious alignment, a way in which our differences made us complementary not oppositional. Although Anders is more traditional than Summit, they are more forward-thinking than most larger firms. While they’re a traditional firm in how they conduct their business, they are non-traditional in their culture and their goals for the future. Over the years they have consistently been entrepreneurial and innovative—not necessarily doing what they’ve always done but instead focusing on what’s next, asking what small to mid-sized businesses need, and figuring out how to deliver those services to them.

They are not afraid to try new things. As Robert Minkler, Jr. likes to say, “Just because things are going well doesn’t mean they can’t be better.” That reflects in the vision of Anders founder, Robert Minkler, Sr., to not just keep pace with changes in technology but to continuously challenge themselves to “embrace [their] entrepreneurial spirit, spearhead change, and be the advisory firm of choice,” an accomplishment they realized they could only hope to achieve by being “intentional about [their] culture.” (For more on Robert Minkler, Sr.’s founding story, see page 46.) It also reflects in their client list: forward- thinking companies, organizations, and individuals across a broad spectrum of industries, including banking, construction, real estate, health care, manufacturing, sports, entertainment, and startups.

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