Anders + Summit Merger Story
DAVE DANIC
Tax: I kept an open mind because everything at Summit constantly evolves. Last year’s Summit is completely different from this year’s Summit. And next year’s Summit will look completely different. While we’re still in the early stage of this merger, I have very high hopes. The Anders team has shown that they are invested, and the entire team continues to be easy to work with. They have been very open to seeing how we operate as a tax team at Summit. As the Director of Tax for Summit, I probably have one of the easier routes for this merger because we have very technical work that has a very defined end product. How- ever, how the work is done will change, in a good way. My counterpart at Anders is Doug Mueller. He’s great, and I love working with him. I marvel at how he and the Anders team have developed procedures to help resource their department, as Anders has a strong his- tory of running an efficient, profitable tax department. Now we’ve got nearly 100 people in tax, so we have even more collective resources and experience. The growth potential for this team is high, thanks to the teams’ respective strengths. When you look at the entire spectrum of services we can now offer clients, we truly are a one-stop shop. “Now, as we’ve started to settle into the merger, it’s been smooth sailing for tax operations. Dave has been in the Virtual CFO space for a while—that idea was new to me, so I’m excited to learn from him and also draw from his experience leading a fully distributed team. One of our long-term goals is to find a way to cross- pollinate clients across both firms, to jointly serve our combined clients now that we can offer a full range of tax services and technical expertise, no matter their need or physical location. With combined resources and teams with different areas of expertise, we are positioned to offer our clients the ultimate experience.” —DOUG MUELLER (ANDERS) Offering Clients a One-Stop Shop
Audit KIM MOORE Building on Each Other’s Strengths to Become the Firm of the Future
One thing that excites me about this merger is that as Kim Moore, Summit’s Director of Audit, and I have started looking at the practices of both Summit and Anders, our approach to audit is very similar. This is great and will ensure a smooth transition for our respective teams. I’m looking forward to learning from Summit’s experience working virtually. Summit has been doing that for a long time. I know Kim and her team have learned some tricks and tips from efficiency and communication standpoints. They know how to stay on top of things and how to keep things moving in a remote environment.
When the Summit team visited the Anders office in St. Louis, I met Mark Hinsen, their Directorof Audit + Assurance. We discussed our respective audit teams—how we did things, what we do differently, what’s the same, and our initial concerns. I left feeling very comfortable about the possible merger. I could tell that Mark’s team is very audit- minded and passionate about the same kinds of things that we are at Summit. The audit approaches at Summit and Anders are very similar which will ensure a smooth transition for our re- spective teams. However, we plan to approach any necessary changes with intentionality. As with any transaction of this size, consolidating systems is going to be a challenge. For clients on either side, there won’t be any significant
difference initially. Internally, this merger will bring us additional points of view and experiences, which is always a positive. When you combine Summit’s progressive nature with the size and resources of Anders, we’re positioning ourselves to be the firm of the future. Our teams are looking forward to learning from one another. While the Summit team has expertise in the niche of 401(k) plan audits, Anders has extensive experience with a wide variety of audits including all types of benefit- plan audits. The knowledge they can impart on us from that will be invaluable. While the Summit team is smaller, we excel in a digital space, as we utilize innovative technology in our processes. There’s a lot we can teach the Anders team from that perspective.
I think that will be beneficial for the Anders team.”
-MARK HINSEN (ANDERS)
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