Stavanger based Sum becomes part of Aider!

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It has been 12 years since the accounting and advisory firm Sum was founded in an innovation park in Stavanger. The Rogaland success story is now becoming part of the national competence house Aider. – There are not many others I would have sold my “passion project” to, but I am proud today, says Gard Kverneland, majority shareholder and active co owner in Sum.


Delivering added value


As “the business sectors general practitioner”, Sum has experienced strong growth in recent years – as have many of its clients.


– Accounting has been the core platform, but our business concept has been to deliver added value on top. The fact that several of our clients have been able to scale rapidly may indicate that we have prescribed the right solutions. And now we will become even better, says Kverneland, who will continue to serve on the board of the regional company. The other shareholders will also remain involved.

Two parallel journeys


The fact that the 70 employees are now becoming part of the rapidly growing competence house Aider was meant to be, according to Aider CEO Andreas Vik.


– This has been a bit like a secondary school crush. We have been excited, intrigued and observing each other for a long time. Once someone finally dared to ask, things moved very quickly. In our respective parts of the country, we have been building many of the same initiatives, thinking along the same lines and developing a very similar culture. It is almost comical how parallel our paths have been, says Vik.


The location of the head office in Stavanger could not have been better, Vik adds. For Aider, the Stavanger region has been one of the last major blank areas on the map.


– We are now approaching full national coverage, so this was a geographical match on top of everything else. Going forward, we will invest heavily here in Rogaland. We will increase the recruitment rate, creating strong opportunities for talented people who are passionate about accounting to become part of a fantastic workplace, he says, adding:


– The same applies to accounting firms in the region who want to join the competence house of the accounting industry. The next step will be to speak with more of them.


 

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More than 600 employees


Sum founders Roar Voll and Leonard Chaparian confirm that the mutual interest was reciprocal. Ever since they heard Vik speak about redefining the accounting industry a year and a half ago, they have known that the two companies share a common mindset.


– Our ambition has always been to be the business sectors “dream finance department”. That is not a department with 100 bookkeepers, but a team composed of diverse profiles with specialised expertise. It also requires a company large enough to enable each employee to truly develop professionally. That is why joining Aider was the right decision. The vision remains the same, only now with greater strength behind it, says Voll.


This is Aiders largest merger since the acquisition of PwC Accounting last year, and with Sum on board, the competence house now exceeds 600 employees.


Now that we are part of Aider, we can accelerate further and build the company we have always aspired to be – and that the business community deserves, Voll concludes.


 


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