By Ian McConnell
Banff-based accountancy firm Anderson & Co, set up by Arlene Anderson, has merged with its founder’s former employer, Ritsons, which has offices across the north of Scotland.
Ritsons partner Deborah Newton first hired Ms Anderson in 2001. Ms Newton supported Ms Anderson, who is joining Ritsons as a partner, through her chartered accountancy training, the firms noted.
They added: “Arlene developed her early career at Ritsons, before moving to another accounting firm, coming back to Ritsons and then leaving to start her own business while caring for a young family.”
The four-strong Anderson & Co team is transferring to work under the Ritsons brand and the Banff office will be retained. Ritsons, which employs more than 70 people, has operations in Buckie, Elgin, Forres, Inverness and Keith.
Anderson & Co was started by Ms Anderson in the kitchen of her home with just one client, and the business has been built up over the past seven years.
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The firms said: “When founding Anderson & Co, Arlene saw the value of cloud computing and built her business around supporting organisations to embrace new technology to improve their financial processes.”
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Ms Newton said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Arlene, her team, and client base to Ritsons. Arlene’s vision and experience in using cloud computing to improve finance systems is invaluable as we support clients with new HMRC processes and making tax digital.”
Ms Anderson said: “Ritsons has always felt like home, so while circumstances have seen me gain valuable experience elsewhere and ultimately build my own successful business, I’m excited to be back in the Ritsons team, in my new role as partner. The accounting sector is going through significant technology-driven change and I’m looking forward to working with the wider Ritsons team to capitalise on the opportunities in the industry.”
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