SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. and AUSTIN, Texas, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Management consulting firms Cornerstone Advisors and Abound Resources announced today that they have joined together to enhance their collective ability to serve banks and credit unions.

The new, combined firm leverages Cornerstone’s strengths in Strategy, Performance, Contract Negotiation, Technology and Research and Abound’s complementary strengths in I.T. Risk, Audit Risk and Vendor Management. The move also brings significant industry talent together to help financial institutions align their efforts and outperform their competitors.

“From strategy to execution and risk management, this meshing of capabilities and talent will help more banks and credit unions adopt best practices and thrive in the market,” said Scott Sommer, Cornerstone Advisors president and chief executive officer.

As part of the combination, Abound Resources CEO Brad Smith becomes Cornerstone Advisors’ managing director of Technology Services and a member of Cornerstone’s senior leadership team. Abound team members also join Cornerstone’s growing team.

“We are excited about the opportunity to provide our collective client base with access to more services and industry knowledge,” said Smith. “With rapid technological change and the alignment of strategy and risk at leading institutions, joining our capabilities makes perfect sense. I look forward to our leadership together.”

“Brad’s decades of bank consulting experience with both Abound and Deloitte are ideal to lead our growing Technology Services efforts,” Sommer said. “And, the Abound team adds fantastic depth to help our clients execute on strategies and further improve results. I’m really looking forward to their contributions to our knowledge-based culture,” Sommer said.

Founded in 2002, Cornerstone Advisors, a management consulting firm focused exclusively on mid-size banks and larger credit unions, provides an array of customized solutions designed to assist financial institutions with their Strategic, Performance, Technology, Contract, Payment and Channel initiatives. The Cornerstone team founded industry renowned GonzoBanker and authors The Cornerstone Performance Report, a series of seven authoritative benchmarking and best practices studies for both mid-size banks and credit unions. For more information, visit www.crnrstone.com.

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SOURCE Cornerstone Advisors