SUU to Financial Advising Practice Co-Owner

Neal Marchant always figured he would become a dentist, but finance classes at Southern Utah University changed his mind and today he is the co-owner of Vantage Advisors, a CPA and financial advising practice in St. George, Utah.

Neal studied both accounting and finance at SUU and graduated in 2002 with a double major, and earned his master’s degree in accountancy the following year.

After graduation, Neal accepted a public accounting position at Deloitte in Las Vegas, Nevada, and later worked for a regional accounting firm before focusing on financial advising.

“I really enjoyed finance classes a lot more than I did my accounting classes,” he says of his SUU experience. “I knew I wanted to do something in finance when I started my career in accounting.”

Neal has many fond memories of his time as a student at SUU, but his favorite was watching the 2000-2001 Thunderbird men’s basketball team. That year the team beat Valparaiso, 62-59, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and won the Summit League Tournament Championship, which qualified the team for NCAA Tournament. SUU nearly pulled off the upset over Boston College, but were narrowly edged out 68-65.

He also has great memories of professors Joe Baker and Steve Harrop, and thoroughly enjoyed watching accounting professor Jeff Barnes spar with the humanities department.

Neal and wife Megan Larkin Marchant, a 2002 SUU graduate, are the parents of six children. He enjoys hiking, fishing, and watching his children participate in athletic and dance activities.