Charles Waring, Partner & ESG National Practice Leader, EisnerAmper

Charles Waring, partner and ESG national practice leader at EisnerAmper, spoke with Invest: about providing the best possible services for clients. “We engage with clients, companies, and professionals that are part of many different industries and regions. We’re often the first call when there’s a concern, and I believe we’re well-positioned to keep showing up for our clients when they need us most.”

What have been some recent highlights and milestones for EisnerAmper?

I’m an audit partner at the firm, and my focus is on external audit clients. I can share some broader insight about the firm, but our team primarily focuses on understanding and supporting our clients in performing their audits. The biggest theme throughout our conversation will be growth. As our firm continues to grow and expand, we bring in a diverse client base that our team in Philadelphia supports. We engage with clients, companies, and professionals that are part of many different industries and regions, allowing us to continue to grow and develop. 

What is your view of the economic climate, and what trends are impacting your work?

The name of the game right now is uncertainty, which is not a positive for most companies and professionals. No one really has the answers, and in times like this, we are seeing a more risk-averse approach. This is what we’re hearing in our conversations with CFOs and clients. Until there is more certainty, everyone is going to take a wait-and-see approach. With tariffs that have been introduced, we’re still trying to figure out how it all plays out. 

What support or guidance are companies seeking most from their advisers?

As a professional services firm, we have a seat at the table with our clients. During the pandemic shutdowns and PPP loans, our clients and companies turned to their accountants and lawyers. We tried to provide as much direction as we could. Sometimes we don’t know either, but we do our best to help them navigate. It’s a bit of a status quo situation right now. No clients are actively in the middle of business transactions, but there’s still enough activity out there to know that those conversations are happening.

What does innovation look like at EisnerAmper, and where are you seeing opportunities emerge?

My specialty is in our IT audit practice. We support and evaluate IT systems for our audit clients. It’s front and center for me. One example is a privately held, midmarket client in New Jersey where a new CFO came in and started replicating something from his previous company. He took existing resources off daily tasks and had them focus on identifying areas where they could apply AI in a meaningful way. It was not a huge public company, but they saw a strong business case for AI and moved quickly. At our firm, we’ve also recognized that potential and have hired a chief AI officer to help support that direction. Internally, we are exploring ways to embrace automation and AI within our day-to-day business practices. 

What are some of the top challenges companies face when implementing ESG frameworks, and how is your team helping them navigate those challenges?

In the last two years, there’s been a consolidation of many ESG framework and reporting components. In the last year, we’ve seen fragmentation of the regulatory components. We’re seeing the FCC and federal level step away from these areas, and seeing states coming up with their own rules and requirements. Different requirements in different states will create an extra burden for companies to comply and embrace those technologies. We try to find what is applicable to our clients and find the highest watermark. If you work toward that standard, meeting other stakeholder requirements becomes less of an issue. For many companies, ESG still is not on their radar until something forces it, then it jumps up the priority list. ESG can feel overwhelming if you’re a CEO, CFO, or general counsel. They’re coming to us because they trust the relationships we’ve built, and this is a whole new taxonomy for them. Conversations can be tough, but I try to keep things to the facts in spite of uncertainty. Companies are taking different approaches. Some are going for it, and others are waiting. It all depends on leadership style and company culture. We are here to answer their questions and help them. 

What trends do you believe will define the next few years in the professional services industry?

One big trend is the evolution of how firms are structured. We were the first firm of our size to take a private equity investment four years ago. It’s continued to transform the space and redefine how firms operate. As more firms mature in their private equity partnerships, it’s going to continue having an impact in the market space. We are seeing interest in ESOPs, employee stock ownership plans, as an alternative model. Some companies are actively choosing that route instead of going with other ownership structures. That wasn’t a discussion point five years ago. It ties into who your business partners are, what value the client is seeking, and what value the service provider can provide. 

What are the top priorities for your practice and team over the next couple of years?

I’ve challenged our team to continue to invest in themselves with upskilling on AI. We have acquired many programs and made them available to all of our staff, from first-year professionals to partners. It’s not something you can learn with one-off training. It requires time and commitment. AI will continue to evolve and become embedded in what we do, and we will need to be ready to audit models and processes built on AI.  

At the same time, we’re trying to better understand where the economy is heading. Are we moving away from globalization? Should we be supporting more clients locally? That’s still an open question, but it’s definitely on our radar.

A lot of the nuance in what I shared comes from my role and where I sit in the firm. I’ve been in the profession for 20 years, and I feel like I have a good sense of what’s going on both with clients and my colleagues. I’m bullish on our profession and on our firm. Even in times of uncertainty, I think there’s a lot to look forward to. We’re often the first call when there’s a concern, and I believe we’re well-positioned to keep showing up for our clients when they need us most.