Russell Goldberg, Partner, Withum
Artificial intelligence is going to take over the basic tax preparation role for people who go to smaller tax preparers or do their taxes online, but for other more complex strategies “we are going to need people to think and be able to strategize on ideas and strategies that I don’t think AI has learned how to do yet, or will be able to do in the future,” Russell Goldberg, partner at advisory and accounting firm Withum, told Invest:.
What have been the highlights for Withum over the past year?
We recently celebrated our 50-year anniversary, commemorating our history of providing world-class accounting, tax and advisory services. Our firm has experienced growth — specifically, our team in Orlando has increased by 20% in the past 12 months. That is a huge increase. We’ve been able to maintain our growth through our commitment to building strong relationships with clients, team members and our communities. We are continuing to focus on giving back to our community, whether it’s through our annual giveback event, Withum Week of Caring, or by investing in the community.
What is the firm’s strategy regarding talent?
From a strategy perspective, on a day-to-day basis, our priorities are our people, clients and community. We rely on our team members every day to help us grow our organization. We work with universities and other educational institutions to attract more emerging professionals to the accounting profession. Strategically, we continue to recruit from universities like UCF and USF and hire the best and brightest for our team.
What is the importance of company culture when it comes to talent retention?
People need to feel that what they’re doing in their profession is a great thing. That kind of motivation makes people excited to work on a day-to-day basis. Plenty of companies say they have a culture, but here at Withum, we live our culture. We make the work environment a great place to grow and adapt, while dealing with changes, like changing the work-life landscape after COVID and prioritizing a work-life balance.
There’s no question that we work hard. We work a lot of hours and it can be intense work. So, it’s good to have some options, like working in a hybrid environment, so each person can make their schedule for their own lives. This culture of trust and integrity is appealing to emerging professionals.
How does technology impact both internal processes and client-facing interactions?
It’s vital to continue evaluating new technologies to see what we can effectively utilize to improve our processes. AI is the latest buzzword for how we can do it. It helps us, especially when analyzing larger client-data sets. That said, our professionals are still going to be needed to validate that data.
In our profession, I don’t see that technology is replacing the role of humans. Professionals are still going to be used to validate data.
How do you believe that artificial intelligence will impact the tax sector workforce?
We’ll see artificial intelligence taking on the basic tax role for those who go to small tax firms or do their taxes online. There will be more automation there. We’ll also be able to use AI to streamline more complicated tax strategies and filings, but there will still be a need to strategize And be a personalized, trusted advisor for clients that AI will not be able to replace.
At the end of the day, there’s always a psychological component to people’s final tax strategy, and it’s not always about dollars and cents. For example, I had a client who sold their business and moved out of state and, in doing so, subjected themselves to that state’s income taxes. We had conversations with them on how to navigate through tax strategies, but at the end of the day, the client was moving for personal reasons and didn’t care that they were being subject to increased taxes.
What is your outlook for the firm within the next three to five years, and what are the top priorities moving forward?
If you work in the private sector or the non-public accounting sector, the only way to get a promotion would be for the person above you to retire or vacate their position. Otherwise, there are likely no additional job opportunities within the department. For us, as we are grow, we continue to create opportunities. That’s what we can offer to people as part of this great career: you will have opportunities. We need talent, we need to grow, and at the end of the day, we need to maintain our reputation of providing excellent client service. Reputation is very, very important to us And we always aim to do right by our people, our clients and our community.
