Christopher Passmore is the partner-in-charge at Withum’s Encino office. He has more than two decades of experience in accouting.
Passmore spoke with the Business Journal about changes in tax deadlines and the need for accountants.
How is the accounting industry faring in Los Angeles and Southern California right now?
Over the last few years, Southern Californnia has been at the forefront of global events including the pandemic, the Hollywood strikes, the AI explosion and most recently the tragic wildfires. As a result we have observed the emergence of numerous new trends, including remote working, fewer students majoring in accounting and the adoption of new technologies.
2025 will be an interesting year for accountants serving clients in Los Angeles County due to federal and state tax deadlines being extended as they navigate the various relief programs.
The impact of these events has heightened the need for accountants to be business advisers. Clients are realizing the need for contingency planning and disaster recovery, all while keeping up with the latest technology and workforce trends and building their capabilities to react nimbly to change.
With the second Trump Administration now underway, do you anticipate any changes to the business climate that will keep accountants busy working with their business clients?
History has proven that a new administration typically means new legislation or adjustments to existing laws. While it is still early days, we are already starting to see actions that will impact our clients.
Although the federal funding freeze was rescinded after 48 hours, the memorandum issued on Jan. 27 signaled that changes may be coming. We will be monitoring the evolving situation and advising our clients in the not-for-profit sector on appropriate strategies to secure lines of credit, explore alternative funding and potentially consider a merger or develop an exit strategy.
The timing of when federal tax reform will take place is uncertain, but it is anticipated that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire on Dec. 31 will be extended. If federal tax reform cannot be passed, the vast majority of individual and private businesses federal income taxes will significantly increase. We expect to work particularly closely with our clients on tax planning over the next couple of years.
President Trump has announced a significant investment in private sector AI infrastructure. As business advisoes, we provide guidance on investment decisions related to AI and technology to best position our clients for future growth and opportunities.
What steps is your operation taking – if any – to implement new technologies such as generative AI software?
Withum has always been on the forefront of the accounting profession when it comes to embracing new technology. Our 17-person innovation team is tasked with identifying and fostering innovations that increase operational efficiencies and add value to the firm. Our AI strategy includes:
• Robotic process automation: An intelligent automation of a centralized tracking system, tax integration portal and single-source workpaper automation.
• Internal chat bots, embracing MS Copilot, which touches many aspects of the business from content ideation, data manipulation, presentation design and creating automated processes.
Our information technology and innovation professionals collaborate closely. This ensures AI program roll-outs benefit our clients and team members in a safe and controlled environment.
What do you do to increase accountant retention at your office?
In my experience, it is important to implement a range of initiatives to appeal to team members at different stages in their careers.
Our emerging professionals program supports younger team members to develop their networking and business development skills. Through attending fun events and industry involvement, team members have the opportunity to earn a financial reward.
Withum offers a childcare reimbursement program and a Shadow Stock or Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) plan so team members share in the benefits of our firm’s growth. Both of these programs are unique to Withum and are not offered by our competitors.
All team members are assigned a peer mentor and have access to Withum’s professional career coaches. We also offer a wide-range of learning resources to develop technical and soft skills.
Finally, having fun is engrained in our culture – whether we are celebrating a team member’s birthday or enjoying an end-of-busy season tour of SoFi stadium.
What is your outlook on remote working in 2025?
Withum adopts a hybrid approach to combine the benefits gained from working together in the office with the flexibility associated with remote working.
Having an in-office prescence nutures our culture and promotes learning and development. When team members get together in person, team collaboration is enhanced and some technical skills training is more effective.
Working at home provides flexibility and provides a stronger work/life balance for many of our team members. They are able to fit activities such as medical appointments and their children’s activities around their work.
Withum has also adopted a hybrid approach when working with clients.
