Forbes Best-In-State Withum CPAs

I am honored to be included in the first-ever Forbes Best-In-State CPA list. Along with me are my partners, Pat Walsh, Bill Hagaman, Jim Bourke, Brad Caruso and Chris Passmore.

They are all extraordinary individuals as well as skilled accountants and advisors to our clients. I, along with Pat, Bill, and Brad, am featured on the New Jersey list; Jim is on the New York list; and Chris is on the California list. Withum’s reach extends across the United States, as well as to India and the Grand Cayman Islands. We also added a Chicago office on May 1, 2025, with the merger with the Lincolnshire, IL firm CTM CPAs and Business Advisors. Last year, I, along with Pat, Bill and Jim, were also on Forbes’ first-ever Top 200 CPAs in America list.

Withum is now in its 51^st year, and this is my 21^st year with them, having merged with Peter Weitsen and Frank Boutillette in 2005. Withum’s growth during this period has been better than phenomenal. Withum grew from 200 people when we joined to today’s over 2,600 team members servicing over 40,000 clients worldwide, and Withum ranks in the top 25 of accounting firms nationwide with revenues over $600 million.+

CPA firms have changed significantly since I started practicing, with the greatest changes in the last 25 years. The universal use of the personal computer and its portability, cloud-based access, and the growth of client-centric software have opened opportunities never before imagined. I remember being asked in the 1990s what I would do once computer usage by my clients became universal. Today, many might wonder what we would be doing once artificial intelligence (AI) becomes ubiquitous. My response is the same. The greater the access to real-time data, the greater the opportunities to help clients interpret the data and use it to plan and model out what-if scenarios for the future. Instead of being reactive, we have become predictive.

All data is historic. By definition, the data we receive is of what happened. No one can know now what will happen. However, by examining trends, patterns, profit drivers, purchasing tendencies, personnel movements, product orders, production cycles, bottlenecks, equipment downtime, the makeup of order backlogs, and marketing results, we can identify future opportunities. AI can be used to assist in much of this, but it will still need the eye of experienced professionals with the training to anticipate and then project out nascent trends, the understanding of the personality of the owners, C-Suite executives, union leaders, and not-for-profit directors and the culture of the organization.

This is a lot, but not rocket science. These are all easy to do, but they need recognition that they must be done. Each is necessary for you to rise to the top, become a recognized thought leader, have a fulfilling career, make mucho dinero and get a satisfying inner glow every time you successfully help the people depending on you. There are many job slots for workers, and doing a capable, above-average job will likely keep you working. However, there are very few jobs at the top, and to get there, you have to show you deserve to be at the top.

I use AI pretty much daily and am continuously amazed at what AI and the other growing technologies can do. However, it is not perfect, and while it will improve greatly, it is still in its infancy. I can see it making our work much easier and how it builds on itself. We can unleash its great power if we learn to ask better questions, and interpret its results, and we are doing that too. Our skills will grow as its power grows. I see AI opening the gates for more value-laden services to provide to clients.

The AI and IT initiatives at Withum are being led by Jim Bourke, one of the Forbes honorees. He has been leading Withum’s entry into everything new since before I joined Withum. I believe we are offering the widest range of advisory services to clients of any accounting and advisory practice. Our Information Technology Services include cybersecurity, which is a much-requested service.

Withum has strong expertise in the major industries, professions and not-for-profits, as well as all of the major service areas clients need representation in. Further, we are part of the global HLB International network of accounting firms with offices in over 150 countries and every major city throughout the world. Bill Hagaman is currently its chairman, and we have many Withum partners heading or serving on HLB committees, and this benefits our clients who do business or want to do business on a global scale. Because Withum is organized by niche specialties and service lines, it is normal practice for people in four or five cities to work together as a team on a client project. It has become so ubiquitous that I have even stopped asking what office they work out of when I collaborate with someone.

As we are adding strength and capabilities in everything that is new, we are growing our strength in our traditional auditing and tax services. Forbes recognized the six of us, but we are backed by over 2,600 professionals, and through HLB, over 40,000 additional professionals worldwide, who are fully capable of handling the concerns our clients have and will need to grow.

This is an exciting time for accounting firms, and despite the disruptions caused by changes, we have the critical thinking capabilities to advise our clients properly.

To learn more, the entire Best-In-State CPAs list is available on Forbes.