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’Currently, many CPAs
Besides tapping outside experts and making
new hires, firms also are building up their in-
house talent.
At Grant Thornton LLP, Jim Burton, CPA, don’t have the knowledge
the firm’s partner and leader for ESG and
sustainability, began staffing the ESG team by
scouring the firm’s HR databases for people base, but over time we’ll
with relevant experience and interest. Some have
joined the ESG team directly. But others, includ-
ing partners and managing directors, will be be looking for CPAs
rotated through the program for shorter periods,
“We’re gathering a group of people who are get- that have sustainability
ranging from three to 36 months.
ting an expedited experience,” Burton said. The goal
is not just to build up a core ESG team but also to backgrounds.‘
spread expertise throughout the firm.
“If we’ve done it right, at some point in 2024,
the majority of people at the firm will be experi- Joe Holman, CPA, ESG practice leader for Withum
enced and delivering this ESG service from their
normal home base,” Burton said.
Training efforts are also paying off at KPMG, But the firm also is developing ESG specialists,
according to Ruth Tang, CPA, an audit partner taking them “offline” from other jobs to undergo
leading ESG strategies at KPMG IMPACT, the full-time training and “become a deep-dive expert,”
firm’s ESG platform. She works out of the firm’s Tang said. That training is focused on how to tackle
New York City office. ESG subject matter and the relevant controls
KPMG is taking two approaches to ESG train- and data.
ing. It’s providing general education on the topic to “The time it takes to upskill should not be
all of its U.S. auditors on the assumption that they discounted,” she said.
will soon encounter ESG work with their existing Firms also can build expertise by completing
clients. internal ESG projects. For example, CLA has

How one firm is breaking ground in ESG

Newly formed ESG teams at CPA firms are being drawn “We found a lot of compliance-like reports: clients who
into a wide range of projects. Often, this requires them to had committed through contractual arrangements to meet
navigate unfamiliar territory. certain operating metrics, whether they be percentages,
At Grant Thornton LLP, the new ESG team started by volume, or activity,” he said.
surveying the firm’s existing work in the space. In its short lifespan, Burton’s team has reshaped those
“It was taking an inventory of the solutions we were scattered engagements into a more comprehensive
already providing and how they fit within the ESG umbrella,” offering. They’ve tapped into a previously unrecognized
said Jim Burton, CPA, partner and leader for ESG and sustain- demand, finding that 80% of their referrals are coming
ability at Grant Thornton. The team then projected what from existing clients. And they’ve shifted the firm from
clients would need in terms of ESG over the next five years. completing one-off ESG projects to helping clients develop
They learned that relatively few existing clients — less overarching strategies.
than 1% — were filing formal reports on greenhouse gas “We’ve had dozens and dozens of projects that we’ve
emissions and other sustainability issues. But the team completed and performed and delivered, and follow-on
found that some clients already were working with the firm projects from them,” Burton said. “We’ve taken clients
to report on their supply chain and other metrics as part of from identifying a strategy to identifying key performance
contracts with third parties. metrics.”

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