Monday, January 4, 2021
Reflections on 2020: Jim Eubanks, Tax Managing Director, KPMG
Every year, we feature the year end reflections of founders, CEOs, investors, sposors, and others in Southern California's high tech community. We'll be posting these throughout the next two weeks. Today, we have Jim Eubanks Tax Managing Director at KPMG (www.kpmg.com). You will be able to get to all of these posts on our 2020 reflections here.
What was the biggest news for you/your company this year?
For us, being a client service business, the biggest news for 2020 would have to be the initial stay at home orders, issued by both local authorities and our firm. I understand that it is probably high on the list for most companies this year for a number of different reasons, but that was a dramatic shift that happened pretty much overnight and had a fundamental impact on how we interact with our clients and our people within KPMG. Having to settle for 100% of our interaction via Zoom calls was a difficult transition that I believe does not fully replace the value of face to face meetings, but it did shed some light on how business interactions can be flexible in the future. All of this will undoubtedly have a long term impact on how we view flexibility in the workplace going forward.
It's been a tough year for many due to the pandemic; how have you or your company adapted to the business environment?
Fortunately KPMG had made investments in technology to make the transition to remote work as successful as possible. Then the focus became: how do we stay connected with our people and how do we maintain our culture that limits turnover and continues to keep people motivated. I talk to my clients and peers here locally and that is an issue that continues to persist as we move further into the work from home environment. We have been able to pull certain levers to maintain some consistency and a level of connection with our employees, but we are continuing to invest heavily in this area to position our employees to have long term success.
What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?I learned that we have a robust business ecosystem here in Southern California, due in part to the strong connectivity of stakeholders, that was able to weather the storm of the various major issues that arose. I was aware of this dynamic before, but the value of these connections became paramount in the weeks and months immediately following the shutdown. The companies that I interacted with were quick to the table with their advisors and peer to peer networks, and I believe that collaboration spurned some great conversations about the path forward and viability. It was in moments of economic crisis and uncertainty where I believe those open lines of communication within our business community helped a great deal.
What are you most looking forward to in the technology/startup world in 2021?
In the latter half of 2020, I’ve seen a significant increase in our later stage, emerging growth clients preparing to access the public markets, whether it be the traditional IPO route our via a SPAC. I’ve also seen an uptick in local M&A activity amongst our clients here locally, so I’m excited to see how these plans come to fruition in 2021, and how impacted organizations rebound as we turn the corner on the pandemic. I also think a lot of the earlier stage companies that I work with have proven to be more nimble and flexible in their business models and product delivery as part of adapting to change in 2020. That flexibility will lead to accelerated growth, resulting in an increased level of investment in the local marketplace.
Jim Eubanks helps lead the KPMG Emerging Growth practice in Southern California with a focus on tax planning for significant growth from a jurisdictional and operational standpoint, reducing the effective tax rate, and minimizing cash tax liabilities. He also has extensive experience with both corporate and multi-tiered partnership organizational structures. (KPMG is a sponsor of socaltech)