When the industrial revolution of the late eighteenth and nineteenth century helped transform accounting into a profession, KPMG’s founding fathers were center stage, pioneering the industry.

William Barclay Peat

William Barclay Peat (the P in KPMG) started his career in accountancy at just 17, working for Robert Fletcher & Co. He quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1891, Peat assumed leadership of the firm, and renamed it William Barclay Peat & Co.

James Marwick

In 1897, the US firm Marwick, Mitchell & Company got its start in New York City. The company was formed by James Marwick (the M in KPMG) and Roger Mitchell – both Scottish immigrants. It wasn’t easy establishing a firm in the city – many thought there was no place or need for accountants, but the two soon built a strong reputation.

Piet Klynveld

Meanwhile, in 1917 Piet Klynveld (the K in KPMG) opens small accounting firm in Amsterdam. Jaap Kraayenhof joins and firm becomes Klynveld Kraayenhof & Company (KKC). By the time Klynveld passed away in 1946, he left behind the largest accounting firm in the Netherlands.

Reinhard Goerdeler

The last of our founding fathers, Reinhard Goerdeler (the G in KPMG) comes into the story almost half a century later in 1953, when he joined Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft (DTG).

KPMG in Barbados has had a presence in Barbados for over four decades.

• 1969 - Ken Hewitt starts an accounting practice in Barbados as Ken Hewitt & Co.
• 1973 - A merger between Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co and Ken Hewitt & Co provides the impetus for KPMG Peat Marwick’s presence in Barbados.
• 1986 - KPMG Peat Marwick Associates Limited is formed to deliver management consultancy and advisory services to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean in the areas of finance, information technology and human resources.
• 1987 - Peat Marwick (PM) and Klynveld Main Goedeler (KMG) merge worldwide to create one firm, KPMG Peat Marwick.
• 1998 - The Barbados firm standardizes its name to KPMG in conformance with KPMG International standards.

KPMG in Barbados is a member of KPMG Caricom, which is a regional governance entity, whose members comprise the KPMG member firms in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean (with offices in Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and providing services in Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat and St. Kitts and Nevis), and Trinidad and Tobago.  KPMG Caricom provides no service to clients.  Each member firm is a separate and independent legal entity, and each describes itself as such.