Future of corporate services

Amidst rising competition, stricter regulations, and sustainability challenges, businesses are expecting more from their Corporate Services. To understand how they are meeting these demands, KPMG surveyed 250 senior executives spanning multiple industries and functions, from front office roles to the C-suite and beyond.

The survey revealed that value is a major concern for executives, with fewer than one-third believing Corporate Services provide high-quality services. Misalignment between business strategy and operating models is a significant issue, as 73 percent report only moderate alignment between their enterprise's goals and organization's goals.

Over 1/2 say their function's priorities are only "somewhat" aligned with those of the wider organization.

4 out of 10 say their Corporate Services functions are siloed.

Half of key leaders including CEOs, chief strategy and, transformation officers, would reorganize Corporate Services to improve the delivery of services and value.

Nearly half of respondents point to unaligned goals as the main challenge in connecting back-office and other organizational units. Corporate Services often struggle with common data, processes, and practices, but technology now demands closer collaboration among functions for better service quality. This may require substantial changes for some organizations.

Not surprisingly, our survey shows that the top external factor driving Corporate Services transformation is rapidly advancing technology (23 percent). Businesses must also embrace the fact that generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) will eventually replace some business processes and capabilities currently performed by people.

Companies must rethink roles to leverage talent and automation, ensuring a collaborative Gen AI adoption approach for processes spanning multiple functions.

Our finance transformation services can help you deliver performance efficiency, data-driven insights, and value to your organization.