KPMG in the Czech Republic
KPMG’s Czech branch was founded in 1990 by František Dostálek and Jan Žůrek. At the time of its foundation, the firm had a total of five employees.
In 1991, KPMG conducted the first audits within the Czech Republic’s privatisation process and actively promoted the inception of tax laws in democratic Czechoslovakia. The firm expanded at a rapid pace and in addition to Prague soon had offices in Brno, Jablonec and České Budějovice. Five years later, KPMG employed a staff of almost 500.
In 2015, the number of employees reached 900 and turnover came to CZK 1.4 billion. Now, we employ over 1,000 experts. Among the clients of KPMG are significant Czech and foreign companies, the public sector as well as non-profit organisations.
KPMG in the world
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 the age of 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) opened a 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).
On January 1, 1987, when the merger was announced to the public, the joint companies had been renamed Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler. At the time it was the largest merger in the history of the accounting business.
With a global revenues of $32.13 billion for FY21 KPMG today belongs among the largest firms in the area of advisory, tax and audit and employs more than 265,000 partners and employees 143 countries and territories.
