Outstanding financial year 2024: KPMG in Germany with strong growth

• Total operating performance increases significantly by 9.6 percent to EUR 2.61 billion
• Need for transformation drives growth in all business divisions
• Audit expands market leadership in the MDAX
• Advisory continues dynamic growth
• Double-digit growth in Tax including Law
• KPMG hires over 2,600 new employees
• Optimistic start to the 2025 financial year

KPMG in Germany closed the 2024 financial year (1.10.2023 - 30.9.2024) with strong growth. Total operating performance increased by 9.6 percent to 2.61 billion euros. All business divisions contributed to this result with significant growth. The company thus continued the very successful development of previous years (growth rate 2023: 10.1%, 2022: 9.1%).

Audit was able to improve on the strong performance of the previous year. Total operating performance increased by 7.7 percent to 770 million euros.

The department benefited greatly from new audit clients as well as projects to implement the CSRD. Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance groups from the DAX40, chose KPMG as its auditor. KPMG further expanded its leading position in the MDAX. Having won mandates with Freenet, Gerresheimer and Nordex, the company now audits 36% of the MDAX, putting it well ahead of the competition.

Advisory, with its two divisions Consulting and Deal Advisory, also remained on the road to success. Following record growth in the previous year, the division continued its dynamic growth and achieved an increase of 9.8% with a total operating performance of EUR 1,129 million.

Consulting grew strongly and benefited from its strategic focus on business and digital transformation. Projects in the areas of finance, cloud computing and cyber security were the main contributors to this successful development. Consulting increasingly focused on AI across all projects and also achieved significant growth in the alliance business.

Deal Advisory also achieved growth despite the challenging transaction environment. The division grew primarily thanks to transformation-driven transactions that enable clients to become more digital, sustainable and resilient. KPMG further expanded its role as one of the leading transaction advisors. According to Mergermarket, the company was the leader in the number of transactions completed in Germany at the end of the 2024 financial year. KPMG was also involved in all major IPOs of German companies, including Birkenstock, Douglas, Renk and Springer Nature.

The Tax division, including the legal advice provided by KPMG Law, recorded a significant increase in total operating performance. It climbed by 11.7 percent to 704 million euros.

In tax consulting, growth was driven by projects for the digitalization of tax departments, in which KPMG is increasingly using AI solutions. KPMG also recorded high demand in the areas of regulation, the implementation of global compliance management systems and advice on transactions and flexible international working models.

KPMG Law defended its position as the legal consultancy with the highest turnover among the Big Four firms and was able to further increase the strong growth of the previous year. This was mainly due to transformation projects with a focus on digitalization, regulation and transactions as well as the areas of cyber security, compliance and legal managed services. The high level of trust from clients is once again reflected in this year's “Law Firm Monitor”, in which KPMG Law was ranked fifth.

KPMG further strengthened its position as a leading technology consultant in the past financial year. The company once again stepped up its technology and AI-based services in all business areas and exploited the associated growth opportunities.

To this end, KPMG realigned its alliance business to further expand its clout in areas such as AI, cyber security and cloud computing and to exploit joint sales opportunities with partners. In the past financial year, significant growth momentum in the technology sector came primarily from our collaboration with Microsoft, ServiceNow and, as a new partner, SAP. Overall, business with alliances and technology partners grew at a double-digit rate compared to the previous year.

KPMG also made targeted use of technology to increase the quality and efficiency of its own services. For example, the company has integrated generative AI into its global audit platform “KPMG Clara” to further merge financial and sustainability audits using technology and seamlessly identify conspicuous problems. In tax consulting, KPMG expanded "Digital Gateway", a powerful platform for the digitalization of the tax department.

KPMG employed 14,608 people in Germany as of September 30, 2024. In the past financial year, the company hired over 2,600 new colleagues on a permanent basis, another strong number following the record figures in previous years. For more than five years, KPMG has recorded an average annual increase in applications of 20 percent. The number rose again last year with over 150,000 applicants.

"We want to further strengthen our position as a highly attractive address for talented and experienced specialists and offer the best opportunities for professional and personal growth. This is why we once again invested heavily in our employees in the past financial year. This includes our high level of remuneration as well as further development opportunities and support with professional examinations," says Mattias Schmelzer. In the past financial year, KPMG invested around 130 million euros in employee training and development, once again more than in the previous year. The company also introduced a new human resources concept to further strengthen development opportunities.

KPMG has made a successful start to the current financial year and expects business to continue to develop positively despite the difficult conditions. "We want to take advantage of new market opportunities and continue on our sustainable growth path. In addition to the important core business of auditing, we have consistently directed our focus towards the major transformational issues of our clients. These are digitalization, ESG, regulation, transactions and business performance. Our clients' demand in these areas is and remains high. Our outlook for the current financial year is confident despite the increasing headwinds," says Mattias Schmelzer.

The new area for business performance consulting and the role of the Chief Technology Officer, which KPMG created at the start of the new financial year, should also contribute to growth. With the new consulting division, the company is responding to the increasing demand from companies that are adapting their business in view of the high need for transformation and the challenging economic environment. With the role of the Chief Technology Officer, KPMG is integrating technological solutions even more strongly into its service portfolio and thus aims to drive further growth.

In addition, KPMG is making targeted investments in areas with strong growth potential. KPMG recently announced a strategic partnership with Merantix, one of the leading AI companies in Europe. The partnership includes a long-term investment by KPMG in Merantix's AI fund, which invests in AI start-ups in the pre-seed and seed phases, as well as collaboration on client projects and joint platforms. KPMG is also continuing to invest in the future globally: by 2026, the member companies of the international network will invest a total of USD 4.2 billion, primarily in employees, technologies, AI and ESG. In the past financial year, the investment total amounted to over USD 1.7 billion.

Clemens Reisbeck

Deputy Head Corporate Communications
KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

T +49 89 9282 1722
creisbeck@kpmg.com