We are a people business and being able to connect the dots, bringing the right people — together with the right technology — to the table is our greatest asset. In a rapidly changing environment, strong relationships and connectivity are needed now more than ever.
At KPMG, we’re committed to creating a caring, inclusive, and purpose-led, values driven culture, and providing our people with opportunities to grow — while tapping into their passion to do work that matters.
As we reimagine the future of work, KPMG has worked across regions to develop a set of globally consistent principles that offer flexibility and guide our teams as we adopt hybrid ways of working.
Upskilling our talent
Through our ESG investment, we have teamed up with leading universities to provide ESG training for KPMG people. All our people will receive compulsory ESG training that is aligned to a learning framework developed in partnership with the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. Relationships with other academic partners such as New York University (NYU) and Bard University, will be leveraged as appropriate.
Empowering the next generation
One of the ways we empower our people to make their mark is through our Next Generation Council (NGC) — a future leaders’ program. The NGC of emerging leaders from across the globe, work with KPMG’s global leadership team to challenge and inform business decisions — providing perspectives and candid insights gained from on-the-ground experience. The council is a key source of innovative ideas and bold solutions that help KPMG professionals drive change and remain agile.
Developing the leaders of tomorrow
KPMG is committed to doing work that matters and making a positive, lasting impact in our communities. Our culture is one of collaboration and inclusion, where our people can come together to openly express their feelings and challenges. We are incredibly proud to be ranked by Universum as one of the World’s Most Attractive Employers for business, IT, and engineering students.
Through meaningful programs like the KPMG Ideation Challenge, we provide students with coaching and mentorship opportunities to learn from KPMG professionals as they take real issues that affect business and society today, and use advanced technologies to co-create solutions and prototypes, bringing them to life with the chance to take them to market.
Uplifting students and providing them with the tools they need to thrive — helps KPMG firms attract and develop the future generation of business and technology leaders.
Accelerating Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE)
We believe that IDE is fundamental to driving future success. And to continue accelerating the IDE agenda, in FY21 KPMG developed the IDE Collective Action Plan with five measurable goals for delivery, built a Global IDE Center of Excellence and rolled out a new global IDE policy to ensure that all our people feel safe and empowered at work, so that they can perform to the best of their ability in an open and supportive environment. Building an inclusive culture that values diversity leads to better decision-making, drives greater creativity and innovation, helps us better meet the needs of our clients, and motivates our people.
To drive accountability and consistency, we’ve established a clear governance process through our Global IDE Council and have also developed and embedded new Global IDE goals for all our people that they access through our performance development systems.
Recognizing our global position and working with clients large and small around the world, come with an opportunity and responsibility to achieve more and push for a fairer, more equitable society.
This year, we are also proud to become a signatory to the Valuable 500 and make the commitment that we will continue to identify areas where we can be more inclusive and supportive, scale up or implement programs and policies that accelerate inclusion and diversity, and make adjustments to KPMG offices, processes, policies and practices to drive equity in the recruitment, retention and development of people living with disabilities.
Fostering an environment of authenticity
What started as a 72-hour collaboration session across the global organization, titled Courageous Conversations, with over 17,000 KPMG people — across six continents —resulted in KPMG people investing over 11,000 hours in a conversation about their lived experiences, thoughts and ideas, followed by insights and actions. The dialogue led to the development of the IDE Collective Action Plan and has now grown to be a key part of the broader conversation we’re having across the organization — through our global summits and training materials.
We’ve benefited greatly from fostering an environment of authenticity, driving allyship and sharing our lived experiences — truly encouraging KPMG people to come as they are.
Our people taking action
“You learn of the great deeds and sacrifices our forebears made in moments of crisis. And you wonder: how would I respond in those moments?”
Read a story from Louisa Villeneuve, Risk Consultant, KPMG in the UK, shares her experience building an emergency COVID hospital in just 10 days.
Last year COVID hit the UK, and we were navigating lockdown and the strain on our national health services.
At home with my birthday tea, my inbox pinged, another in a stream of alerts from KMPG in the UK. The NHS needed support building an emergency hospital for Yorkshire and the Humber. Within an hour, my bag was packed and my cat handed over to a bemused neighbor.
Our task: build a hospital in 10 days. Alongside the Army and the NHS, we mobilized the masses and raised each pillar of care that would support the surrounding areas.
I'll never forget that experience, and I'll never forget the people. The camaraderie, the small moments of joy, our shared commitment. And all the cups of tea.
As I worked, I felt a line connecting the humbling work of the NHS heroes around me to those I grew up admiring: Mary Seacole, Florence Nightingale.
I have never felt more proud of my country, and of my company.
“I wanted to be able to sit with organizations and public policy makers to discuss pragmatic issues so we could make some real changes.”
Read this story from Josh Hasdell, Manager, ESG Strategy & Impact Services, KPMG in Canada, as he shares his career journey to fulfil his passion in ocean conservation by making real change in the world by working with global organizations.
Have you ever heard of a marine biologist turned accountant and advisor? That’s my story.
I’ve always had an innate passion for ocean conservation and environmental stewardship. When I started my career in marine biology, I realized I wanted to have more impact in the global sustainability field than working in research, conservation or the NGO space could provide. I wanted to be able to sit with organizations and public policy makers to discuss these pragmatic issues so we could make some real changes.
So, I made the switch from the sciences to getting my CPA designation to understand how the finance function of organizations work and how environmental aspects can be integrated within.
This led me to an accountancy and advisory role with KPMG, first in the UK and currently as a manager in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Strategy & Impact Services at KPMG in Canada based in Vancouver.
KPMG was one of the only organizations with a seat at the table and an organization akin to my own personal values of purpose, drive and resiliency. I also saw KPMG globally as having those values instilled in its culture and that was very closely aligned to how I was conducting my life, ambitions and career.
I saw the opportunity to make a difference and advance the ESG agenda in Canada, building on what I had learned in the UK. The pandemic has put a laser-focus on ESG and doing the right thing for investors, employees and all Canadians. It’s moved society to hold both individuals and corporations to account in order to make Canada and the world a better, kinder, greener and bluer place.
Read my full Globe and Mail article here or watch a recording of my interview on Instagram Live.
“We’ve helped this client to get from zero to first gear, which is the hardest part of the journey.”
Read this story from Rafi Cohen, Director, ESG Climate Risk, KPMG in the UK, who took his passion for protecting the natural world and his experience developing strategies for decarbonization to help a client take its first step into accelerating their climate change agenda that will drive positive impact on our planet.
Six months ago, I joined KPMG’s Climate Risk & Decarbonization Strategy team in the UK - one of the more mature teams on this topic around the world.
I’ve always been passionate about the natural world. In another life, I might have been a farmer or safari park guide! To scratch this itch I’ve written a children’s book to educate them about the importance of conserving water.
Recently, I’ve been a part of a personally meaningful project, to build a climate plan for one of the largest asset managers in the world. This project has presented a great opportunity for KPMG to materially influence the decarbonization agenda.
It’s vital to understand that climate change is a systems-wide challenge that effects every part of society and the economy in a transformational way. Our whole economy is built on burning fossil fuels across all value chains and this needs to stop very quickly – but it’s a difficult challenge to replace fossil fuels throughout the whole system.
This challenge is particularly complex for our client, who invests across a large number of sectors and geographies. To figure out their plan on how to address the climate emergency they asked KPMG for help. We first set out to understand their current practices related to climate, looked at what their peers were doing and what regulators mandate. We then helped them identify their ambitions and the levers needed to act.
As a result, the team has been working across the highest levels of the company, upskilling the client and collaboratively building their climate plan across the different parts of their portfolio (credit, PE, etc). We connected with a broad range of people across KPMG, raising huge potential for winning more work – another gratifying aspect to the project. Bridget Beals, who led the project, deserves a particular shout out for endless knowledge, energy, and identification of potential sell-on opportunities throughout the project!
Action to address climate change needs to happen at all levels of society and a lot of things need to move. We’ve helped this client to get from zero to first gear, which is the hardest part of the journey. Now that KPMG has given them the tools, they can accelerate their decarbonization journey for the coming years to have a big impact.
From my perspective, climate plans are the way into many potential clients that may be otherwise out of reach for KPMG. This is a systems-wide challenge with which C-suite leaders need support – in many ways, climate can serve to be the ‘tip of the pincer’ for building KPMG’s relationships with key clients.
Businesses across all sectors and geographies need to make big decisions about how they will adapt - and they will need external support to help them. KPMG is well-placed to help them make that change.
I am tremendously proud to be part of a team of superstars who take pride in being purpose-driven and in turn help clients achieve their purpose!
“This is an essential part of my mission”
Read this story from Christian Rast, Global Head of Technology & Knowledge, as he gets personal on climate change, and why technology can be the catalyst to net zero. He shares how his community experienced a once-in-a-generation climate catastrophe, and why he is on a mission to unlock the potential of innovation and digitization to build digital solutions and services that help achieve the ESG agenda.
14 July 2021 was a beautiful day on the shores of the Baltic Sea, where I was spending the summer holidays with my family.
Back home, close to the Ahr region of Germany, the weather looked very different. That night, after four consecutive days of rain, small streams turned into raging rivers and swept away everything in their path: trees, cars, cattle, and entire houses.
We anxiously followed the news and called on our friends to see if they were safe. But nothing could prepare us for the devastation we witnessed upon our return home.
Great parts of the region were destroyed. Almost 200 lives were lost in what is said to be the worst natural disaster in my country in decades. The damages are estimated to reach more than 10 billion Euros. And no insurance policy or governmental recovery program can possibly cover the heartbreak of those who've lost their loved ones, their homes, or their livelihoods.
I felt a sense of pride, though, when I saw how KPMG as a firm, as well as hundreds of our people, came together to help the residents of the region and especially those KPMG colleagues who were impacted by the catastrophe.
I'm penning this story as the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties – or COP26 for short – is underway in Glasgow. This summit brings together representatives from more than 200 countries to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
My firsthand experience with the impact of climate change is growing ever more common for people around the world. It's a global issue that demands immediate action, and I'm pleased to see that KPMG is committed to spend more than US$1.5 billion over the next three years specifically to focus on Environmental, Social and Governance issues. To be clear: I do believe that innovation is the key to solve the climate change challenge.
Technology can be the catalyst, and the Global Technology & Knowledge function – which I have the privilege to lead – is already making an impact. One example is our digital workplace, through which we're connecting some 250,000 professionals virtually. Last year, we enabled more than half a billion (that's right!) audio and video calls through Microsoft Teams. That's half a billion opportunities to forgo travel for client work, cross-border training, and meetings. And half a billion incremental steps to bring us closer to our goal of becoming a net-zero carbon organization by 2030.
While I'm convinced that in-person connections – both amongst our people and with our clients – remain fundamental to our future success, we do need to ensure that these moments deliver measurable value
There is much more work to do. We can only be successful in achieving our own Environmental, Social and Governance agenda – and helping our clients to achieve theirs – when we unlock the full potential of innovation, digitization and the use of data, analytics and Artificial Intelligence to build world-class digital solutions and services.
This is an essential part of my mission, and I'm rallying my colleagues to join me on this journey.
“I have felt tremendous pride this year in seeing how much people at KPMG care and want to take action to make a difference. Our professionals volunteered 27K hours of their time to analyze data and help more than 80 non-profit organizations across the US effectively address ESG issues.”
Read this story from Robert (Bob) Parr, the Advisory Chief Data Officer, for KPMG in the US and the Global ESG Chief Data Officer.Last year Bob and the Advisory Data Organization introduced the Data Citizens with Purpose® to empower KPMG professionals to use data and analytics skills through pro-bono, data-driven services to non-profits that helps create a more sustainable future for all.
Two years ago, the Advisory Data Organization was looking for a way to blend our desire to help the communities we serve with our need to develop and upskill our professionals through applied learning experiences. In the US, we introduced Data Citizens with Purpose® to give KPMG professionals an opportunity to apply their data and analytics skills through pro-bono, data-driven services to non-profits.
I have felt tremendous pride this year in seeing how much people at KPMG care and want to take action to make a difference. Our professionals volunteered 27K hours of their time to analyze data and help more than 80 non-profit organizations across the US effectively address ESG issues.
And last month, as global leaders gathered at the United Nations 26th annual conference to address climate change, KPMG professionals were working together to make a tangible impact through the firm’s first-ever climate change hackathon. More than 140 Advisory professionals registered to discover new ways to harness the power of data to help KPMG reduce its carbon footprint and meet its pledge to be net zero by 2030.
This work will be instrumental in helping our firm determine what actions can drive employee behavior to reduce individual and collective impact on KPMG’s carbon footprint. As well as the appropriate levers KPMG and our clients can pull so that employees are motivated to make decisions that are informed by their environmental impact.
This is a start, but certainly not the end of our efforts. In partnership with Global Citizenship, KPMG is exploring how we can leverage our relationships with United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as well as Alliance partners to help upskill and improve the economic outlook for over 10M disadvantaged youth in in the developing world.
This work, including our next hackathon coming in 2022 to address social issues, will be instrumental in helping KPMG and our clients deliver on ESG commitments and make impactful decisions informed by data. I encourage you to learn more about KPMG’s Data Citizens with Purpose and how our teams are making a meaningful difference in the communities we serve.
“He turned to me, tears and fright on his face. He came in for a cuddle and asked, "Daddy, what are you going to do?”
Read this story from Baréma Bocoum, Partner, KPMG in France, who recalls a conversation with his teary-eyed young son. Like so many people, his son felt the weight and anxiety of the unknown.
March 2020: my youngest son watched the television as French President Macron announced a national COVID lockdown.
He turned to me, tears and fright on his face. He came in for a cuddle and asked, "Daddy, what are you going to do?" I didn't know what to say. I tried to hold him, to let him know everything would be okay.
In the coming days, it hit me: KPMG is a global place, with tens of thousands of smart people and a tremendous drive to contribute. So I reached out to partners in France and various other countries. We compared notes. Governments everywhere were frantically deploying measures on tax, social programs, relief funding. Who could make sense of all of them? Well, we could.
KPMG built an international SWAT team of experts in finance, tax, and law to pull together a free daily recap of new government measures across more than 200 countries. In many markets, that morning inbox ping was the best reference point for clients trying to navigate a chaotic landscape.
March 2021: COVID still dominates the world, but my son isn't so worried anymore. He probably doesn't remember the teary conversation during Macron's announcement. But I do. And one day, when he's old enough to understand, I'll tell him about what we did.
“My first instincts was to reply with the usual, “I’m great!” But I was not great. In fact, I was full of uncertainty about the pandemic, mourning lost loved ones and navigating new laws and lockdowns.”
Read this story from Simren Samra, Apprentice, KPMG in the UK, who chose the braver route of speaking up instead of hiding her feelings. And because of that she created an initiative that empowers apprentices to bring their whole selves to work.
I logged onto my laptop and received the kind of well-meaning question all of us see dozens of times a week: How are you?
My first instinct was to reply with the usual "I'm great!" But I was not great. In fact, I was full of uncertainty about the pandemic, mourning lost loved ones and navigating new laws and lockdowns.
Being one of the youngest colleagues at KPMG, it can be difficult to share those inner voices of uncertainty. I knew that with everything moving to a virtual way of working, those feelings and thoughts would be easier to hide behind a screen, leaving my peers to feel isolated and alone.
At KPMG, we don't take the easy route. Instead, I formed the Apprentice Social and Wellbeing Initiatives. In doing so, I found a community of like-minded apprentices interested in creating virtual support networks and a space to talk about wellbeing at work. These forums allow apprentices to build long-lasting relationships and help them feel confident in bringing their whole selves to work.
The organization listened and helped us grow the community to more than 700 apprentices. That's what I love about KPMG. It responds not with an empty wish for the best, but with determination and courage to make real, lasting change.
Now, when someone tells us "I'm not doing great," we can reply with confidence, "look, today might not be a great day, but I know tomorrow will be better."
“Discovering that I could be good at something gave me confidence. Learning changed my life. In fact, I was the first and only among my brothers to have a university degree and I see all the opportunities it brought to my life.”
Read this story from Eliane Momesso, Senior Manager, Citizenship, Inclusion & Diversity, KPMG in Brazil, who reveals her struggles growing up and how she embraced learning to achieve things that have not only given her pride, but also a sense of purpose at KPMG.
I was a quiet and shy girl, very content to be unnoticed amongst four noisy brothers. But there was a tipping point in my life when I was 15 and my parents decided to move to the countryside.
Suddenly I was no longer invisible. I was in a classroom where the teachers knew each student's family, and my grades were far behind.
I was so ashamed, and I decided to change what I could. I studied hard till my grades were amongst the best in the class. And discovering that I could be good at something gave me confidence. Learning changed my life. In fact, I was the first and only amongst my brothers to have a university degree and I see all the opportunities it brought to my life.
One of those opportunities was to be accepted at KPMG 21 years ago. Another one was to be part of the team that in 2008 implemented the Citizenship area in Brazil, where I've been working since then.
And I'm deeply passionate about what we do because every time I go with our volunteers to the communities to run our learning programs, I see a little bit of me in each young girl and boy we help. And I'm so glad that we can say to them: you can have dreams, you have potential, be confident and go for it! Change your life.
Corporate highlights
2020 Transparency Report & Our Impact Plan
