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Governance

Our Purpose and Values guide everything we do.

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Sustainable Development Goals:

KPMG is here to help bring positive change and this can only be achieved with strong governance. Governance creates the framework that drives purposeful activity. It helps us ensure we are considering our economic, environmental and social impact in all that we do, internally and in our work with clients. It helps us align our financial and societal performance.

Driven by our Values that guide our actions and our Purpose to inspire confidence and empower change, we are committed to the highest standards of personal and professional behavior. As the pressures on business and society evolve and intensify, we believe our Purpose remains as relevant as ever.

We’re committed to making ESG the watermark that runs through our business. Growing awareness of sustainability issues has led to strengthened governance which frames our activities and supports robust risk management, including ESG risks, when working with clients.

We apply an ESG lens across our audit, tax and advisory services, globally, regionally and locally, and work to equip our people with the necessary ESG knowledge and skills. Ongoing efforts involve enhancing cross-functional collaboration, continually reinforcing governance structures, and providing necessary training to help ensure a clear, responsible and resilient approach to sustainability.

“If ESG is truly to be the watermark of our business, it needs to be embedded in everything we do — from the work we perform for clients, to our own operations, our relationships with partners and suppliers, to how we support and empower our people. Our Impact Plan sets the framework and the standards that guide us toward our own ESG goals. It allows us to monitor our progress, report transparently, be held accountable, and push ourselves to go further, faster, where necessary.”

Jane Lawrie

Global Head of Corporate Affairs

KPMG International

Purposeful business

Our commitment: Always act with a clear purpose

At KPMG, we recognize that trust is foundational to our business — and we can only earn that trust by acting with purpose and delivering the highest quality work that contributes to society today and in the future. Our strong governance and structure support consistency of service quality and adherence to our Values, used across the organization to guide our day-to-day behaviors. As stewards of the business, we continually consider emerging risks and seek to maintain the trust of our clients through responsible business practices and policies.

We commit to always acting with a clear purpose. KPMG firms are focused on delivering the highest quality work that contributes to society today and in the future; building inclusivity and profitability that provides rewarding careers today and for generations to come. Our ambition is to drive growth across our business and to become the most trusted and trustworthy professional services organization that delivers sustainable growth to all our stakeholders. It’s an ongoing process that we are fully committed to.

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Our Values and what we stand for

Our Values guide our day-to-day behaviors, informing how we act, the decisions we make, and how we work with each other, across the 140+ countries and territories that we operate in. They’re embedded across the entire employee journey, in our business processes and in our stakeholder interactions.

By living our Values and considering the impact of our work from a broad range of perspectives, we aim to be a purposeful business, fostering prosperity and helping to address some of the key issues facing our people, clients, stakeholders and wider society.

Our Values
our values
our values

Our first Global Values Week — building a values-led organization of the future: In 2023, for the first time ever, a global event for 270,000+ people across KPMG’s global organization — regardless of location or function — were brought together and celebrated our shared culture and Values through a week-long series of events.

The global event aimed to provide space for our people to consider how they are living our Values every day, introduce them to new joiners, and as an opportunity to celebrate our diverse culture.

Concentrating on one of our five Values each day, this was a globally consistent program delivered by KPMG firms with locally relevant, personalized experiences. The momentum from the event energized our people and we are continuing to engage with the Values from onboarding to performance management, creating touchpoints across all stages and levels of our people’s experience working at KPMG.

global value week thailand
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Our structure and governance

KPMG has strong governance for overseeing our activities, setting policies and aligning our strategy with our Purpose. KPMG International Limited acts as the coordinating entity for the overall benefit of the KPMG global organization. It does not provide professional services, directly or indirectly, to clients. Its governance bodies comprise the Global Council, the Global Board (including its committees), the Global Management Team (GMT) and Global Steering Groups.

Global Board: The Global Board is the principal governance and oversight body, currently consisting of 22 members from diverse countries that reflect KPMG’s global presence and geographic footprint.

The Global Board reviews KPMG’s global climate strategy annually, as well as broader sustainability reporting as part of the annual Our Impact Plan progress updates.

Find out more about our global governance in our KPMG International Transparency Report 2023.

For detailed descriptions of individuals and committees with management responsibility over climate-related risks and opportunities, read our Climate Risk Report.

Global Management Team (GMT): The Global Board has delegated certain responsibilities to the Global Management Team. These include working together with the Executive Committee to develop and jointly recommend the global strategy to the Global Board for its approval. They also have oversight of the activities of the Global Steering Groups, support KPMG firms with the execution of the global strategy at a local level and hold them accountable against their commitments.

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Client confidentiality, information security and data privacy

The importance of maintaining client confidentiality is emphasized through a variety of mechanisms, including our Global Code of Conduct. The KPMG global organization has policies on information security, confidentiality, personal information and data privacy. Annual training on confidentiality, information protection and data privacy requirements is also provided to all KPMG people.

The KPMG global organization has a legal framework that provides for adequate safeguards in relation to the processing of personal data in a manner that is consistent with laws and regulations and for the protection of privacy and the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals. This includes safeguards for the international transfer of personal data by data exporters to data importers (including the applicable standards set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)) and the protection of client information when transferred between KPMG firms.

Where parts of the KPMG global organization work with third parties, appropriate controls are included in the terms and conditions of the contracts, including those to protect the confidentiality of information and help ensure the processing of personal data occurs in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and regulations.

Cybersecurity, creating a trusted digital world

Maintaining the trust of KPMG firms’ clients requires us to continually look over the cyber risk horizon and adapt our approach where needed. We’re evolving our global security standards and proactively maintaining compliance to meet the ongoing needs of our business, while actively educating our people in cyber security safety protocols and their understanding of collectively managing cyber risks. We also continue to identify and implement enhanced cyber security controls to provide an additional level of protection to our data, our KPMG firms’ clients’ data and other key assets.

KPMG International’s cybersecurity professionals have a variety of backgrounds and experience, including digital transformation, IT, regulatory and forensics. Together, they continue to drive increased efficiency across the global organization, including the delivery of key investments in managed detection and response; cloud security; security operations; risk quantification; digital identity and zero trust; third-party security; AI, machine learning and advanced analytics; Internet of Things and operational technology security.

As cyber threats grow in volume and sophistication, KPMG teams are bringing technological expertise, deep business knowledge and innovation, to work with clients in creating a more resilient and trusted digital world.

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Public Policy engagement, protecting trust

KPMG International’s Global Public Affairs team proactively participates in shaping the policy discussion and advocating for meaningful change that allows business, government and society to prosper together, with a positive impact on people and the planet. We look to engage beyond our colleagues and our clients by building strong relationships with key policy makers and stakeholders (such as investors, directors, analysts, business associations, NGOs, academics and other thought leaders), ultimately creating trust among key audiences and strengthening the foundation for sustainable growth.

Taken as a whole, our work helps our KPMG firms deliver value to companies, governments, NGOs, the capital markets, the economy and wider society.

KPMG International is an active member of the Global Public Policy Committee (GPPC), which brings together leaders from the six large international accounting networks to advance the public interest and enhance public confidence in the profession. The GPPC is focused on professional matters of global scope deemed to be priorities by their respective network’s CEOs, such as the enhancement of quality in auditing and corporate reporting.

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Our approach to identifying risk

At KPMG, we recognize how important it is to identify, manage and plan for risks. Every KPMG firm is required to identify and manage its risks through a formal Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process for which each firm’s leadership is responsible.

Within KPMG International, our GMT is responsible for the ERM Program, including ensuring the effectiveness of mitigating controls, under the oversight of the Global Board’s Quality and Risk Management Committee, Executive Committee and any other committee of the Global Board designated by the Executive Committee in respect of a specific risk area. The ERM Program uses KPMG’s internal risk assessment criteria and leverages the Dynamic Risk Assessment methodology to identify, connect and visualize risks across four dimensions relevant to KPMG International: impact, likelihood, time horizon and connectivity.

KPMG firms report the results of their ERM processes annually to KPMG International’s ERM team, which aggregates and analyzes the information and shares insights and risk exposures across the KPMG global organization.

The global organization’s client and engagement acceptance and continuance policies and processes are designed to help KPMG firms identify and evaluate potential risks, including relevant ESG risks, prior to accepting or continuing a client relationship or performing a specific engagement.

KPMG firms evaluate whether to accept or continue a client relationship or perform a specific engagement. Where client/engagement acceptance (or continuance) decisions pose significant risks, additional approvals are required.

Read more in our KPMG International Transparency Report 2023 and in our Climate Risk Report.

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Delivering quality audit and assurance

Our commitment: Lead the profession in audit quality

KPMG is committed to fulfilling our public interest role in providing robust audit and assurance quality that benefits investors and other stakeholders. We believe the same level of professionalism, quality, consistency and trust should apply to ESG disclosures as it does to financial statement data.

Delivering robust audit and assurance services is critical to stakeholder trust. Audit and assurance is at a generational transformation point that we have not seen in decades with the recognition of the importance of high quality ESG disclosures by the companies we audit, as well as the risks and opportunities from the 'rise of AI.' Climate risk is becoming a more significant issue that is being embedded into our scope of work. We’re committed to continuously evolving our approach to quality and, as a technology-driven organization, are harnessing innovative solutions to deliver high-quality audit and assurance services.

KPMG Clara is the global operating system for KPMG Audit and has been fully deployed in the culmination of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment. It is a globally consistent methodology and workflow, and a web-enabled, cloud based technology that is used by more than 90,000 audit professionals in more than 140 countries in each of our audits. KPMG Clara is a transformative innovation in the audit sector, empowering our auditors to offer deeper insights and improved audit quality to hundreds of thousands of entities we audit. Our ongoing initiative, KPMG Clara 2.0, demonstrates our commitment to continual innovation, enhancement and digitization of the platform powered by artificial intelligence, deeper data analysis and automation.

Through sustained innovation, we aim to consistently deliver superior quality to audited entities. Across the global organization:

  • KPMG firms have implemented a consistent risk-based approach to their system of quality management to drive audit and assurance quality, enabling them to meet the requirements of the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) 1.
  • We’re utilizing powerful technologies on client engagements around the world, including artificial intelligence, and leveraging our alliances with technology leaders such as MindBridge to further enhance quality and provide even more value through deeper analysis of businesses, no matter their size.
  • We believe the same level of rigor, quality, consistency and trust that is applied to financial statement information by companies should also apply to ESG reporting. Therefore, we have deployed, across the global organization, an assurance methodology, KPMG Clara workflow and learning curriculum to upskill and build teams for purposes of providing assurance on ESG reporting that helps our clients build a more sustainable future.

Providing high-quality services is what allows people at KPMG to continuously earn and re-earn the trust that has underpinned our global organization for more than 150 years. Learn more about how KPMG delivers professional excellence and quality in the KPMG International Transparency Report 2023.

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Case studies

Gaining assurance over ESG metrics

KPMG in Germany

KPMG in Germany completed a landmark assurance engagement, a first-time reasonable assurance ESG Key Performance Indicator (KPI) audit for E.ON SE, one of Europe's largest operators of energy networks and energy infrastructure and a provider of innovative customer solutions for approximately 48 million customers. The company is decisively driving forward the energy transition in Europe and is committed to sustainability, climate protection and the future of our planet.

The KPMG team conducted a group-wide, high-quality audit of 22 ESG KPIs, covering emissions, work safety, governance and more. The team also conducted limited assurance work for the organization on European Union Taxonomy tagging, the classification system that defines criteria for economic activities that are aligned with a net-zero trajectory by 2050 and broader environmental goals, other than climate.

The team developed a tailored audit approach and also worked in close collaboration with the assurance teams at other European E.ON entities to ensure that all requirements were met, as well as timely completion of the project, ensuring it could be included in E.ON's public communications to the capital market.

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Building trust in ESG disclosure

KPMG in Vietnam

By providing limited assurance on Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank’s (ACB) Sustainability Report, KPMG in Vietnam is helping the client to raise its standard of ESG reporting.

As the first ESG Assurance engagement for KPMG in Vietnam, this marked an important milestone, building upon ACB’s trust of KPMG as its long-term auditor.

Through collaboration with other KPMG firms in the region, KPMG in Vietnam also enhanced its ESG disclosure good practices, transitioning from an audit engagement and upskilling the team.

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Cultivating a responsible tax practice

Our commitment: Drive a responsible tax practice

We continue to invest significantly in Global Tax Services to provide a full suite of tax and legal technologies and services that supports tax transparency and helps KPMG firms support clients in meeting their current and future compliance obligations.

We aim to provide a targeted approach to our Global Tax Services that helps KPMG tax leaders deliver positive impacts for clients and wider society. We do this by helping clients ensure they are taking a responsible approach to tax rules and obligations. We also help clients to better understand new tax rules emerging in ESG-related areas such as carbon taxation and pricing — an increasingly important feature of the new, low-carbon world that governments, tax authorities and stakeholders are aspiring to create.

In FY23, our tax initiatives included the following:

Embedding new Global Tax Principles: Our Global Tax Principles are designed to ensure that we operate a responsible tax practice. We continue to emphasize the principles in the advice that we provide to clients and in our relationships with governments and the broader community. These principles are consistent with our Values.

Responsible Tax Roundtables: KPMG firms use their convening power to share industry best practice, holding regular roundtables with business and civil society to help them better understand what a responsible tax position looks like in the changing and evolving world. In FY23, we held discussions on the circular economy, carbon pricing, wealth taxation, tax policy and the changing nature of work, as well as the institutional framework surrounding international tax rules, including the roles of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), G20, Inclusive Framework and the United Nations.

Investing in technology: We continue to invest significantly in KPMG Digital Gateway. Powered by Microsoft Azure and built on the cloud, the platform helps clients turn ESG data into value at an increased level of quality, speed and scale so they can respond faster to emerging tax issues related to ESG.

Global minimum tax: We recognize the societal benefits of a responsible tax approach and continue to support clients in meeting the evolving responsibilities. The way in which multinational organizations navigate and comply with their tax obligations around the world is about to change with new Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 2.0 measures, necessitating companies to rethink their processes, technology systems and data. To help companies evaluate, monitor, compile, track, calculate, analyze, report and comply with Pillar 2 obligations, we are rolling out KPMG BEPS 2.0 Automation Technology (KBAT) through integration with the KPMG Digital Gateway platform. Through this technology, we will provide ongoing support to a large number of companies across the globe in relation to the tax rules, including data collection, accounting disclosures and helping ensure they meet future compliance obligations.

Tax transparency: In FY23, we saw an increased focus on tax transparency, with voluntary reporting through the GRI standards and mandatory public country-by-country reporting being introduced in the European Union (EU) and Australia. Looking to FY24, large companies with a presence in either the EU or Australia need to apply these new mandatory reporting rules. KPMG teams support clients to create the data and governance processes required for the adoption, collation and presentation of both voluntary and mandatory reporting — underpinning good governance, transparency and stakeholder trust.

Legal Services: Legal advice and compliance is an important aspect of the ESG agenda. Legal considerations can arise, for example, around issues such as directors’ liability, sustainability reporting requirements and access to capital and insurance. Legal teams can help the business understand ESG risks and work with other functions to manage them, developing the policies and governance frameworks needed. KPMG firms with Legal Services1 work with clients’ in-house legal departments to help them ensure they’re playing a full role in the ESG evolution.

Carbon pricing and incentives: The energy transition is multi-faceted and KPMG firms continue to be at the forefront of providing advice to clients, contributing to policy discussions and issuing thought leadership on carbon initiatives, particularly as incentives deployed across countries and territories can be complex, with many nuanced global impacts.

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Driving purposeful transformations

Technology continues to evolve, shape and transform how businesses function and people interact. It can also be leveraged to help businesses better meet a range of ESG objectives and obligations. In FY23, through our Advisory practices across the globe, we helped organizations utilize technology solutions to create and protect the sustainable value of their business, including:

Sustainability reporting: A rapidly evolving and complex field with a variety of reporting frameworks, requiring a step-change in the level of assurance. We help clients use a range of technology tools to capture, manage and report their ESG data and impacts, driving increased stakeholder confidence.

Circularity: The transition to a circular economy is a central tenet for sustainable business. Through tools and trackers such as the KPMG Circularity Tracker, developed on Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability and Power Platform, we help clients automate data collection and better track circularity across products, locations, materials and more, fostering a holistic approach to sustainability.

KPMG ESG Academy: Technology can drive better learning, too. KPMG’s dedicated ESG Academy, launched in collaboration with Microsoft and leading universities, aims to help companies empower and educate their workforce, supporting their ESG initiatives with foundational and advanced learning for their people across a wide range of topics and disciplines.

We strive to embed sustainable practices across our portfolio of tools, solutions and services for use both within our global organization and in our work with clients. We will continue this journey with a particular focus on areas of the greatest client demand: transformation, reporting and assurance.

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Collaboration spotlight

Collaborating with Microsoft to make a difference

KPMG and Microsoft are helping to lead the way in transforming the sustainable business landscape. Recognizing ESG as a pivotal area for innovation, the collaboration goes beyond just reporting responsibilities — it also works to prioritize impactful change and increased value creation within organizations. Through initiatives like the multi-year generative AI investment and the KPMG ESG Academy, KPMG and Microsoft work together to help demonstrate the role of technology in driving sustainable business success and aim to develop leading solutions that make a tangible impact on corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship.

"In collaboration with KPMG professionals, we're helping to pioneer transformative solutions within Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, empowering organizations to more seamlessly integrate data intelligence. Together, we're illuminating the path for businesses to make informed decisions that drive real impact on their environmental and social responsibilities."

Shelly Blackburn
Vice President Cross Solutions, Microsoft

Acting transparently with accountability and integrity

Our commitments:

  • Act lawfully, ethically and in the public interest 
  • Work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery 

We regularly review our Global Code of Conduct to make sure it clearly reflects our Values and the commitments and responsibilities that KPMG people have to each other, our clients and the public. In line with the Global Code of Conduct, we strongly support a speaking-up culture and set out a clear process for advice on, or the reporting of, illegal or unethical behavior. The new KPMG CARE framework (Consider, Assess, Respond, Evolve) helps our people practice and build confidence in making ethical decisions.

We’re committed to the highest standards of personal and professional behavior in everything we do.

Within our Global Code of Conduct (our Code), we outline the commitments and responsibilities all KPMG people have to each other, our clients and the public.

It shows how our Values and Purpose inspire our greatest aspirations and guide all of our behaviors and actions. It defines what it means to work at, and be part of, the KPMG global organization, as well as our individual and collective responsibilities. We regularly review our Code to make sure it’s a clear reflection of these principles and expectations. In addition, everyone at KPMG can expect to be held accountable for their behavior, consistent with our Code, and are required to confirm their compliance with it.

KPMG firms and professional accountants are also bound by the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, including International Independence Standards issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). KPMG’s ethical principles and expectations are in alignment with these standards.

KPMG firms provide regular training to partners and employees on a range of topics, including our Code and our anti-corruption policies and procedures. The learning emphasizes the importance of making ethical decisions even when under pressure, and speaking up to ask questions, respectfully challenge, and raise concerns when we are uncertain or when something does not seem right.

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Case study

Driving ethical decision-making: KPMG International

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At KPMG, we know that trust is earned by doing the right thing. As the world rapidly changes and becomes more complex, this simple principle has never been more important. KPMG’s ethical decision-making framework CARE (Consider, Assess, Respond, Evolve), which was created in 2023 and is used by KPMG firms, steers us to ethical decision making and supports our Purpose, Values and Code of Conduct, centered on building and reinforcing trust.

The CARE framework helps our people to make ethical decisions, especially when faced with a challenging situation or ethical dilemma. It also reminds them that they do not have to make these decisions alone.

The CARE framework is backed by a portfolio of supporting materials and guides, including facilitated discussions to enable our people to practice and build confidence in making ethical decisions.

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Consistent with being signatories to the UN Global Compact and the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), we work against corruption in all of its forms, including extortion and bribery. Our Code clearly states that we don’t tolerate illegal or unethical behavior within KPMG or from clients, suppliers or public officials with whom we work. Bribery and corruption are unethical, even in situations where it might not be considered illegal in a particular jurisdiction.

All KPMG firms have processes to assess prospective clients, third parties and suppliers in relation to bribery and corruption. KPMG firms must also assess their bribery and corruption environment annually and establish and maintain processes to monitor, manage and control how their personnel and their agents interact with government entities and government officials to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and to maintain public trust. Find out more about our position on bribery and corruption.

Our commitment to a continuous strengthening of our ethical culture

Across the KPMG organization, we take very seriously any incidents that are inconsistent with our Values or contrary to our Code. When KPMG firms fail to meet the high standards, we set for ourselves, or those set by the organizations that regulate us, we address those challenges by taking steps to strengthen our ethical culture. This includes looking at our policies and controls and leveraging technology.

As a global organization, we remain committed to KPMG firms taking all appropriate actions to address incidents that are inconsistent with our Values.

We understand that trust is built on professional excellence, integrity and societal impact. The trust of clients and the public is crucial for future growth and success.

Speaking up safely

KPMG has a detailed approach for monitoring and reporting any illegal or unethical acts. Our Code, policies and procedures set out a clear process for anyone seeking advice or wanting to report illegal or unethical behavior, and we openly encourage a culture of speaking up without any fear of reprisal. We prohibit retaliatory behavior when our people report ethical issues, breaches or suspected breaches in good faith.

To safeguard the principle of holding each other accountable, each KPMG firm commits to having clearly defined channels that allow KPMG people and third parties to make inquiries, raise concerns in relation to providing feedback, and notify reportable matters without fear of reprisal, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Supporting our global and local speak-up culture, KPMG International has an independent hotline which is a mechanism for all of our people around the world, KPMG firms’ clients and other third parties, to confidentially report any concerns they have relating to any activity by KPMG International, KPMG firms or KPMG people. This is in addition to other mechanisms that exist within KPMG firms.

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Respecting human rights

Our commitment: Respect human rights

We are committed to the protection of human rights and helping to eliminate all forms of forced, compulsory and child labor in line with the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We recognize we have an important role to play in managing potential harm to people and, as part of our Global Quality & Risk Management processes, have established a risk-based approach to human rights. A key priority is a focus on suppliers and we continue to refine our approach to addressing modern slavery risks throughout KPMG International’s supply chain.

We are committed to respecting human rights as outlined in our Business and Human Rights Statement, which is in line with the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and builds on our longstanding support for the UN Global Compact. This means supporting the protection of human rights, avoiding being complicit in human rights abuses (including those involving business relationships) and helping to eliminate all forms of forced, compulsory and child labor. Additionally, our Global Code of Conduct sets out our commitments to:

  • Work with clients, suppliers and subcontractors that live up to KPMG's core ethical standards.
  • Act lawfully, ethically and in the public interest.
  • Not tolerate behavior within KPMG, by clients or suppliers, or public officials with whom we deal, that is illegal, unethical or breaches human rights.
  • Champion an inclusive and collaborative culture that is free from bullying, discrimination and harassment, where everyone is treated with respect and dignity.

The policies and procedures that KPMG firms across the globe have agreed to implement are consistent with the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles, the International Labor Organization Core Conventions, and the OECD's Guidelines for International Enterprises. KPMG International and KPMG firms:

  • Undertake to avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur; and
  • Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly related to their operations, products or services through their business relationships.

We recognize that we have an important role to play in managing potential harm to people, through a risk‐based approach to human rights due diligence.

We monitor human rights impacts across our global organization as part of our Global Quality & Risk Management processes.

The KPMG International Hotline can be used to raise any concern relating to a human rights issue. We take reports received by the International Hotline seriously and we respond and agree on appropriate actions to be taken by KPMG firms.

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Modern slavery in the supply chain

While the professional services industry is not typically considered a high‐risk sector for labor-related issues such as slavery and human trafficking, we recognize our supply chain poses a higher risk in certain industries and locations. A key priority is to focus on our suppliers, particularly on reviewing, assessing, and monitoring high- and medium-risk suppliers.

We have continued to refine and improve our approach to addressing modern slavery risks throughout KPMG’s supply chain2 by leveraging existing best practices across our KPMG firms. Our annual self-assessment supplier outreach now incorporates specific high-risk factors such as a high-risk service type and/or location, and certain high-risk business models (such as a reliance on vulnerable or temporary work staff). Risk analysis is complemented with public scrutiny research, using trusted external sources.

Where a potential risk factor is identified, we complete an additional supplier assessment to evaluate whether relevant policies, standards and controls are in place to prevent and address modern slavery risks in the supplier's organization as well as across their own supply chain.

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People of KPMG

andre's portrait

Andre Winter

KPMG in Brazil

KPMG in Brazil’s new Human Rights Services Hub focuses on the ‘Social’ component of ESG, where we can leverage our deep knowledge in risk, reputation and integrity to help make the difference.

I’m co-leading the Hub that helps our clients manage any impacts from human rights and labor conditions, as well as other social-related challenges.

The Hub has become a place for colleagues to find the right solutions and help our clients. It brings together colleagues from across the Brazilian firm, including the Tax Labor team and Culture and Change Management teams, as well as colleagues from across the wider global KPMG organization.

We are now providing our clients with support on IDE strategies, partnering with Instituto Olga Kos, a national NGO in Brazil, to develop and deploy methodologies and approaches that are relevant for people and businesses. Additionally, Engaja Brasil, a local Alliance partner, provides a governance, risk and compliance technology platform to support clients in mitigating risks and improving governance in their relationship with NGOs.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked in Sustainability Advisory, and I believe human rights are a key part of the sustainability equation. Organizations rely on the labor of their workforces, as this can sometimes give rise to complex situations. On a daily basis, I deal with challenging issues that range from discussions on the background philosophy of human rights to the practical aspects that can impact everyday life.

The work that I do carries a lot of weight and responsibility but gives me enormous personal satisfaction, particularly as I feel passionately that when businesses focus on social practices, it’s not only the right thing to do, it can also positively benefit their trust and growth ambitions, while also making a huge impact on society as a whole.

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Our Supplier Code of Conduct

We have refreshed our KPMG International Supplier Code of Conduct to articulate more clearly the expectations we have of our suppliers, with respect to:

  • Ethical conduct and integrity: Expecting our suppliers to uphold the highest levels of ethics and integrity in line with KPMG’s professional standards.
  • Modern slavery and respecting human rights: Expecting our suppliers to respect human rights, promote fair labor practices and meet the same standards and practices as ours in relation to eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking.
  • Inclusion and diversity: Articulating our requirement for suppliers to foster an inclusive environment that is free of discrimination and promotes equal opportunity. Suppliers are encouraged to establish appropriate inclusion, diversity and equity (IDE) goals for their organization.
  • Environment: Articulating our expectation that suppliers will collaborate with us to support our climate goals and can evidence programs or initiatives within their own organization that help to reduce their impact on the environment.

The refreshed Supplier Code of Conduct is an important step in formalizing our requirement for suppliers and incorporates language in our contracts that underpins our ESG commitments. KPMG firms can leverage the refreshed code in adopting and applying a supplier code of conduct for their local firm.

The Supplier Code of Conduct specifically references the fact that the KPMG International Hotline is open to our suppliers’ workforces to report any potential unethical behavior experienced, without any form of retaliation, while engaged in the fulfillment of a KPMG contract.

Incorporated into our standard supplier policies for contracting with KPMG International, we review our Supplier Code of Conduct regularly to ensure continued alignment to our ESG commitments.

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Case study

Building supplier diversity: KPMG US

KPMG US has developed its Supplier Diversity program that seeks to include people from all backgrounds in the sourcing and procurement process, with the goal to organically grow spend with our network of suppliers from diverse backgrounds.

The strategy is designed to identify diversely owned businesses that are qualified and certified as: minority-owned, women-owned, disability-owned, veteran-owned, service-disabled-veteran-owned, and LGBTQ+-owned enterprises.

Understanding that procurement decisions have economic and social impacts, in 2024 KPMG US is expanding their program internally and externally, and increasing their work with suppliers, clients and partners. This program is continuing to highlight the commitment to inclusion and recognizing the benefits of including all businesses in the strategic sourcing process.

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Throughout this content, “we”, “KPMG”, “us” and “our” refers to the global organization, to KPMG International Limited (“KPMG International”), or to one or more of the member firms of KPMG International Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity.

“Reporting KPMG Firms” means KPMG firms in 20 large countries and territories, including member firms whose senior partner is also a Global Board member. These countries and territories are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

KPMG International Limited provides services and support to, or for the benefit of, KPMG firms and does not provide professional services directly, or indirectly, to clients. Professional services to clients are exclusively provided by KPMG firms who remain solely responsible for and liable in respect of these services.

KPMG refers to the global organization or to one or more of the member firms of KPMG International Limited (“KPMG International”), each of which is a separate legal entity, and/or to KPMG International Limited. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee and does not provide services to clients. For more detail about our structure please visit kpmg.com/governance.

The information contained herein is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavor to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No one should act on such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation.

Climate change performance data for FY23 has been collected from 75 KPMG firms including Reporting KPMG Firms. Although KPMG International has not obtained third-party verification of the emissions data in this report, a number of the KPMG firms have had their underlying data independently verified. To estimate total emissions on a global basis on the basis of the data collected from the relevant KPMG firms, KPMG International’s methodology for relevant emissions and/or carbon claims is in accordance with the globally recognized Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute. The GHG Protocol provides standards and guidance for companies and other organizations preparing a GHG emissions inventory, also known as a carbon footprint. For more information download the full PDF.