Extinction or evolution? A new imperative for Corporate Services

In our view, it is increasingly evident that the Corporate Services functions that exist today will not be the ones that lead tomorrow. In the face of automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Agentic AI revolution, the C-Suite is no longer just asking for reports – they are asking for proof of value.

Therefore, if Corporate Services remain focused on conventional tasks only – whether that be cost management, transactional processing, or ensuring compliance – their existence could be under threat.

We believe that without delay, Corporate Services functions, including Finance, Procurement, Information Technology (IT), and Human Resources (HR), need a new agenda, moving from being classic cost centers to powerful value creators for the broader business.

This requires a major shift in how the functions view themselves – and in how the broader business experiences Corporate Services.

A renewed vision

A renewed vision for Corporate Services often starts with seamless convergence and integration. The functions should break down operational business and internal silos with the support of the latest technology, and re-focus on areas of significant demand and return on investment (ROI). This way, they can shift from being reactive to proactive, be predictive rather than looking backwards, and move from a focus on cost cutting to value creation.

A new vision for Corporate Services can also position the functions as performance drivers for the business, supporting advanced scenario planning and working through complexities such as anticipating workforce planning needs, preparing for cyber attacks, and responding to policy changes that affect how the organization operates.

Further, we believe the renewed vision needs to be people centric. The functions should have a ‘human in the loop’ when it comes to AI, while focusing on continual upskilling to help ensure that teams are digitally fluent. They will also need clear change management communication to enable the necessary cultural shift.

This renewed vision should deliver positive outcomes for the whole organization. For example, in IT, it might involve unlocking new technology and empowering teams across all parts of the business to leverage it. In Procurement, it might mean using scenario modeling to build resilient supply chains. In HR, it could be initiating cultural shifts to help attract and retain leading talent. In Finance, implementing multi-scenario liquidity forecasting could support cash flow and investment optimization.

Five imperatives for value creation

To achieve this renewed vision for Corporate Services, there are five key areas that leaders can focus on. Here, we explore them in more detail.

Automation, AI, and Agentic AI offer vast potential to re-shape how Corporate Services bring value to the business. Corporate Services should embrace, not fear, these capabilities, and leverage these tools to create autonomous systems, streamline processes, and harness data to support real-time decisions. Every task that is automated can give people more time to focus on innovation and strategy.

This is not just a drive for efficiency, but overall performance. Operational efficiency gains are often clearest where automation is paired with decision-making agents. KPMG research on Finance operations shows that among AI leader organizations, 57% report AI returns exceeding expectations, suggesting that productivity and efficiency gains accelerate materially once automation is paired with advanced agentic capabilities and governance.¹

At KPMG, we are building Agentic AI ‘agents’ for Corporate Services functions that support a seamless back-office experience. We have developed a model office that illustrates how agents can work in tandem with humans – automating simple tasks, helping to reduce significant manual work, and augmenting the customer service experience. The model shows how a network of collaborative agents can create comprehensive automated workflows.

A vital part of the transformation of Corporate Services is breaking down silos and harnessing data for decisions and action planning. Functions can bring AI, Generative AI, and Business Intelligence (BI) tools into everyday workflows, to extract data, create reports, and share insights with the business. The key is to do this in an integrated way that services the end-to-end value streams that drive outcomes for the organization.

The use of data for insights should have a clear strategy. In our view, it is essential to build solid foundations to obtain the right data, be clear on the key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure, and know what information helps drive value. Functions should decide on the critical questions that the business needs answered, such as, “How much working capital is tied up in inefficient processes?” or “What is our true cost of labor and what skills gaps exist relative to the future business needs?”

It can be worth the effort to clear up historical data if it is critical to answer those questions. Otherwise, this time can be better spent ensuring future data is correct.

While Corporate Services have long been tasked with cost cutting, there is now an opportunity to align goals more closely with C-Suite objectives, such as profitability, revenue growth, or enhanced customer experience. Corporate Services can leverage value-creation frameworks to define value streams across the enterprise, then find ways to optimize them.

An example could be the value stream of working capital management, which sits at the intersection of Finance, Procurement, Operations and Sales. Corporate Services could orchestrate a cross-functional ‘working capital command center’, optimizing key components of the working capital cycle, including:

Simulating the impact of inventory stock changes on working capital and downstream impacts on customers, sales, or marketing
Optimizing Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) with data-driven supplier management and payment timing
Improving cash conversion cycles with tailored collection strategies

Another example is Source‑to‑Pay (P2P), which links the moment a business need is identified through to supplier payment. When this is mapped across Procurement, Finance, Operations, and the requesting teams, the organization can gain a clearer, more connected picture of how goods and services move through the enterprise. This strengthens coordination, helps improve the experience of employees and suppliers, and elevates data quality. It can help to reduce errors and enable more accurate planning, forecasting, and supplier‑performance insight. A streamlined S2P value stream can also create the right conditions for targeted automation and AI.

In our experience, Corporate Services, more than ever, need to take initiatives, leading with insightful decision making and strategic planning. This will help the business drive value, while demonstrating the value of these functions amid the surge in AI and automation.

A key strategic support Corporate Services can provide is sophisticated scenario modelling. This is about leveraging AI and Agentic AI to develop real-time, autonomous scenario planning models capable of driving business decisions. For example, models could examine the impact of increased tariffs on products, regions, or customers, helping the business make decisions on supply chains, prices, or marketing.

Looking ahead, it is even possible that the business partnering role will evolve to see back-office experts embedded ‘invisibly’ within the business. For example, Finance could integrate into Sales, close to the decision makers, boosting their ability to see the challenges and add value.

From our perspective, bringing this new vision of Corporate Services to life cannot happen without deep consideration of the Corporate Services workforce. Leaders should support a major organizational culture shift, helping people feel motivated about the new ways of working, and ensuring they are continually upskilled. It could help to adopt a ‘fast fail’ mentality where experimentation is encouraged and innovation rewarded.

Another factor in the new vision is ensuring that humans and AI are working in harmony – carefully orchestrating where humans play a role ‘in the loop’ for analysis and strategy. A source of guidance is the KPMG Trusted AI framework, which can help functions align people, AI, decision making authorities, and ethical considerations.

Workforce planning – for both humans and AI agents – can also be essential, to make sure the functions are prepared for continually evolving needs. New roles that focus on creativity, innovation, and the customer experience will be key.

For leaders, communicating the new vision, why it matters, and how the change will happen can be essential for success. In our experience leaders will find there is ambition and passion within the functions to deliver great outcomes – a positive starting point to leap from.

Your mandate: From vision to value

We believe this transformation is no longer a choice and that delay is a strategic risk. The KPMG Velocity methodology is a catalyst for change, designed to help you implement these five imperatives. This methodology helps back-office functions to utilize AI solutions, seamlessly converge, and embed value creation at the core of strategy. We also help define KPIs, embed scenario planning, plan future skills and workforce needs, and support effective change management and communications.

Transforming Corporate Services functions into dynamic value creators is important for the business to grow – and for the survival of the functions themselves. For many, this change is more of a revolution than an evolution. Regardless of the starting position, a key question is whether you will lead or keep pace.

¹KPMG Global AI in finance report. 2024.

Transformation is an ongoing journey

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