The organizations leading on AI are what Microsoft describes as ‘Frontier Firms’: human-led, AI agent-operated organizations. 'Frontier Firms’ move beyond isolated AI experiments to create value at scale. They embed AI into how work happens every day. People don’t simply use AI tools. They orchestrate AI agents.
'Frontier Firms’ are redefining how work gets done. They’re redesigning business processes with AI in mind, connecting strategy, value, trust, governance and scalable operating models.
KPMG helps organizations align their AI transformation goals to business value, then builds the capabilities needed to scale with confidence.
KPMG firms support this shift through industry insights, trusted AI experience, technology capabilities and the global delivery network needed to move from ambition to impact.
Becoming a 'Frontier Firm' takes more than a portfolio of AI experiments. It begins with a clear vision on outcomes supported by redesigned workflows, decision rights, controls and skills to make AI agent execution scalable.
Set the enterprise ambition for agentic AI and define the strategic value and capability foundations required.
Align leaders around the expected business outcomes and the priority workflows where human-agent collaboration can create meaningful impact.
Translate this ambition into a focused transformation roadmap with clear ownership and investment priorities. Define how work, roles and decision rights need to evolve as agents take on greater responsibility.
Drive measurable outcomes from agentic AI by applying disciplined value management and continuous iteration across agent lifecycles.
Identify and prioritize agent opportunities based on strategic relevance, business impact and feasibility.
Establish clear success measures before development begins so investment remains focused on the workflows and outcomes that matter most. Track adoption, performance and realized value throughout the agent lifecycle.
Establish the oversight, standards and trusted AI guardrails needed to scale agentic work and integrate it across all workstreams.
Create clear accountability across business, technology, risk and compliance supported by consistent standards for agent design, approval and operation.
Combine enterprise oversight with rapid decision-making to resolve cross-functional issues and keep delivery moving.
Build the technical, data and governance foundations needed to build, deploy and scale agentic solutions across the enterprise.
Establish a secure and flexible architecture that connects agents to trusted data, applications and business processes. Common integration patterns and reusable components reduce duplication and support consistent delivery across different platforms and functions.
Embed identity, access, security, testing, monitoring and operational controls across the agent lifecycle.
Frontier vision & strategy
Set the enterprise ambition for agentic AI and define the strategic value and capability foundations required.
Align leaders around the expected business outcomes and the priority workflows where human-agent collaboration can create meaningful impact.
Translate this ambition into a focused transformation roadmap with clear ownership and investment priorities. Define how work, roles and decision rights need to evolve as agents take on greater responsibility.
Value architecture
Drive measurable outcomes from agentic AI by applying disciplined value management and continuous iteration across agent lifecycles.
Identify and prioritize agent opportunities based on strategic relevance, business impact and feasibility.
Establish clear success measures before development begins so investment remains focused on the workflows and outcomes that matter most. Track adoption, performance and realized value throughout the agent lifecycle.
Governance architecture
Establish the oversight, standards and trusted AI guardrails needed to scale agentic work and integrate it across all workstreams.
Create clear accountability across business, technology, risk and compliance supported by consistent standards for agent design, approval and operation.
Combine enterprise oversight with rapid decision-making to resolve cross-functional issues and keep delivery moving.
Technical architecture
Build the technical, data and governance foundations needed to build, deploy and scale agentic solutions across the enterprise.
Establish a secure and flexible architecture that connects agents to trusted data, applications and business processes. Common integration patterns and reusable components reduce duplication and support consistent delivery across different platforms and functions.
Embed identity, access, security, testing, monitoring and operational controls across the agent lifecycle.
KPMG can help organizations move from AI ambition to agentic transformation that is grounded in business value. Through our global alliance with Microsoft, we combine leading technology capabilities with our industry knowledge, functional expertise and global experience across strategy, technology implementation, AI, digital transformation, risk and workforce change.
Supporting clients through Frontier transformation starts with having a credible Frontier story of our own. KPMG member firms apply the same principles we bring to clients, combining AI, agents, data and workforce transformation to reshape how we work.
Our journey toward becoming a ‘Frontier Firm’ provides practical insights, proven approaches and real-world lessons that help KPMG professionals guide organizations from experimentation to enterprise-wide impact.
KPMG is expanding its use of Microsoft 365 Copilot across the global network and adopting Microsoft Agent 365 to manage, monitor and secure AI agents. The initiative embeds AI more deeply into everyday work and KPMG member firms’ service delivery.
The experience helps KPMG member firms support clients moving from isolated pilots to organization-wide agent deployment. It combines Microsoft technology with KPMG’s Trusted AI framework to provide the governance, security, and accountability needed to scale AI responsibly.
KPMG Clara, the KPMG global smart audit platform, uses Microsoft Azure and Azure AI Foundry to modernize the audit process. It can analyze entire datasets, automate documentation, surface insights in real time and help auditors focus on higher-risk areas.
The platform brings these capabilities to KPMG member firm auditors worldwide while supporting secure and consistent deployment across different jurisdictions. It demonstrates how agentic AI can enhance audit quality and efficiency while keeping professional judgment and trust at the center.
KPMG selected Microsoft Fabric to simplify the management and analysis of large volumes of data from many different sources. The integrated platform helps reduce complexity, improve data accessibility and turn information into actionable insights more quickly.
Having implemented Fabric internally, KPMG member firms can apply this experience when helping clients address similar data challenges. The story shows how KPMG’s own transformation becomes a source of practical knowledge for designing and operating modern data and AI solutions.
Global Microsoft AI Business Solutions Lead, Strategy & Go-To-Market
KPMG International
