KPMG has announced a new five-year commitment to Microsoft cloud and artificial intelligence (AI), in a collaboration aimed at modernization and the expansion of AI across the industry.
Tools within the Microsoft 365 and Azure OpenAI service will be available through early access to business units throughout KPMG, such as its audit, tax, and advisory groups.
KPMG expects that clients will be able to derive a number of benefits from access to Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft Fabric.
The Big Four’s auditing platform, KPMG Clara, will offer improved AI-led data analytics after having Azure Cognitive Services integrated.
It said that its 85,000 auditors will have time freed up to focus on “high-risk areas of the audit, sector-specific risks, and challenges” during the hundreds of thousands of audits the company completes every year.
Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI and Fabric will also interface with KPMG Digital Gateway, including KPMG’s entire legal and tax suite. It is hoped this will lead to greater oversight and management of tax
The companies have trialed using Azure OpenAI to produce environmental, social, and governance (ESG) tax transparency reports through the analysis of a company’s ESG data and patterns.
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“Our renewed and strengthened relationship with Microsoft is an exciting moment for our people and our clients,” said Bill Thomas, global chairman and CEO at KPMG International.
“It will help harness the power of our multidisciplinary model by ensuring that our people always have the right expertise, skills, and tools to overcome challenges and provide the very best advice to clients. It will also help make KPMG a more agile and resilient business that continues to be an interesting and exciting place to work.”
The professional services firm has a worldwide workforce of 265,000, and it is hoped that AI can be used to improve productivity across the board. The deal could be worth $12 billion in growth opportunity over the period.
Global IT consultancy Xebia has already used Azure Synapse Analytics and KPMG One Data Platform to better track its data infrastructure. With the platform, it has been able to improve the detail of its ESG reporting as well as its data-driven decision-making.
Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners (CCEP) has also worked with KPMG and Microsoft to improve its internal operations, using generative AI to automate its back office.
In 2022, KPMG doubled its technical staff as it aimed to consolidate its suite of digital transformation tools.
These included the big data analytics product ESG IQ, which allows KPMG clients to draw together structured and unstructured data from partners, social media, research papers, and legal documents using natural language processing (NLP).
Using the tool, finance companies can obtain a bird’s eye view of their assets through the lens of environmental responsibility, across a range of bonds and securities.
KPMG and Microsoft are signatories of the Carbon Call, which urges companies to improve carbon accounting for better emissions tracking.
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