Guide to Working at KPMG

If you’re considering a career in tax, auditing, or advisory services, you’ve probably thought about working at KPMG. After all, as one of the Big Four accounting firms, the company has tons of opportunities for someone at the beginning of their career.

But if you’ve ever wondered what kinds of opportunities there are, how KPMG supports its employees, or even if you can work at KPMG as something other than an accountant, this guide is for you. We’re taking a deep dive into what it’s like working at KPMG.

What Is KPMG?

Before we explore what it’s like working at KPMG, let’s answer the obvious question: What does KPMG stand for?

KPMG was formed in 1987 through the merger of Peat Marwick International (PMI) and Klynveld Main Goerdeler (KMG). The letters stand for the initials of the founding members of these firms. They are:

• Klynveld
• Peat
• Marwick
• Goerdeler

Today, KPMG is a professional services network that provides audit, legal, and tax and advisory services. For the 2023 fiscal year, the company reported global revenue of $36 billion. KPMG also plans to invest $4.2 billion in its technology, talent, and ESG initiatives by 2026.

The company operates in 143 countries and territories, employing over 270,000 people and partners around the globe, with more than 35,000 in the U.S., an increase of 3% over the previous year.

KPMG is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Deloitte, Ernst and Young (EY), and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Together, these four firms audit 100% of Fortune 500 companies.

What Does KPMG Do?

KPMG has four main service areas, each focusing on different client needs. They are:

• Advisory services: helping clients strategize their plans
• Audit and assurance: auditing client financial records
• Tax and legal: ensuring clients stay in compliance with tax laws
• Business support: human resources, risk management, IT, and other departments

KPMG Careers and Salaries

KPMG has full-time job opportunities for early career individuals. All job openings can be found on the KPMG job search page. Working in one of the below practice areas, you’ll receive training to help you grow and thrive.

Audit

In the audit division, you’ll grow your skills in project management, data extraction, and data visualization. You can work with various industries, including aerospace and defense, forest products, and media. Or you can participate in a rotation that allows you to work in different subspecialties or geographic locations.

Tax

In the tax division, you’ll learn how to help KPMG clients navigate ever-changing tax laws around the world. This division has multiple service lines, such as economic and valuation services, mergers and acquisitions, international tax, and global mobility services.

Advisory

The advisory division is KPMG’s consulting arm and its fastest-growing practice. Advisors help clients overcome business challenges, identify and address risk, and solve complex business problems. Some of the advisory services are managed services, risk services, transformation delivery, and strategy consulting.

Business Support Services

The business support services division consists of departments that don’t fit into the above categories. That includes human resources, information management, market development, creative services, enterprise data services, and, of course, finance and accounting for KPMG.

Below are the self-reported total salary ranges for common KPMG job titles reported on Glassdoor. Keep in mind that this data includes people with zero years of experience to as many as 15 years of experience.

Job Title	Salary Range
Audit associate	$66,000 – $82,000
Tax associate	$61,000 – $79,000
Advisory associate	$82,000 – $100,000
Accountant	$69,000 – $104,000
Auditor	$76,000 – $144,000
IT advisory — associate	$99,000 – $121,000
Deal advisory associate	$86,000 – $107,000
Staff accountant	$64,000 – $84,000
Federal tax associate	$86,000 – $115,000
Project manager	$115,000 – $167,000
Business analyst	$81,000 – $118,000
Data scientist	$124,000 – $160,000
Data analyst	$73,000 – $109,000
Financial analyst	$72,000 – $101,000
Software engineer	$107,000 – $145,000
Strategy associate	$72,000 – $100,000
Management consultant	$144,000 – $204,000

As part of its commitment to helping you early in your career, KPMG offers a variety of unique incentives through its upskilling and development programs. Depending on the practice area, you can take advantage of:

• Masters of Accounting and Data Analytics Program. KPMG has partnered with leading business schools to help you earn a master’s degree.
• Lifelong learning program. Attend in-person and on-demand training to grow your skills.
• Certification bonus. Receive a cash bonus for obtaining certain certifications.
• Practice-specific training days. Receive specialized training for your service line without impacting your performance goals.

KPMG Student and Internship Opportunities

Pre-internship programs help you get a jump on working at KPMG. Beginning your freshman year in college, you can start exploring and connecting with the company across seven different programs:

• KPMG Rise Leadership Program: scholarship and summer leadership opportunities 
• Global Advantage Program: offered to some people who’ve accepted an internship
• HBCU Talent+: a four-day leadership program at KPMG Lakehouse (KPMG’s unique residential learning facility)
• Women in Advisory Summit: a two-day program of immersive training
• Case Competitions: compete as part of a team to solve business problems
• Ace the Case: a case analysis workshop to help you hone your skills
• Branding U: a career-oriented workshop about building your professional brand

KPMG’s Virtual Career Series covers a wide range of topics, from how to ace the interview process to what it’s like working in a specific practice area. While the sessions are live, KPMG also provides on-demand recordings of each.

>>MORE:  Ready to find a KPMG internship opportunity? Check out our Guide to KPMG Internships for information on eligibility, application dates and openings, and how to apply.

KPMG Benefits

KPMG offers a rich benefits package. In addition to some of the usual benefits (such as health insurance and a 401k), these are some of the unique benefits you can take advantage of working at KPMG:

• Flex with purpose: Work in the office, remote, or hybrid.
• CPA cash: KPMG will reimburse you for taking review courses and qualifying exams.
• Early career rewards: You can use this annual reimbursement of up to $1,200 for anything from loan repayment to a gym membership and receive an $8,000 bonus after three years or when you become a senior associate.
• Student loan refinance program: You have access to the Citizens Bank Education Refinance program.
• Mortgage assistance: Receive various fixed and adjustable rate mortgages.
• Time off: KPMG has two annual week-long shutdown around July 4th and Christmas.
• Jumpstart Friday: Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, you can leave work at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.
• Adoption and surrogacy assistance: Receive up to $35,000 in reimbursements.
• Caregiver support: You get three weeks of paid caregiver leave plus access to a caregiver concierge service.
• College coaching: This coaching helps your children achieve their educational goals.

KPMG Culture

KPMG’s company culture is based on five values:

• Integrity: doing what is right
• Excellence: continual learning and improvement
• Courage: thinking and acting boldly
• Together: respecting individual differences and learning from them
• For Better: doing what matters

The company has several initiatives to help it live these values.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

KPMG’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy helps ensure it remains a diverse and welcoming workplace. One example of this commitment is the many business resource groups that create an inclusive and supportive culture. These include:

• Abilities in Motion (for caregivers and people with disabilities)
• African Ancestry
• Asian Pacific Islander
• Interfaith
• KPMG Network of Women
• Living Green
• Middle East North Africa
• Pride@KPMG
• Somos KPMG (Hispanic/Latinx)
• Veterans

>>MORE: How Can You Tell if an Employer Values Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace?

KPMG Community

To honor the values of Together and For Better, KPMG gives back to the community through several initiatives.

Transformational Learning Collaborators

KPMG believes that learning is a lifelong process. In support of that belief, KPMG partners with organizations that help others advance their learning, such as:

• KPMG Family for Literacy
• Junior Achievement
• NAF
• Enactus
• Girls Who Code
• Special Olympics
• One Young World
• KPMG Future Leaders
• KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit

Healthy Communities

To help build stronger, healthier communities, KPMG partners with a number of nonprofit networks that support this goal:

• American Cancer Society
• American Heart Association
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
• Boys & Girls Club of America
• National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Data Citizens with PurposeⓇ

Part of the upskilling program, Data Citizens with Purpose (DCwP) helps staff build the skills they want while helping the community. They do this through:

• Assisting nonprofits pro bono
• Volunteering in high schools and colleges
• Hosting hackathons

Employee Reviews of KPMG Culture

On Comparably, employees give KPMG 3.8 out of 5 stars, or a B rating, with diversity and professional development also receiving B ratings.

When looking at the more detailed reviews, employees had positive feelings about their coworkers, with 80% of people reporting they look forward to interacting with them and 71% saying their work environment is positive. 

The MIT Culture 500 survey found that the most frequently and positively discussed value was collaboration, with agility being the most frequently negatively discussed value.

KPMG vs. Other Top Companies

How does working at KPMG stack up to working at other top companies? Here’s how people rate working at other companies vs. KPMG on Glassdoor (ratings are out of five stars):

	KPMG	Deloitte	EY	PwC
Overall Rating	3.8	4.0	3.8	3.9
Culture and Values	3.7	3.9	3.7	3.9
DEI	4.0	4.1	4.0	4.1
Work-Life Balance	3.0	3.3	3.0	3.1
Compensation and Benefits	3.3	3.9	3.4	3.5
Career Opportunities	4.0	4.2	4.0	4.1

How Does the KPMG Interview Process Work?

Of the over 13,000 reviews of the KPMG interview process on Glassdoor, 71% reported a positive experience, while 19% were neutral and 10% negative. Just over half (52%) applied online, and 25% said they connected with the company through a campus recruiter. Overall, the KPMG interview process has a 2.9 difficulty level, making it “average.”

KPMG provides a lot of guidance and advice to prospective employees about its interview process.

First, KPMG accepts applications on a rolling basis, meaning the position stays open until it’s filled. KPMG advises job seekers to apply to roles they’re interested in as soon as possible, but because of how the interview process works, you should only apply for one position at a time.

When filling out the application, current students and people who have graduated in the past 12 months should have their resume and unofficial transcript handy.

If you’re selected for an interview, you’ll participate in two live video interviews with business leaders. Within two weeks of these interviews, KPMG will notify you if you’re moving to the next round, which is an in-person visit to a KPMG office where you’ll meet your potential new coworkers and learn more about working at KPMG.

From there, you should know the decision within two weeks.

Key Takeaways

• KPMG is one of the Big Four accounting firms and offers interns unique growth and development opportunities through its Lakehouse program.
• KPMG accepts applications for internships and jobs on a rolling basis, but you can only apply for one role at a time.
• There are numerous pre-internship opportunities to help you decide if working at KPMG is right for you.
• KPMG has unique benefits and incentives for early-career employees.

Image credit: ricochet69 / Depositphotos.com

Rachel Pelta contributed to this article