Laura Hyde |
Professional services firm KPMG and Microsoft have expanded their partnership to use artificial intelligence and cloud technology to transform audit, tax and advisory services for both employees and customers.
Expanding their long-term partnership, KPMG and Microsoft plan to “supercharge the employee experience and accelerate innovation” for clients by putting AI at the forefront of professional services. The aim is to develop AI-powered solutions that will modernise the workforce and benefit clients, industries and wider society.
“We have a real opportunity to apply this next generation of AI to help transform every industry, including professional services,” said Satya Nadella, Microsoft chairman and CEO. “Our expanded partnership with KPMG will bring together AI innovation across the Microsoft Cloud with KPMG’s tax, audit and advisory expertise to empower its employees and unlock insights for its customers.”
KPMG will make a multibillion-dollar investment in Microsoft cloud and AI services over the next five years, which the corporations predict will help to unlock a potential growth opportunity of over $12 billion for KPMG.
“Our renewed and strengthened relationship with Microsoft is an exciting moment for our people and our clients,” said Bill Thomas, global chairman and CEO of KPMG International. “It will help harness the power of our multidisciplinary model by ensuring 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.”
KPMG’s 265,000-strong global workforce will have early access to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service capabilities. Employees will pilot the technologies to explore how they can improve workforce creativity, provide faster analysis and free up time to focus on delivering strategic advice to clients. It is hoped bringing together the increased capabilities of these tools with KPMG professionals’ experience, insights and sector expertise will enhance client engagements and accelerate digital solution development.
“This expansion of our global alliance builds on the combined power of two world-class organisations that share a common set of core values, working together to responsibly use cutting-edge cloud and AI technologies,” said Thomas. “KPMG is embracing the future, and we believe that AI is key to unlocking sustainable growth in a way that will build a better future for our people, our clients and society.”