Purpose
This report provides an overview of KPMG N.V.’s business, strategy and performance. It explains how KPMG N.V., over time, creates value for its stakeholders both as an employer and as a provider of professional services. This report has been written for all KPMG N.V. stakeholders (including employees, the firm’s partners, clients, policymakers, regulators, suppliers and other business partners etc.).
Scope
This report covers KPMG N.V. and its subsidiaries. KPMG Meijburg & Co. is a separate KPMG member firm, and is therefore not included in the scope of this report, unless otherwise stated. Contents relate to KPMG N.V.’s 2020/2021 financial year, which runs from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2021.
Content
Content is based on extensive internal reporting. Where external sources are used, this is indicated clearly in the text. Content focuses on issues material to KPMG N.V. and its stakeholders, based on the outcome of the firm’s annual materiality assessment. Our reporting process is overseen by a project team, led by our Corporate Affairs department. All content is reviewed by the firm’s Board of Management and Supervisory Board prior to publication. Except for the Financial Statements, figures used in the report are rounded to the nearest million or billion; in some cases, rounded figures are used to calculate percentages.
Financial information
Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as adopted by the European Union, and with Section 2:362 (9) of the Dutch Civil Code. All financial performance data is presented in euros (EUR), the firm’s functional currency. For more information, see Note 2 to the consolidated Financial Statements (Basis of preparation).
Non-financial information
This report complies with the Core option of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). A GRI content index is available separately on this website via 'Downloads'. In compiling the report, KPMG N.V. also takes into account other non-financial reporting frameworks, including the Integrated Reporting Framework, published by the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF)[1]. Throughout the report, all numbers per FTE are based on average FTE for the year as a whole, unless stated otherwise.
External assurance
External assurance for this report was provided by BDO Audit & Assurance B.V. See the independent auditor’s report. KPMG N.V. works closely with its external auditor to strengthen its reporting, and improve internal data collection and verification processes.
For this report, BDO Audit & Assurance B.V. provided reasonable assurance on the following indicators:
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CO2 emissions table (see table CO2 emissions)
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Total number of employees (FTEs) (see section Organisational structure)
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Percentage of employee engagement (see section People)
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Client satisfaction and Net Promoter Score (NPS) (see section Clients)
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Quality Performance Reviews (QPRs) (see section Public trust)
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Number of engagement quality controls reviews (EQCRs) (see section Performance of effective and efficient audits)
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Community donations (see section Giving back)
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Number of statutory audits conducted for (non) public interest entities (PIEs) (see section Organisational structure)
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PIE entity listings (see Appendix - List of public interest entity clients)
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Average absentee rate (average during the year) (see section Measuring employee engagement)
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Following audit quality indicators: 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6a, 7, 8, 11a, 11b, 12a and 12b. As explained in section Audit Quality Indicators.
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Please note that BDO Audit & Assurance B.V. provided assurance on the PDF version of this report.
Materiality assessment
Our materiality assessment is conducted each year to identify our material topics; The table below compares results from our 2019/2020 assessment with the current year:
Material topics 2019/2020 | Equivalent 2020/2021 |
Integrity & independence | Integrity & independence (unchanged) |
Quality & transparency | Quality & transparency (unchanged) |
Societal impact | Societal impact (unchanged) |
Regulatory environment | Regulatory change |
Employee engagement | Included under ‘Being a good employer’ |
Diversity & inclusion | Inclusion & diversity |
Best development experience | Included under ‘Being a good employer’ |
Succession planning | Included under ‘Being a good employer’ |
Strong culture | Included under ‘Being a good employer’ and Quality & transparency |
Client satisfaction | Client satisfaction (unchanged) |
Vision & thought leadership | Vision & thought leadership (unchanged) |
Strong & trustworthy brand | Included under ‘Public trust’ |
Innovation & new insights | Innovation |
Partnerships & alliances | Partnerships & alliances (unchanged) |
Digital transformation of organisation | Included under ‘Innovation’ |
Sustainable profit | Sustainable profit (unchanged) |
Operational excellence | Included under ‘Sustainable profit’ |
Note on availability of resources and inputs
Our business relies on certain resources being available – these are detailed in our value creation model. Inevitably, changes to our business environment may affect the availability of these resources. We see the principal risks in this respect as follows:
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A shortage of key skills in certain areas leading to loss of business (including digital, data management, availability of trained accountants, staff turnover in our ‘Deals’ department etc.)
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Continued disruption to clients as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and /or withdrawal of government financial support for certain sectors
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Continued risk of cyber attacks, with increased remote working and online communications with clients
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‘Change risk’ with the emergence of new ways of working and increased digital communications with clients and other business partners.
For further information, see strategic risks & controls.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Through our businesses, we contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); these contributions are shown in our value creation model. The table below maps our SDG contributions to our five strategic focus areas:
SDG | Underlying SDG target | Our contribution | Relevant strategic focus area |
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SDG3: Good health & well-being | Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all (3.8) | Technical support / advice for the roll-out of the Dutch Covid-19 vaccination programme and creation of national Covid-19 dashboard | |
Internal policies to support good health and well-being in the workplace | |||
SDG4: Quality education | By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university (4.3) | KPMG Jan Hommen Scholarship to provide financial support to students at vocational colleges in the Netherlands Support for the Refugee Talent Hub, which offers training to refugees with financial or IT skills. | |
SDG5: Gender equality | End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere (5.1) | KPMG policies and initiatives to eliminate discrimination in the workplace and support greater gender diversity | |
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life (5.5) | |||
SDG7: Affordable and clean energy | By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (7.2) | Increase in use of renewable energy as part of a wider programme to reduce the firm’s CO2 emissions | |
SDG8: Decent work and economic growth | Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors (8.2) | Support for KPMG clients through advisory business to digitalise systems processes, and introduce new technologies | |
Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth per annum in the least developed countries (8.1) | Support for economic growth by helping clients take opportunities to expand their business operations | ||
SDG10: Reduce inequalities | By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status (10.2) | KPMG policies and initiatives to eliminate discrimination in the workplace and support greater diversity | |
Improve the regulation and monitoring of global financial markets and institutions and strengthen the implementation of such regulations (10.5) | Improving confidence of financial markets in company reporting and disclosures through independent audits | ||
SDG12: Responsible consumption and production | By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources (12.2) | Increase in use of renewable energy as part of a wider programme to reduce the firm’s CO2 emissions | |
Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle (12.6) | Advising clients on strategies to reduce climate impact and transition to more responsible, low-carbon business models | ||
SDG13: Climate action | Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries (13.1) | Advising clients on strategies to strengthen resilience to climate change and natural disasters |
For more information on the SDGs, please see: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Development and use of KPIs
As part of our reporting, we identified a number of key performance indicators (KPIs) for each of our five strategic focus areas; details of our performance against these KPIs are included elsewhere in this report.
Strategic focus area | Chosen KPI | Performance 2020/2021 | Performance 2019/2020 | Reference |
Public trust |
| 84% | 78% | |
| 98% | 99% | ||
| 8% | 9% | ||
| USD 12.2 billion | USD 14.8 billion | ||
People |
| 83% | 80% | |
| 83% | 86% | ||
| 19.2% | 18.6% | ||
Clients |
| 96% | 94% | |
| 46% | 46% | ||
Digital & innovation |
| EUR 15 million | EUR 18 million | |
Financial strength |
| 8% | 3% | |
| EUR 111 million | EUR 62 million | ||
| EUR 28 million | EUR 36 million |
- 1 The VRF was created in June 2021 with the merger of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).