Having taken up my role as Chair of KPMG N.V.’s Supervisory Board in June 2025, I am honored to share reflections on a year of good strategic progress and positive financial results, achieved despite ever-growing uncertainty in a tumultuous operating environment. While the credits for the firm’s strong performance belong to the Board of Management and KPMG’s people, the Supervisory Board takes pride in its role of safeguarding trust and ensuring long-term value for all stakeholders.
Developments at KPMG
Our foremost responsibility as Supervisory Board is to uphold trust and quality—the foundation of KPMG’s reputation. We closely monitored the execution of the Trust & Growth strategy, with particular attention to culture and the digital and AI transformations. Investments in responsible AI and ESG capabilities reflect our commitment to sustainable growth and ethical innovation. Achievements such as the EcoVadis Gold rating and expanded community initiatives underscore the firm’s broader societal impact.
The lifting of enhanced regulatory supervision by the AFM in September 2025 marked a significant milestone and I am confident that the Values First program, focused on clarity on integrity and courage to address, continues to shape culture and drive positive change throughout the organization. The Supervisory Board commends the firm and its people for their efforts in transforming KPMG’s culture. We urge all colleagues to continue focusing on the values needed to earn and maintain stakeholder trust.
This trust is particularly important at a time of rapid change. Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a major evolution – both in ways of working in Assurance, Advisory and Central Services, and also in the solutions the firm provides to clients who are themselves navigating the impact of new technologies. At the same time, KPMG and its clients are facing challenging and unpredictable business conditions, due to (geo)political developments and associated economic turmoil. This requires the firm to remain agile and resilient in the face of disruption, ensuring it can steer effectively around risk and toward opportunity.
It is therefore more important than ever that KPMG is able to attract and retain exceptional people, especially among the younger generations. The Supervisory Board supports the ongoing focus on leadership behaviors and on offering stimulating work, growth opportunities, and an enriching environment where people feel safe, included, and able to perform to their highest potential.
Amid disruption, KPMG is committed to standing side by side with clients, viewing challenges through their eyes. Beyond its traditional remit of providing incisive and actionable advice, the firm’s role today is to develop and implement tangible solutions. However, regardless of how the organization’s services and ways of working evolve, quality must remain constant. This is, after all, the foundation for fulfilling the firm’s primary role of increasing public trust in information, systems, and institutions and thereby making a positive difference in our society.
Developments in the Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board enjoyed open and rewarding cooperation with the firm’s Board of Management and its shareholder (the Board of Management of Coöperatie KPMG U.A.) during the year, as well as with the Works Council, Young Board Now, and KPMG International. We expect interactions with our global network to increase as KPMG N.V. continues to leverage centrally developed technology solutions. Externally, the Supervisory Board also engaged with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Bernard Wientjes for temporarily resuming the role of Chair between September 2023 and April 2025. Shortly after my own arrival in June, we welcomed Barbara Frohn to the Supervisory Board, strengthening our expertise in regulatory strategy and risk management.
Looking ahead
As we enter FY26, KPMG is well positioned to navigate disruption and pursue further growth. Their strategic focus on trust, quality, innovation, and people enables KPMG to continue in making a positive impact for clients, society, and its stakeholders. The Supervisory Board is confident in the organization’s ability to adapt, lead, and deliver excellence in a complex world.
We are grateful to the firm’s partners and employees for their dedication and enthusiasm throughout 2024/2025. Alongside the excellence and integrity that are firmly embedded in the organization’s work, these qualities will be essential to continuing the organization’s success in the new financial year and beyond.
Dirk Jan van den Berg
Chair of the Supervisory Board