KPMG and Microsoft ink US$12 billion AI deal

KPMG and Microsoft have signed a US$12 billion deal ($17.9 billion) expanding the two companies’ partnership to include AI solutions for its clients, industries and society for the next five years.

The consultancy giant said the deal between the two businesses will benefit its auditing, tax, advisory and ESG targets.

The Microsoft cloud and Azure OpenAI Service capabilities will be used by the KPMG global workforce of 265,000.

As an early access partner for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service, KPMG professionals will pilot the technologies with select business groups across the global organization, bringing together the increased capabilities of these tools with their experience, insights and sector expertise.

John Munnelly, chief digital officer at KPMG Australia told Digital Nation they hope this alliance will help bring together the technology Microsoft provides with KPMG’s skills and knowledge of business process and people management.

“This is a powerful combination that, we believe we are ‘better together’ for our clients, our people and the communities we serve,” he said.

Munnelly said many of the key AI investments will be made globally and then customised for local markets, to take account of different regulations and requirements.

“Two examples that are of particular interest to Australia are KPMG Clara (our audit solution) and Digital Gateway (our tax solution),” he said.

 “The Australian firm has also been one of the early adopters of the Microsoft Azure Open AI services (which powers KPMG KymChat).”

Munnelly said AI is hugely important – with new scenarios and new use cases being discovered every day.

“We see this moment as being an inflection point in time, one that will see AI being to truly impact our business. While recognising the increasingly pivotal role that AI will play, we also need to be conscious of taking a people-centered approach to this change,” he said.

Bill Thomas, global chairman and CEO, KPMG International said the company’s renewed and strengthened relationship with Microsoft is an “exciting moment”.

“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,” he said.

“It will also help make KPMG a more agile and resilient business that continues to be an interesting and exciting place to work.”

Thomas said KPMG believes AI is “key” to unlocking sustainable growth.

Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft, said, "We have a real opportunity to apply this next generation of AI to help transform every industry, including professional services.

“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."