KPMG
File:KPMGintlogo.JPG | |
Company type | Swiss Cooperative |
---|---|
Industry | Professional services |
Founded | 1987; merger of Peat Marwick International and Klynveld Main Goerdeler |
Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands (Global) & New York, NY, U.S. (National) |
Key people | Tim Flynn, Chairman & CEO
John B. Harrison, Chairman KPMG Asia Pacific Region Ben van der Veer, Chairman KPMG Europe, Middle East and Africa Region |
Services | Audit Tax Financial Advisory |
Revenue | $19.8 billion USD (2007) |
Number of employees | 123,000+ |
Website | www.kpmg.com |
KPMG is one of the largest professional services firms in the world. KPMG employs over 123,000 people[1] in a global network of member firms spanning over 145 countries[2]. Composite revenues of KPMG member firms in 2007 were $19.8 billion USD (17.4% growth from 2006)[1]. KPMG has three lines of services: audit services, tax services, and advisory services. KPMG is a Big Four auditor, alongside PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
Name
The name of the firm, KPMG, is not actually an initialism. However, the roots of the name stem from four partners in the firms that merged to form KPMG.
- K stands for Klynveld. This originates from the accounting firm Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co. founded by Piet Klynveld in Amsterdam in 1917.
- P is for Peat, originating from the accounting firm William Barclay Peat & Co., which was founded by William Barclay Peat in London in 1870.
- M stands for Marwick. James Marwick founded the accounting firm Marwick, Mitchell & Co. together with Roger Mitchell in New York City in 1897.
- G is for Goerdeler. Dr. Reinhard Goerdeler was for many years chairman of the German Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft (DTG) and later chairman of KPMG. He is credited with laying much of the groundwork for the KMG merger.
History
- In 1870, William Barclay Peat formed an accounting firm in London
- In 1877 accountancy firm Thomson McLintock opens in Glasgow
- In 1911, William Barclay Peat & Co. and Marwick Mitchell & Co. merged to form what would later be known as Peat Marwick International (PMI).
- In 1979, Thomson McLintock forms KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler) a grouping of independent national practices to create a strong European-based international firm.
- In 1987 Thomson McLintock/KMG and Peat Marwick joined forces in the first mega-merger of large accounting firms and formed KPMG.
- In 1997, KPMG and Ernst & Young announced that they were to merge, in a manoeuvre largely seen as a spoiling tactic over the merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand. However that merger, to form PricewaterhouseCoopers, was granted regulatory approval while the KPMG/Ernst & Young tie-up was later abandoned.
- In 2001, KPMG divested its U.S. consulting firm through an IPO of KPMG Consulting Inc, which is now called BearingPoint, Inc..
- In 2002, the UK and Dutch consulting arms were sold to Atos Origin.
- In 2003, KPMG divested itself of its legal arm, Klegal.
- In 2005, the U.S. member firm admitted criminal wrongdoing in a multi-billion dollar tax shelter fraud.
- In October 2007, KPMG's member firms in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein merged to form KPMG Europe LLP. They now have joint Chairmen, John Griffith-Jones and Ralf Nonnenmacher.
Legal structure and executives
Each national KPMG firm is an independent legal entity and is a member of KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative registered in the Swiss Canton of Zug. KPMG International changed its legal structure from a Swiss Verein to a cooperative under Swiss law in 2003.[3]
KPMG International is led by:
- Timothy P. Flynn, Chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP (US), has led KPMG International since October 01 2007;
- Carlson Tong and John B. Harrison, Chairman-Asia Pacific Region, Partner of KPMG in China and Hong Kong;
- Timothy P. Flynn, Chairman-Americas Region, Chairman of KPMG in the United States;
- Ben van der Veer, Chairman-Europe, Middle East and Africa Region, Chairman of KPMG in the Netherlands.
Services
KPMG offers the following services lines:[4]
- Audit
- Tax
- Advisory
Audit: KPMG offers Services such as Statutory Audit, Audit related Services, and Financial Statement Audit
Tax: KPMG offers Business Tax services, and Personal Tax services.
Advisory: KPMG offers Transaction Services (M&A), Restructuring Services, IT Advisory, Financial Risk Management Services, Corporate Finance Services, Accounting Advisory Services, Business Performance Services, Forensics, and Internal Audit Services.
Audit clients
KPMG member firms serve as the independent auditors for a large number of major corporations:
- Consulting: Accenture, FTI Consulting, Gartner, Shaw Group
- Construction/Real Estate Lend Lease Corporation, AMEC, Carillion, KBR, Tishman Speyer, Jones Lang LaSalle, C.B. Ellis, Inland
- Energy: Devon Energy, Citgo, Halliburton, LUKoil, Murphy Oil, Occidental Petroleum, Petrobras, Reliant Energy, Sinopec, Husky, TransCanada Pipelines, Valero Energy Corporation
- Financial Services: AIB, Allianz, Bank of New York Mellon, American Express, Aon Corporation, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Börse, Dresdner Bank, First Republic Bank, Hang Seng Bank, HBOS, HSBC, International Bank of Commerce, Legg Mason, MassMutual Financial Group, Moody's, Munich Re, Nationwide Financial, Old Mutual, Postfinance, Salomon Smith Barney, Standard Chartered Bank, Travelers, Visa International, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, Oppenheimer Funds, Raymond James Financial, Prudential plc
- Government: St. Mary's University, Santa Clara University, University of Chicago, CPS Energy, City of San Antonio, State of Texas, State of Illinois, US Department of Homeland Security, US Department of Justice, US Department of Energy, US Department of Interior, State of New Jersey, Office of Personnel Management, US Department of Treasury
- Healthcare: Ansell, Caremark, Kaiser Foundation, Res-Care
- Industrial Products: BASF, BMHC, BMW, Cemex, DaimlerChrysler, General Electric, Honda, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Mitsubishi Electric, Navistar International, Siemens AG, Asahi Glass Co., Weyerhaeuser, Jabil Circuit
- Media: BBC, Bertelsmann, ITV, Metro International, National Geographic Society, NBC Universal, R. H. Donnelley, RealNetworks, Sony BMG, Wolters Kluwer
- Mining: BHP Billiton
- Pharmaceutical: Pfizer
- Retail & Consumer Products: Arla, Burger King, Cargill, Carlsberg, ConAgra Foods, Costco, CVS Pharmacy, Diageo, Federated Department Stores, Jack in the Box, J.C. Penney, General Mills, Hasbro, Heineken, Nestlé, Netflix, PepsiCo, Publix Super Markets, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Supervalu, The Hershey Company, The Home Depot, Maple Leaf Foods, Winn-Dixie, Yum! Brands, PGA Tour Superstore
- Technology: Apple Computer, Applied Materials, Beckman Coulter, Boston Scientific, Carl Zeiss AG, CA Inc., Cerner, CNET Networks, Dolby Laboratories, Electronic Arts, EDS, Ericsson, LG Group, Motorola, National Semiconductor, WebEx, Nortel, Philips, Samsung, Sanmina-SCI, Siemens, Symantec, TiVO, VeriSign
- Telecoms: Cable & Wireless, CenturyTel, China Mobile, Citizens Communications, Embarq, PCCW, Rogers Communications, SprintNextel, Qwest, Cablevision
- Travel and Transportation: Alaska Airlines, Amtrak, Brink's, Cathay Pacific, easyJet, EWS, Norfolk Southern Railway, Ryanair, US Airways, WestJet, Qantas, Frontier Airlines
Tax shelter fraud
In early 2005, the United States member firm, KPMG LLP, was accused by the United States Department of Justice of fraud in marketing abusive tax shelters. KPMG LLP admitted criminal wrongdoing in creating fraudulent tax shelters to help wealthy clients avoid $2.5 billion in taxes and agreed to pay $456 million in penalties in exchange for a deferred prosecution agreement. KPMG LLP would not face criminal prosecution if it complied with the terms of its agreement with the government. On January 3, 2007, the criminal conspiracy charges against KPMG were dropped.[5] However, Federal Attorney Michael J. Garcia stated that the charges could be reinstated if KPMG does not continue to submit to continued monitorship through September 2008.[6]
Before the settlement, the firm, on the advice of its counsel Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, removed several tax partners and admitted "unlawful conduct" by those partners. The firm agreed to cooperate with DOJ's investigation and help prosecute former partners who had devised and sold the tax shelters. Additionally, the firm hired former U.S. district judge Sven Erik Holmes to monitor its legal and regulatory affairs.
Staff
KPMG is one of the top 10 companies for working mothers.[7] It is also ranked 71 on Fortune Magazine's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, voted for by employees.[8]
Training
KPMG ranks 5th out of 125 among companies with the best training programs according to "Training Magazine".
Corporate Anthem and Internet Cliche
The firm has also achieved widespread notoriety for its corporate anthem, entitled "Our Vision of Global Strategy". The song has enjoyed cult status online.[9]
Notable current and former employees
Business
- Margaret Jackson - chairman of QANTAS (2000-2007)
- Syd Kessler - entrepreneur
- Michael O'Leary - CEO of Ryanair (1994-present)
- Zarin Patel - CFO of the BBC
- Colin Sharman, Baron Sharman - chairman of Aviva (2006-present)
- Sir Michael Rake - Chairman OF BT (2007- present)
Politics and public service
- Steve Bracks - Premier of Victoria, Australia (1999-2007)
- Jerry Finnell - Mayor of Del Mar, California (2004-present)
- Nick Gibb - Member of the British Parliament (1997-present)
- Mark Harper - Member of the British Parliament (2005-present)
- Toby Harris, Baron Harris of Haringey - member of the London Assembly (2000-04); chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority (2000-04)
- Michael Hirst - Member of the British Parliament (1983-87)
- Edmund Ho - Chief Executive of Macau (1999-present)
- Hilbrand Nawijn - Dutch Minister for Integration (2002-2003)
- Kevin Rudd - Australian Prime Minister (2007-present)
- Rita Verdonk - Dutch Minister for Integration and Immigration (2003–2007)
Other
- Leslie Ferrar - Treasurer to Charles, Prince of Wales
- Amr Khaled - Extremely popular moderate Muslim preacher.
- Bruce Marshall - Writer
- Michael Peat - Principal Private Secretary to Charles, Prince of Wales
- Nate Silver - Managing Partner of Baseball Prospectus, creator of PECOTA baseball projection system.[10]
- Paul Tisdale - Former football player
- Johan van der Walt - Forensic auditor
- Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko - wife of Viktor Yushchenko, current President of Ukraine
References
- ^ a b KPMG revenues grow 17.4%
- ^ About KPMG
- ^ Handelsregister des Kantons Zug (Registration Number CH-020.6.900.276-5), http://hrazg.ch/
- ^ KPMG Global Services
- ^ Charge Against KPMG Dropped Carrie Johnson, January 4, 2007, Washington Post
- ^ Prosecutors end tax-shelter case against KPMG, dropping charge after settlement January 3, 2007, International Herald Tribune
- ^ Working Mother
- ^ Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For
- ^ IT anthems: KPMG
- ^ 'Tis the season to project stats Jonah Keri, February 14, 2007, ESPN
External links
- Offical international website
- KPMG Anthem
- KPMG Insiders news service
- http://ilovebig4.com/category/kpmg/ - latest news, interesting facts and other staff about KPMG