KPMG is a global organization of professional services firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. KPMG is the brand under which the member firms of KPMG International Limited (“KPMG International”) operate and provide professional services.
Each firm is a separate legal entity and together they form the KPMG global organization. “KPMG” is used to refer to individual member firms within the KPMG organization or to one or more member firms collectively.
In many parts of the world, regulated businesses (such as audit and legal firms) are required by law to be locally owned and independent.
KPMG member firms do not, and cannot, operate as a corporate multinational. KPMG member firms are generally locally owned and managed. Each KPMG member firm is responsible for its own obligations and liabilities.
KPMG International acts as the coordinating entity for the overall benefit of the KPMG organization. It facilitates audit quality across the organization by establishing common policies, processes and standards to be applied across member firms.
KPMG International’s governance bodies are comprised of the Global Council, the Global Board (including its Committees), the Global Management Team and the Global Steering Groups. Further detail on each of these is set out below.
KPMG International structure and governance
As set out above, as of 1 October 2024, the KPMG International Governance Bodies and their functions are as follows:
The Global Council focuses on high-level governance tasks and provides a forum for open discussion and communication among member firms.
Among other things, the Global Council elects the Global Chairman and approves the appointment of Global Board members. It includes representation from 52 KPMG firms.
The Global Board is the principal governance and oversight body of KPMG International. The key responsibilities of the Global Board include; approving strategy, protecting and enhancing the KPMG brand and reputation, overseeing the Global Management Team, and approving policies and regulations. It also approves the admittance or termination of KPMG firms to/ from the global organization.
It is led by the Global Chairman, Bill Thomas, who is supported by the Executive Committee, consisting of the Global Chairman, the Chairman of each of the three regions and a number of other member firm Senior Partners. The list of Global Board members, as at 1 October 2020 is set out at our leadership page.
One Global Board member is elected as the lead director by those Global Board members who are not the Global Chairman, Global Deputy Chairman or members of the Executive Committee of the Global Board. A key role of the lead director is to act as the liaison between those board members who are not members of the Executive Committee of the Global Board and the Global Chairman with respect to issues raised during Executive Sessions of the Global Board.
The Global Board is supported in its oversight and governance responsibilities by several committees, including:
The overarching responsibility of the Global Audit Quality Committee is to strive for globally consistent audit quality across all firms and to oversee those KPMG International activities that relate to improving and maintaining the consistency and quality of audits, assurance engagements and the system of quality management provided by KPMG firms. The Global Head of Audit and the Global Head of Audit Quality provide regular reports to the Global Audit Quality Committee.
The Global Board has delegated certain responsibilities to the Global Management Team (GMT). These responsibilities include developing the global strategy by working together with the Executive Committee, and jointly recommending the global strategy to the Global Board for its approval and overseeing the activities of the Global Steering Groups. The GMT also supports KPMG firms in their execution of the global strategy and KPMG International policies by member firms.
The list of GMT members is available on the Leadership page of kpmg.com.
The Global Steering Groups represent the function and infrastructure groups of KPMG International and are the main driving groups of the organization’s governance. They act under delegated authority from the Global Board and oversight by the Global Management Team. Under the oversight of the GMT, they promote the execution of the global strategy and compliance with KPMG International decisions and policies by member firms. In particular the Global Audit Steering Group, Global Audit Quality Steering Committee and Global Quality & Risk Management Steering Group work closely with regional and member firm leadership to:
The GASG is responsible for driving the member firms’ implementation of KPMG’s audit strategy, including standards of audit quality. The GASG works closely with the GQRMSG in relation to quality and risk matters related to audit.
The GASG is chaired by the Global Head of Audit, and includes the Heads of Audit from 10 of the largest KPMG firms, the Regional Heads of Audit, the Chief Operating Officer for Global Audit and the Global Audit Quality & Risk Management Partner.
The GQRMSG is chaired by the Global Head of Quality, Risk & Regulatory, and its other members are the Risk Management Partners from the eight largest KPMG firms, and the Risk Management Partners for each of the three regions. The Global Head of Audit and the Global Head of Risk Management, Audit, are regular attendees.
The GQRMSG is responsible for setting quality and risk management policies and procedures for the global organization, and for providing associated guidance. When exercising its responsibilities, the GQRMSG considers, through the Quality Performance Review (QPR), the global KPMG Quality & Compliance Evaluation (KQCE) program, and Global Quality & Compliance Reviews (GQCR) the following:
Throughout this webpage, “we”, “KPMG”, “us” and “our” refers to the global organization or to one or more of the member firms of KPMG International Limited (“KPMG International”), each of which is a separate legal entity.
