Editors’ Note

Lynne Doughtie joined KPMG’s Audit practice in 1985 and went on to serve in a number of national, regional, and global leadership roles. In addition to her current U.S. leadership role, she serves on KPMG’s Global Board and Executive Committee. Doughtie previously served as Vice Chair of KPMG’s Advisory business and steered it on a path of tremendous growth that has established it as the U.S. firm’s fastest-growing business. She is a Governing Board member for the Center for Audit Quality and also serves as a board member for NAF, LUNGevity Foundation, and the Partnership for New York City. Doughtie has received numerous recognitions, including being named one of FORTUNE’s Most Powerful Women.

Firm Brief

KPMG (kpmg.com/us) is one of the world’s leading professional services firms, providing innovative business solutions and audit, tax, and advisory services to many of the world’s largest and most prestigious organizations. KPMG is widely recognized for being a great place to work and build a career.

How do you describe the KPMG culture and how critical is culture to the strength of the firm?

What sets KPMG apart is our inclusive, purpose-driven culture. It ensures that all employees contribute and celebrates the positive impact of the work we do.

Inclusion better positions our firm to adapt, grow, and thrive in today’s complex and fast-changing business environment. Innovation stems from collaboration and the sharing of unique ideas and different perspectives, and data supports the theory that diverse workforces outperform their homogenous counterparts. Different perspectives, experiences, and insights improve decision-making and ultimately lead to superior performance. That’s especially true today, where increased competition and unprecedented disruption are the new norm and where the need for fresh ideas and even reinvention are daily challenges.

At KPMG, we’ve learned that having purpose inspires people to achieve even higher levels of performance and engagement. In our surveys, we have found that employees whose leaders talk about their own purpose are 50 percent more likely to describe KPMG as a great place to work and three times less likely to consider changing jobs.

How is KPMG investing in its people and ensuring it has the right talent?

We’re passionate about developing our people and creating growth opportunities for them. In May, we broke ground on a state-of-the-art learning, development, and innovation facility to further enhance the world-class training capabilities we offer our partners and professionals.

Located in Orlando, Florida, this facility represents the largest capital investment in our firm’s history and will ensure our people continue to have access to leading-edge learning and development opportunities to enrich themselves, stay connected to our inclusive, innovative culture, and remain equipped to deliver the highest quality in this fast-changing marketplace. Delivering a world-class training experience like this is also an investment in our ability to attract and retain the best talent.

We also are rolling out groundbreaking programs to develop the talent we need. For example, we recently expanded our KPMG Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics Program. Through this program, we’re working with leading business schools to create a bold new approach to learning, integrating traditional accounting and auditing courses with the real world application of technologies and advanced data and analytics capabilities to develop our future auditors.

You’ve made innovation a priority at KPMG. What are some new developments?

Our clients – and our firm – continue to face extraordinary disruption and market transformation, so we need to constantly innovate. At KPMG, “Innovation at Our Core” is a strategic imperative, fostering a culture that values risk-taking, embraces experimentation, and considers failure an inevitable part of testing new and bold ideas.

We continue to make significant investments to ensure our firm remains a leader in areas like digital transformation, which includes components such as intelligent automation technology, data and analytics, and cybersecurity. Analyst firms are recognizing KPMG’s innovative capabilities, with Forrester ranking KPMG as a leader in data and analytics and IDC ranking KPMG a leader in digital transformation.

To inspire innovative and fresh thinking, we opened KPMG Ignition locations in San Francisco, Atlanta, and New York City this year. The distinct capabilities of these innovative workspaces, as well as KPMG’s state-of-the-art technology and the diverse skills and experiences of our teams, is changing the way our firm helps clients solve their most complex business challenges.

We have also created a Sensory Advantage Ecosystem, a team that is dedicated specifically to detecting weak signals in the market and understanding emerging trends, and translating signals into action. Insights from this team fuel client conversations on emerging disruptions and shape our firm’s strategic decisions, such as informing and prioritizing our investments in new services and technologies.

How has KPMG broadened its service capabilities to address today’s needs of clients?

In today’s environment, the pace of change requires businesses to forge new partnerships and relationships so that we can build much faster and get access to new ideas and talent. We’re creating a broad ecosystem of networks, alliances, and partnerships to accelerate the pace of innovation and extend our portfolio of audit, tax, and advisory services for our clients. The investments we’re making in innovation will enhance the quality of our audits.

KPMG is also known for its commitment to communities and society. Would you discuss how this commitment is embedded in the values of the firm?

Corporate citizenship is a concrete demonstration of how we live our values. As we work to ensure our clients’ success, we’re also committed to making a tangible difference in our local communities and society at large.

I am especially proud of KPMG’s commitment to lifelong learning, in which we support students at all grade levels and professionals throughout their careers in reaching their full potential. Our financial investments and volunteer focus help advance learning from preschool through college, to the working world. Investing in education and lifelong learning is one of the most important catalysts for addressing pervasive issues such as poverty and unemployment. They’re interconnected, and education can break the cycle.

Our culture is one in which we support and care for our talented people. We encourage them to channel their diverse backgrounds, experiences, expert opinions, and passions into serving the causes that matter most to our communities.•