Our Audit professionals continue to sharpen their data and technology skills, spending nearly 80,000 hours learning in FY24. Our programs are aligned to our audit strategy and provide both deep dive trainings and on-demand, micro-learnings with customization so people can own their careers.
Industries are rapidly evolving, converging and disrupting. In FY24, our auditors spent 26,000+ hours on industry-focused learning, including audit and accounting issues, risk assessment standardization, and new technology routines.
We continued to expand our curriculum for new hires, doubling learning hours in FY23. In FY24, we sustained that effort, in part, by continuing to evolve our mock audits where our new hires act as the auditor and a company’s management team to learn how to deliver a better audit experience.
We are reimagining how audits are conducted to enhance audit quality, pulling work forward against milestones throughout the year. Compared to 2020, during the traditional busy season, the avg. weekly hours worked on audit engagements declined 18%.
The CPA shortage impacts our economy and our capital markets. The role of technology makes hands-on experience more valuable, creating an opportunity for alternative pathways that emphasize experience and reduce the financial cost of becoming a CPA.
Welcome to our 2024 Audit Quality and Transparency Reports. In the coming weeks and months, we will do a deeper dive into highlights from these reports and provide ongoing updates to our actions and activities to assure our audits are executed consistently within a strong system of quality controls and in line with the professional standards requirements all to promote audit quality every day.
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Paul Knopp
Chair and CEO, KPMG US
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Vice Chair — Audit,
KPMG US
Scott Flynn
Explore the numbers
See how...
Quality comes to life through our people
26,000+
130+
18%
1st
We take a holistic approach to measuring audit quality, including evaluating our PCAOB inspection results, restatement trends, milestone efforts, resourcing, utilization, learning and development, and use of technology. Our rate of material restatement in recent years has been the lowest in the Big 4.
>99.7% of audits without a material restatement
We are focused on looking across our firm to tap people with specialized skills at the right time to deliver quality audits and deeper insights. Last year, Audit, Tax, and Advisory professionals with specialized skills dedicated more than 2.3 million hours to our audits, up 10% relative to FY21.
2.3M+ audit hours of specialized skills across Audit, Tax, and Advisory
This multi-year practice-wide effort and investment has fundamentally changed the audit lifecycle. Partners and professionals within our engagement teams, centralized services, and our national office collaborate to conduct more work earlier in the audit cycle, creating capacity for more extensive pre-issuance reviews.
100% of all public audits will undergo increasingly expansive pre-issuance reviews
We expect our 2024 PCAOB Inspection Report, covering 2023 audits, to show a 20% Part 1.A deficiency rate, our lowest since 2009. This milestone builds on a multi-year trend in which KPMG deficiency rates remained mostly flat, while the profession's average rose to 46%.
20% is our expected 2024 deficiency rate, our lowest since 2009
2.3M+
100%
20%
Our system of quality control sustainably enhances quality
>99.7%
In recent years, audit professionals conducted 40,000+ hours of AI training, including ethics.
40,000+ hours of learning and development related to AI
Our hunger for innovation is best illustrated by our Tech Stars program. Our auditors earn stars for investing in their personal career development, anchored in demonstrating their increasing expertise to infuse your audit with fit-for-purpose technology. By the end of FY24, 23,101 Tech Stars were awarded to more than 3,600 people.
23,000+ tech stars awarded
AI will completely transform the audit. We announced a $2B+ global investment in our expanded alliance with Microsoft to embed AI throughout our business. This investment is one of many initiatives to embed AI in everything we do.
$2B+ invested in embedding AI across our firm
Our Trusted AI approach emphasizes AI in the audit with a human in-the-loop mindset. By the end of FY24, Audit professionals completed 77,000+ learning assets on AI, ranging from bitesized micro-learnings to robust learning pathways.
77,000 AI-learning assets completed by Audit professionals in FY24
KPMG professionals have engaged in 1.7M conversations with KPMG Audit Chat, our proprietary generative AI tool built on Azure OpenAI service, further enabling our auditors to focus on the areas of highest risk.
1.7M conversations by Audit professionals with KPMG Audit Chat
23,000+
40,000+
77,000
$2B+
Our suite of technology meets you on your IT journey for a data-driven audit
1.7M
The foundations of quality
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Meeting stakeholder expectations through continuous improvement, quality management and ...
Insight
Auditing in an Era of Compound Volatility
At KPMG, a better audit experience starts with the recognition that to execute ...
Delivering an Innovative and Reliable Audit in an Age of Disruption
Insight
Wendy Lewis
In 2023, Wendy Lewis, Audit Partner, became the first Black woman to serve as chair of the Virginia Board of Accountancy. She aims to open doors to the CPA profession for people from diverse backgrounds and lead the board through the evolution of the accounting profession. Congrats, Wendy!
KPMG. Make the Difference.
STATISTICS
Businesses today are increasingly navigating compound volatility – the combination of greater disruption and long-term structural changes taking shape across industries, geographies, technology, regulations, and society.
The era of compound volatility
The 2024 KPMG U.S. CEO Outlook
STATISTICS
CEO confidence in the growth prospects for their company (78%) is lower than their confidence in the U.S. economy (85%).
78%
of U.S. CEOs are unsure if their organization's cybersecurity can keep pace with rapid AI advancements.
37%
Audit Quality Report
Transparency Reports
80,000
1st Big 4 firm to publicly advocate for alternative CPA pathways
18% reduction in avg. weekly hours on audits during the busy season since 2020
130+ hours of learning & development per new hire
26,000+ hours on industry-focused learning
80,000 hours learning on data and technology in FY24
hours learning on data and technology in FY24
hours on industry-focused learning
hours of learning & development per new hire
reduction avg. weekly hours on audits in busy season since '20
Big 4 firm to publicly support alternative CPA pathways
our expected 2024 PCAOB Inspection Report deficiency rate, our lowest rate since 2009
public audits will undergo increasingly expansive pre-issuance reviews
audit hours of specialized skills across Audit, Tax, and Advisory
of audits without a material restatement
conversations by Audit professionals with KPMG Audit Chat
AI-learning assets completed by Audit professionals in FY24
invested in embedding AI across our firm
Tech Stars awarded
hours of learning and development related to AI
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of U.S. CEOs are unsure if they will be able to secure the talent and solutions they need to defend against AI threat.
41%
of U.S. CEOs are increasing their investments in cybersecurity to protect their operations and IP from AI threats.
69%
STATISTICS
Learning assets are available on-demand in KPMG Clara
110+
of U.S. CEOs say GenAI is a top investment priority despite uncertain economic conditions
68%
STATISTICS
STATISTICS
The use of AI in the finance function has reached its highest levels yet, with 62% of finance leaders at US companies report using AI to a moderate or large degree, 58% piloting or deploying generative AI (GenAI) and 52% using AI specifically in financial reporting.
Generative AI is transforming financial reporting
STATISTICS
KPMG. Make the Difference.
In 2023, as part of a first-place win in the In Pursuit of Health Equity Hackathon, Audit senior associate Alanna Pundsack leveraged firm-enabled technologies for her winning project: creating tailored data sets that crystallized healthcare access gaps in cities across the U.S.
Alanna Pundsack
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KPMG LLP announces the integration of generative ...
KPMG Announces AI Integration into Global Smart Audit Platform, KPMG Clara
News
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AI is transforming the landscape of financial reporting and KPMG is transforming the audit ...
Transforming the Audit Experience with AI
Insight
Technology
Your audit is streamlined and enhanced with technology, powering the use of data and automation to deliver real-time visibility into progress, audit insights, and sustained quality.
Fit-for-purpose technical capabilities — in the hands of our highly-skilled people
A risk-based data-driven approach that anticipates what’s next and uncovers efficiencies across the audit process. You can focus on your business while we focus on delivering quality and insights.
A better audit experience starts with a different approach
Approach
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US survey results – Financial reporting leaders’ AI expectations for their ...
AI in financial reporting and audit: Navigating the new era
Insight
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Opportunities, Risks, and Investments Trends to Enhance Trust through Technology.
Navigating the AI Era In Financial Reporting
News
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The future audit might be enabled by AI, but quality outcomes will always be powered by our people.
AI-Enabled & Human-Powered
Insight
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The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the clearest images yet of galaxies hundreds ...
What is a data-driven audit?
Insight
We integrated AI capabilities directly into KPMG Clara, our global smart audit platform. KPMG Clara with AI interacts directly with audit engagement documentation and our audit methodology for both public and private companies, further enabling our people to focus on areas of highest risk.
Driving speed to insights
STATISTICS
KPMG. Make the Difference.
Yelena, an Audit senior manager and mental health advocate, supports her peers through structured check-ins. Leveraging her certification in NeuroIntegration training, she promotes effective stress management and emotional health.
Yelena Kovalenko
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The people you work with can make all the difference, not only in your day, but also in your career and in ...
Empowering Our People Promotes Audit Quality
Insight
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KPMG is proud to provide opportunities and enable progress needed to build a skilled and diverse ...
Breaking down barriers to the CPA
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To continue thriving and succeeding together, and to continue producing a high- ...
Health and Well-being: Providing for the Needs of Our People
Insight
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By championing mindful ambition, we help support our people’s mental health and well-being.
Mental Health is Health
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KPMG’s Commitment to Audit Quality and Well-being.
Creating a Thriving Work Environment
Insight
Your auditors understand your industry and business, and bring diverse perspectives to deliver an exceptional audit experience. They are empowered through our culture, learning and development programs and technology investments to be Next Gen Auditors — a talented, diverse group of professionals.
Auditors fluent in technology, expert in your industry
People
Insight
Insight
KPMG. Make the Difference.
Amanda penned a byline in the Pennsylvania CPA Journal emphasizing resilience, self-reflection and optimism in career development. Beyond her writing, Amanda’s commitment to well-being through programs like Live Well challenges and Thrive, Engage, GROW (TEG) Talks.
Amanda Serafin
KPMG. Make the Difference.
In 2023, Abby Rawls, Audit Associate, lead her local office through a Mental Health Seminar. Her efforts led to open and honest conversations among team members and inspired Mindful Mondays, a series of one-hour sessions that create a safe environment to discuss wellbeing. Thank you, Abby!
Abby Rawls
of people did not work weekend hours during the traditional busy season in 2024, up from 20% in 2020.
40%
STATISTICS
In Audit, we reimagined how we approach an audit, pulling work forward to reduce hours in busy season, which enhances audit quality. This effort also proactively addresses burnout risks giving our people the ability to sustain their energy levels and invest in their future.
Reimagining the audit to support our people
KPMG. Make the Difference.
Ed Moran, Audit Managing Director, and David Fisher, Audit Associate Director, co-led the Audit Industrial Manufacturing AI session at KPMG Lakehouse to show how AI can identify cases that would most impact the audit. 95% of attendees left with more confidence in discussing AI with their clients.
Ed Moran and David Fisher
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From top-down to bottom-up, quality is embedded in everything we do, and as ...
Embedding Quality and Continuous Improvement throughout the Audit
Insight
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Standardizing, centralizing and automating key areas of the audit to drive consistency across our ...
Strengthening Audit Quality
Insight
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The Independent Audit ...
KPMG US Announces Formation of Independent Audit Quality Advisory Committee to Build on the Success of Quality Initiatives
We are continuing to move beyond compliance-only auditing, investing in an iterative, data-driven and collaborative process to continually measure, improve and lock in quality-sustaining actions.
The relentless focus on enhanced quality — not just compliance
Quality
News
KPMG. Make the Difference.
Every year, KPMG celebrates its Elijah Watt Sells Award winners, who obtain a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all sections of the CPA exam. Victoria Saravia Bazoberry, Audit Senior Associate, was one of 50 winners in 2022 and represents the bright future of our audit practice.
Victoria Saravia Bazoberry
KPMG. Make the Difference.
Ashleigh White, Audit Managing Director received the 40 under 40 for Black Women in Asset Management in the Private Markets category. Ashleigh believes having mentors and allies is important for inclusion and for advancing the accounting profession Congrats, Ashleigh!
Ashleigh White
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Cloud, automation, digitalization, artificial and cognitive intelligence — these investments are ...
Digitization Trends and Audit Implications
Insight
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Evolving stakeholder expectations and the transformation of how and what we audit.
The Future of the Profession
Insight
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Accelerating ESG audit innovation to meet ever-evolving expectations from stakeholders.
The Future of ESG
Insight
Read more
Nearly 90% of leaders across US-based private companies and those who recently went public show strong ...
2024 Private Company Disruptors Survey
Your business is unique, facing different risks and opportunities across technology, disruption, and ESG trends. We bring diverse teams steeped in your sector, a culture of innovation, and continue to invest in future-focused capabilities and technologies to stay ahead of the curve.
Deep industry experience infused with Technology Assurance and ESG capabilities
Future of Audit
News
Related resources
KPMG Audit
Audit Quality Report
Transparency Reports