KPMG, the global accounting firm, is going to trim its audit team in the US by 330. That means just about four per cent of the 900-strong team will be let go.
A part of the Big Four, KPMG has offices in over 140 countries with a global workforce strength of over 2.73 lakh employees and partners.
According to The Wall Street Journal, having hired excess manpower during the pandemic, KPMG is now looking to address the low voluntary turnover. The cuts will primarily impact associates and managers, and not the partners. There have been many job cuts earlier in the US team with back-office staff and employees in the advisory and tax divisions being laid off.
With increased use of artificial intelligence, the number of auditors required by accounting firms such as KPMG may reduce in the long run. This is a cause of concern for auditing professionals who cannot deny that they are definitely also gaining in terms of opportunities to master new skills with their firms embracing AI.
Meanwhile, KPMG is focusing on growing its audit business in the US without compromising on quality. It is attempting an alignment of its workforce size and skills to the demands of the market while taking care of the low attrition.
Although KPMG is yet to report its global revenue for 2024, its global audit revenue increase six per cent, to $12.6 billion for the year ended 30 September, as opposed to the three per cent increase reported last year reports WSJ.
