KPMG plans dozens of partnership mergers in major global overhaul

KPMG is set to merge dozens of its national affiliates in a bid to boost growth and prevent audit scandals, according to the Financial Times (FT).

The restructuring aims to reduce the number of economic units from over 100 to as few as 32 by next year, and is expected to be completed by the end of global chairman Bill Thomas’s term in September 2026.

The FT stated that the move marks a new milestone in the partnership’s ‘clustering’ strategy, which has been a focus for the past two years.

The group’s clustering strategy already saw the merging of several units in the Middle East and Africa. Last year KPMG UK also voted to merge with KPMG’s Swiss business.

KPMG, like other Big Four firms, operates as a network of locally-owned partnerships to comply with local auditing regulations and protect partners from liability. 

However, the FT has learnt that as consulting firms increasingly rely on technology investments, KPMG has raised concerns that smaller units “cannot balance these costs with the compliance demands required for audit quality”. 

As a result, executives have stated that firms failing to meet a US$300m (£232.03m) threshold will no longer qualify as full network members, and any mergers will result in profit pools being shared across the involved countries.

Gary Wingrove, KPMG International’s chief operating officer, told the FT: “The fewer business units you have, the easier it is to do business globally.” 

Accountancy Today has contacted KPMG for comment.