Vault’s Verdict

Part of the prestigious Big 4, KPMG is ideally looking for accounting students with strong soft skills and an interest in technology and data analytics. The firm’s valuable internship program offers students hands-on real-life experience, along with excellent networking and learning opportunities. KPMG’s full-time staff have access to rotational opportunities to other internal groups and clear career progression paths with promotions and pay increases. There are also plenty of opportunities to take on additional responsibilities and learn ‘on the job,’ as well as many virtual trainings.

A healthy work/life balance can be achieved at KPMG. Although there are busy times of the year when you’ll have to work longer than 40-hour weeks (sometimes close to 60 hours), there are other times of the year when work is slower. Also, even during busy times, managers understand that staff have lives and commitments outside of work, offering a lot of schedule flexibility. In addition, PTO is generous, and when on vacation there is not an expectation to check email and stay connected. Meanwhile, salaries and benefits are competitive, with parental leave policies and the extensive wellness offerings receiving especially strong reviews.

Diversity and inclusion is a focus and strength of the firm, with insiders noting that a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, races, sexual identities, genders, and ages are all represented. With respect to the firm’s business outlook, KPMG is well positioned to continue to thrive as one of the Big 4 professional firms. Its employee morale is strong, and it’s been heavily investing in technology and data analytics solutions to automate many of its processes in its audit, tax, and advisory practices.

Hiring Process

“KPMG is shifting to a rolling interviews process and developing new strategies to be more effective in recruiting. They recruit across the country and use our Lakehouse as a signature pillar of the recruiting process. We collaborate with team members across the country on a regular basis, and it makes sense that our recruiting would reflect such.”

“When I was hired for an internship, which led to my full-time role, the firm had an on-campus hiring event. I had two 30-minute in-person interviews on the same day at my college and was called later that day saying that I was extended an offer. I believe the ideal candidate the firm is seeking is an accounting student who has demonstrated soft skills such as project management and an interest in technology/data analytics. The firm is calling this the ‘next gen auditor.’”

Interview Questions

“The interviewers asked me to walk them through my resume and why I wanted to work at the firm. They also asked why I wanted to study accounting and what intrigued me about the profession.”

Internship Experience

“I worked hands-on with a team on real audit work, and networking and building with that team all the way up to the partner was extremely helpful. The internship was challenging as I worked hands-on with a team in busy season.”

“A lot of intern events for networking with peers and with others in the firm. You get to do actual test work.”

“Hands-on experience doing actual associate-level work and working similar hours to the rest of the team. I had a very informative internship experience.”

“Networking and learning opportunities were the best aspects of the internship. Hours were the most challenging.”

Career Development

“There are many rotational opportunities to other internal groups in the firm and a clear career progression with promotions/pay increases. In audit, we are often very busy, which means less time for one-on-one mentorship and upskilling.”

“There is a lot of opportunity to take on additional responsibility and learn more during your time at the firm. Most of the learning is done ‘on the job’ rather than formalized learning, meaning that experience and competencies can vastly differ based on teams and managers.”

“As a new associate, I have ample opportunities to receive real-time feedback and mentoring. Likewise, I have been surprised by what a valued voice I am given in team discussions, allowing me to actively develop critical thinking and participative team skills. Opportunities outside my practice/engagement assignment don’t naturally present themselves, meaning there could be something that’s better suited to my interests but I may not know it.”

“There are still a lot of virtual trainings used post-Covid, which is good for flexibility but not the best learning environment. While it’s a positive that you know your career path in audit, it can be hard to move to other departments within the firm.”

Quality of Life

“As is to be expected, there are times of the year where work/life balance is a little bit harder to manage and you may be working more than 60-hour weeks. However, there are other times of the year where you do have flexibility. We're always kept aware of what to expect ahead of time so we can plan. Even in crazy busy times, we're encouraged to take time for ourselves, whether that's attending doctor's appointments, fitting in a haircut, etc. Our teams know we have lives outside of work and trust us to get our work done.”

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to determining work/life balance. Employees of all experience levels are given flexibility in how they approach their work, and they need only communicate thoroughly and upfront with their team. Firm leadership is mindful of the hours we work, and they intentionally delegate work in a manner to ensure we are all able to work hard and enjoy our down time.”

“We are given a generous amount of PTO and are encouraged to use it by our managers. When we are on PTO, there is no expectation to check emails or stay connected.”

“I am well paid for the work I do, and being in a risk management position internally, the hours are very reasonable (40 to 45 hours per week). Previously, when I was in audit, in busy season I'd work more than 60 hours for months at a time. I also would be scheduled on summer year ends where I'd work 55 hours per week and would work 50 hours per week year-round when not in busy season. Long and often unpredictable hours made it difficult to have a good quality of life.”

Salary and Benefits

“I appreciate the flexible work hours and work style—most days, I can choose where I work and the hours I work. Sometimes there are team-designated in-office days, but those are agreed upon in advance as a team. It is a great balance. In the office, I feel comfortable wearing my business casual attire. It is easy to request PTO, and we are given a generous amount, in addition to summer Fridays where we can leave two hours early. On the downside, 401(k) contributions from the firm do not begin until after one year of employment at the firm and is a fixed rate regardless of what the employee contributes.”

“The best aspects of my firm's salary and benefits are the salaries (we are well paid) and benefits such as maternity/parternity leave. The maternity leave is six months paid and paternity leave is three months paid. I took a medical leave of absence, which was fully paid and very favorable. I believe you could be fully paid for six to nine months on short-term disability with options for long-term disability as well. Unfortunately, there is not a sweeping educational reimbursement policy for employees pursuing higher education. I recently asked about this, and you need to do very specific programs.”

“The parental leave policies are excellent, and the retirement and vacation packages are competitive.”

“Competitive pay compared to the market, and benefits are great, but I wish we had free office parking.”

Wellness Efforts

“Our firm offers an EAP program where you can call and talk to a counselor at any time. Additionally, you receive 10 free therapy appointments per calendar year. There are constant discussions, bringing in experts in the field, encouraging us to put mental health and well-being above else. We're encouraged to speak up and ask for what we need and share with others how we can best be supported.”

“The firm offers mental health resources, free health programs about nutrition/raising children, etc., and hosts speakers who discuss workplace wellness.”

“Wellness is a huge focus. There are multiple counseling and programs. There are many initiatives that the firm holds, and they frequently remind us of the mental health resources.”

“EAP is good, there is a Live Well group, and there are meditation and exercise options. The problem is still the tone at top and embracing these events more as a team, to allow for time to devote to such activities as opposed to it being expected to be incremental to your current work.”

Diversity, Philanthropy, and Green Initiatives

“There are business resource groups, such as African Ancestry BRG, which you can join as an individual who identifies as a member of the group or as an ally. There are many events the firm puts on related to diversity. There are also many opportunities for charitable giving of your time and money.”

“KPMG is a very diverse firm, with employees from all across the United States (and international employees). A wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, races, sexual identities, genders, and ages are represented in our office. It is the most diverse environment I have ever been a part of. However, stronger programming in the office could be used to promote more gender inclusive language. “

“I feel that the firm is equitable with its diversity and inclusion. There are many business resource groups (BRGs) addressing groups such as LGBTQ, African Ancestry, disabilities, veterans, and women. I feel that the firm actually ‘walks the talk’ with their messaging about diversity and truly tries to make the workplace equitable. However, there seems to be few people of these diverse backgrounds entering accounting in the first place, which isn't the fault of the firm. So, the workplace is not that diverse because the candidate pool itself is not very diverse.”

“I really enjoyed the entire firm volunteering one day to celebrate our anniversary.”

Business Outlook

“I think the business outlook is strong. I think employee morale is fairly strong as well.”

“I think the firm's outlook is bright. The firm has been investing in modernizing the audit, tax, and advisory practices by implementing technology and data analytics solutions to automate tedious processes. This also includes investing in offshore associates to perform entire audits that are less complex, which will enable the firm to gain more clients/work. The worst aspects of the firm's business outlook to me seem to be the decreasing enrollment of students into accounting programs. I foresee this as posing a challenge to the firm, because there will be fewer individuals entering the accounting industry and making up the first-year associate classes in the future.”

“We’re Big 4—we aren’t going anywhere.”