KPMG Seeks to 'Reshape' Services with $2 Billion Investment in Microsoft AI Stack

KPMG seeks to “reshape” the professional services it offers by committing $2 billion to Microsoft AI offerings. The expansion of the KPMG-Microsoft 13-year alliance, announced this week, calls for them to collaborate on delivering workforce modernization, secure development and responsible use of AI.

The companies are not committing exclusively to each other, but KPMG is making a substantial bet on Microsoft’s artificial intelligence capabilities. KPMG has 2,500 tax, audit, business and IT advisory clients and is among the earliest partners to participate in the Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service early access programs.

When Microsoft announced the release of Azure OpenAI Service in January, the company showcased KPMG’s use of the service to gather efficiencies in its Tax Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) services by helping to reconcile data relationships and predict tax payments.

KPMG expects the Microsoft AI alliance will generate roughly $12 billion in revenue over the next several years through the delivery of cybersecurity services, cloud migration and workforce automation applications that use generative AI.

“Some of the solutions are already under development, and some are in nascent stages,” CEO Paul Knopp told Bloomberg. “But we’re really excited about the power of that partnership where we can bring to market in the future.”

KPMG-Microsoft AI Partnership

Cherie Gartner, who joined KPMG in September 2022 as its Microsoft global lead partner executive, told Channel Futures that everything came together quickly.

Channel Futures: What was the catalyst for this major investment?

KPMG’s Cherie Gartner

Cherie Gartner: I joined KPMG 10 months ago, and I have led ecosystems in the past with other organizations. One of the main reasons I joined KPMG was to take our relationship with Microsoft to the next level based on where technology and innovation is headed. It was a pivotal time because we at KPMG have been doing responsible AI for quite some time — for around 10 years. And we have the AI framework that we use every day.

But when Microsoft further enhanced its relationship with OpenAI with its $10 billion investment, it woke up the entire industry. Because when you look at the embedded nature of Microsoft technology and where that extends from the applications through what they’re driving forward with Copilot and other things, it’s just a monumental time for many industries to be able to leverage this technology.

Read the remainder of our Microsoft AI Q&A with Gartner in the slideshow above.