The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: KPMG #41 (2022)

Following one spot behind RSM US in the 2022 Fortune BCTWF is KPMG, the second Big 4 firm in the ranking behind Deloitte at No. 24. It’s not too often that KPMG finishes ahead of PwC in anything, so the House of Klynveld should celebrate this accomplishment while it can.

For the most part, people seem to enjoy working at KPMG. According to the website Great Place to Work, which partners with Fortune every year for the BCTWF, 86% of KPMGers say the firm is a great place to work, which is second highest among the Big 4 (Deloitte is at 88%). Other KPMG employee happiness findings from GPTW include:

93% say they felt welcomed when they joined KPMG.
92% believe management is honest and ethical in its business practices (that percentage was probably MUCH lower in 2017 and 2018).
92% say they are offered training or development to further their professional careers.

This is the 15th time KPMG has made Fortune’s BCTWF in the ranking’s 25-year history. In the previous five years, KPMG has been ranked:

2021: 39th
2020 : 32nd
2019: 36th
2018: 29th
2017: 12th

Here’s why KPMG made this year’s BCTWF, according to Fortune:

KPMG doesn’t just acknowledge the pandemic’s toll on workers, it has deployed a host of tools to help them cope. To guard against burnout and overwork, the professional services firm introduced camera-free Fridays and two annual, firm-wide breaks that give employees at least nine consecutive days off in both the winter and summer. For mental health, employees or their family members can access up to 10 free counseling sessions. In order to cover the cost of a home office setup or other remote work expenses, everyone received an extra $1,000. For kids and parents struggling with remote learning, KPMG created a resource kit and facilitated the creation of learning pods. Those pandemic-era accommodations bolstered the firm’s longstanding commitment to career development, which is offered in the form of mentorships (some 13,000 of them) and numerous leadership training programs that in recent years have increased focus on women and other underrepresented groups.

In addition to all of that, KPMG’s employee retention maneuvers included changing its 401(k) contribution policy and lowering the vesting period from five years to three years, and giving all employees mid-year raises that went into effect on April 1 (in addition to the usual raises and bonuses employees received last fall), although many KPMGers started to panic on April 15 when their new inflated paychecks didn’t hit their bank accounts right away. And KPMG dumped Phil Mickelson in February.

Stats of note:

Employees: 35,526
Number of job openings: 4,225 (as of March 2022)
Number of job applicants (last 12 months): 303,935
Average number of applicants per opening: 23
Number of new graduates hired: 4,600
Percentage of women: N/A (46% according to KPMG’s 2021 DEI Transparency Report)
Percentage of minorities: N/A (35% according to KPMG’s 2021 DEI Transparency Report)
PTO limit (days): 37
Number of sick days: Varies

We’ll continue our coverage of the Fortune 2022 BCTWF throughout this week.

Related articles:

The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: Deloitte #24 (2022)
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: Plante Moran #30 (2022)
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: RSM US #40 (2022)

KPMG

Is KPMG Moving Out of DC?

Caleb Newquist
June 16, 2010

Maybe! The AP is reporting that KPMG is expanding its Fairfax County Office (i.e. Tyson’s Corner) by moving people from its DC office.

According to an accountant close to the situation, “The Tyson’s Corner office switched buildings, and as a result, had a large amount of available office space. The DC advisory practice (including IRM or whatever it’s called now) moved from the M Street office to Tyson’s. I used to sit on the 7th floor whenever I worked from the office, but the place was in full move-out mode when I went in on Friday.”

Residents of the commonwealth will be thrilled to know that Virginia’s governor approved a $250,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund for the “project.” In other words, Virginia taxpayers footed $250k to move dozens of coffee guzzling, poorly dressed 10-key tramps out of the District. And it turns out, many aren’t thrilled about it, “Advisory people are bitching about moving, especially the ones who live in the District.”

But our source also says that the rest of DC office might be packing up:

There’s rumors that the entire DC practice will be moved to Tyson’s, but I don’t know if that’s true [let’s just assume it is, shall we?]. KPMG might be the only one of the big four who still has an office in DC proper, but then again, we’re the biggest of the big four when it comes to Federal clients – and there’s a certain cachet to having that office building in Dupont Circle with the big “THE KPMG BUILDING” emblazoned on the side. [O]therwise it’s been the usual hooplah from management and torrent of “OMG SO EXCITING!” emails, and the staff I know are mostly just “meh.”

If it comes to leaving the District altogether, John Veihmeyer will probably just buy the sign and slap it on the side of his summer house. Can’t let something like that go to waste.