Our firm | Our impact - KPMG United Kingdom

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Our purpose and values guide everything we do – from the way we govern our firm, the processes we have in place and the culture we create. They define what it means to work at KPMG, and our individual and collective responsibilities.
Jon Holt / Chief Executive, KPMG in the UK

Our commitments

Behaving ethically and upholding our professional, ethical and quality standards at all times, guided by Our Values and Our Code of Conduct.

Working with our stakeholders to restore trust in the audit profession.

Engaging 100+ suppliers to make significant carbon reductions across our supply chain through our Sustainable Procurement Programme.

A force for good in society

It started for us over 150 years ago – well before the phrase 'ESG' became synonymous with the ethical practices of companies and their social and environmental consciousness.

William Barclay Peat, our founder, believed in our profession's potential to be a force for good in society as well as the economy. It's a belief we hold to this day.

Peat was an ardent campaigner for women to be admitted into the accounting profession and eventually was successful – Ethel Watts became the first woman to qualify as an accountant by examination to the ICAEW and KPMG's first female hire.

We've continued to lead the way on improving diversity in professional services. For example, when Ruth Anderson joined our UK Board in 1998, she became the first woman on the Board of a big professional services firm. And in 2019 we were incredibly proud to be the first of the Big Four to achieve gender parity on our Board. Today 56% of our UK Board members are women and 22% are from an ethnic minority background.

More firsts in our history

Environment

In 1990, we were the first professional services firm to publish an Environment Policy.

Social

In 2006, we became one of the first businesses in the UK to commit to paying the living wage to all UK employees.
In 2011, we became the first of the Big Four to assure our community data, which includes philanthropy, volunteering and pro bono work.

Governance

In 1998, we were the first professional services firm to introduce a Values Charter. In 2020, our 150th year of supporting the UK, we refreshed Our Values right across the international network, to: Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together and For better.