Strong governance

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Our UK Board

Our new governance structure is progressive for our profession. By separating the roles of Chair and Chief Executive we are adopting best-practice principles of governance.

As at 9 September 2021, our UK Board is made up of 9 members:

The Chair, who is also the Senior Elected Member
The Chief Executive
Five additional Elected Board Members, who are elected by the Partners
One Nominated Board Member, who is nominated by the Chair
An additional Executive Board Member, who is nominated by the Chief Executive

The Elected and Nominated Board Members, including the Senior Elected Board Member, are drawn from the partnership with a sufficient mix of competency, experience and independence of the day-to-day running of the firm.

The Board is attended on a regular basis by our four Independent Non-Executives who form the Public Interest Committee and bring valuable external insight and challenge to the discussions at the Board and its committees.

Female UK Board members / 56% 9-Sep-21 spot count

Ethnic minority UK Board members / 22% 9-Sep-21 spot count

Working-class background UK Board members / 22% 9-Sep-21 spot count

I'm proud to lead a diverse Board and I see the value it brings every day through the quality of conversation, the different perspectives and the challenge that our members bring. This allows us to hold the Executive to account to deliver a sustainable impact for our people, clients, communities and planet.

Bina Mehta / Chair, KPMG in the UK

Our Board members have a broad range of skills and experience, spanning finance, accounting, audit and technology. They are individually, and collectively passionate about promoting inclusion, diversity and equity and many are involved with charitable foundations, mentoring initiatives and education programmes to help support our people and our communities on this agenda. Further details about our the members of our UK Board can be found on our UK website and in our Transparency Report.

The Board oversees the long-term stewardship of the firm and the accountability of management, approving a strategy aligned to our purpose and Our Values.

They seek to balance the interests of various stakeholders in order for the firm to have a successful and sustainable future. The Board’s key stakeholders are: clients and investors (in audited entities); partners; alumni; colleagues and new recruits; regulators and government; our global KPMG network; the Executive Committee; the Public Interest Committee; the Audit Board; and the wider community.

Information on the role (including responsibilities in relation to these stakeholders), composition and appointment terms of the Board, can be found in Our Board Charter and Board Terms of Reference.

FY21 Objectives

Ensure the firm has an appropriate strategy which is consistent with the public interest and oversee the delivery of the strategy by the Executive Committee;
Ensure the firm has the best possible Executive Leadership Team and is operating effectively; and
Monitor the contribution of the firm to the global network and ensure Board decision-making is aligned and connected to the global strategy.

Oversee:

good financial and cultural governance (including setting the tone from the top on culture and ethics and monitoring the firm’s financial performance, inclusion, diversity and equity and colleague health and wellbeing agendas;
the firm’s ESG strategy;
the firm’s investments and investment performance;
the firm’s management of risk and its people and inclusion, diversity and equity strategy;
the firm’s focus on continued improvement in audit and service quality and meeting or exceeding regulatory requirements;
preparation for Operational Separation;
the firm’s resilience to, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic.

We manage risk responsibly

We manage risk responsibly, in the public interest and in the interests of the entities we audit, our clients, our people, our regulators and the markets and communities we work in.

The identification, evaluation, management and monitoring of the most significant risks that face our firm and could threaten the achievement of our strategic objectives are the responsibility of our UK Board. The principal risks and uncertainties facing our firm fall under the following categories: Growth; Clients; Delivery (audit and non-audit quality); People & Talent; Technology and information management; Business operations, resilience & controls; Business performance; Financial management; Reputation; Regulation; and Legal.

There are numerous policies and procedures in place to help our firm, and members of KPMG International, comply with professional standards. Responsibility for complying with these policies, and managing risk, lies with all employees; there are controls and processes in place to help them.

Further information on our policies and procedures, responsibility for risk, assessment of the current risk landscape and the most recent Statement by the Board on the effectiveness of internal controls and independence, can be found in our UK Transparency Report 2020.

Read our UK Transparency Report 2020