KPMG

KPMG was founded in 1987 as the result of a merger between two large international accounting alliances: Peat Marwick International and KMG (Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co., McLintock Main Lafrentz, Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft, and Thorne Riddell). The initials K-P-M-G stand for the surnames Klynveld, Peat, Marwick, and Goerdeler — the last referring to Reinhard Goerdeler, who served as chairman of Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft and was instrumental in organizing the 1987 merger. The resulting firm immediately ranked among the largest professional-services organizations on earth and has since become one of the four largest audit-and-advisory networks globally, alongside Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

KPMG's global coordinating entity — KPMG International Limited — is incorporated in the United Kingdom as a private company limited by guarantee, with its principal offices in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In Israel, KPMG operates through a legally independent member firm called Somekh Chaikin, which trades under the KPMG brand. The Somekh Chaikin headquarters is located at 2 Bialik Street, Ramat Gan — a building within walking distance of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), which sits in the same municipality. Secondary Israeli offices operate in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem.

KPMG International is not publicly traded; it is structured as a network of legally separate member-firm partnerships rather than a single corporate entity. Consequently, there is no NASDAQ or TASE ticker, no SEC registration, and no market capitalization figure. KPMG International voluntarily publishes consolidated revenue data: for the fiscal year ending September 2023, total global revenues reached approximately $36 billion, representing a 9% increase over the prior year. The 2022 figure was approximately $34.6 billion.

KPMG employs approximately 265,000 professionals across 143 countries, according to its 2023 transparency report. In Israel, the Somekh Chaikin member firm employs approximately 1,800 staff and partners across its four offices, with roughly 1,200 of those concentrated in Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv. The Israeli headcount encompasses all service lines: audit, tax, advisory, and cyber security. Global headcount is distributed heavily toward audit-heavy markets in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.

KPMG's core business is the delivery of professional services — statutory financial audit, tax advisory, management consulting, risk consulting, cyber security, and M&A due diligence — to publicly listed companies, financial institutions, governments, and large private enterprises. Its services are legally mandated in many cases: public companies cannot file annual reports without an independent external audit.

The single most consequential event of the past twelve months was the global rollout of KPMG AI Squared in 2024 — an internal and client-facing Generative AI framework built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. KPMG announced a $1 billion, three-year commitment to the Microsoft partnership in 2023, and the AI Squared initiative is the operational output of that agreement. The framework is being deployed into audit workflows and advisory engagements across member firms worldwide, including in Israel.

Somekh Chaikin is not a subsidiary in the traditional corporate sense; it is an independent Israeli partnership that operates as a member of the KPMG International network under a brand licensing and quality-standards agreement. KPMG International itself holds no equity in Somekh Chaikin — this structure is common across all Big Four networks and reflects both liability management and local regulatory requirements.

KPMG's primary service lines are organized into three global functions: Audit, Tax, and Advisory. The Audit function covers statutory financial-statement audit (under IFRS, US GAAP, or local GAAP depending on jurisdiction), PCAOB-registered audit for companies listed on US exchanges, and internal audit co-sourcing. In Israel, Somekh Chaikin audits Israeli public companies under IFRS (as required by TASE listing rules) and US GAAP (for companies subject to SEC reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).

The fundamental problem KPMG addresses is one of mandatory independent verification: the legal frameworks of virtually every developed economy require that publicly traded companies submit their financial statements to review by an independent, licensed auditor. In Israel, this obligation flows from the Securities Law of 1968 and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) regulations. For Israeli companies listed on NASDAQ or NYSE, the additional requirement of a PCAOB-registered auditor creates a natural advantage for Big Four firms, which hold such registration and can coordinate cross-border audits across their global networks.

KPMG's clients span multiple industries and buyer types. In the financial sector, large banks and insurance companies are typically assigned to the Big Four. In the Israeli technology sector, Somekh Chaikin audits a significant proportion of the dual-listed Israeli companies traded both on TASE and on US exchanges. The buyer is almost always the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, which selects and recommends the external auditor, subject to shareholder approval at the annual general meeting. There is no SMB or developer segment — KPMG does not serve small businesses as its primary market.

Engagement delivery is entirely sales-led. Senior Partners with deep industry specializations — technology, banking, real estate, healthcare — maintain long-term relationships with CFOs, Audit Committee chairs, and Board members. There is no self-serve channel and no online sign-up. Proposals are submitted in response to formal RFP processes, or through direct negotiation after relationship cultivation over months or years.

KPMG's pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated individually for each engagement. Audit fees for a mid-size Israeli public company might range from several hundred thousand to several million NIS annually, depending on the complexity of the business, the number of subsidiaries, cross-border operations, and whether PCAOB standards apply. Advisory engagements are typically priced either on a time-and-materials basis (per hour, per day) or as a fixed-scope project with defined deliverables.

KPMG's structural moat consists of three interlocking advantages. First, PCAOB registration (renewed annually and overseen by the PCAOB in Washington, D.C.) is a legal prerequisite for auditing US-listed companies — a barrier that effectively limits the market to the Big Four plus a handful of mid-tier firms. Second, the global network enables cross-border coordination that independent Israeli firms cannot replicate. Third, decades of client relationships and institutional knowledge of specific companies create significant switching costs for audit clients.

Engineering and technology teams within KPMG globally work on the Clara audit platform (first announced in 2017, running on Microsoft Azure), Microsoft Power BI for data analytics, and RPA tools such as UiPath and Automation Anywhere. In Israel, KPMG Technology Consulting practitioners work with SAP S/4HANA, Salesforce, and Oracle ERP. The KPMG Cyber practice in Israel employs professionals with expertise in SIEM platforms, SOC operations, Penetration Testing, and cloud security on AWS and Azure.

The Audit service line is KPMG's flagship and largest revenue contributor globally. Somekh Chaikin's audit practice covers full financial-statement audits under IFRS and US GAAP, Statutory Audit under the Israeli Companies Law 5759-1999, and PCAOB-compliant audit for Israeli companies with American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) or direct listings on US exchanges. The audit team is by headcount the largest single function within Somekh Chaikin's Israeli offices.

The Tax service line includes international tax advisory, Transfer Pricing analysis and documentation (which is critical for Israeli technology companies that hold IP in multiple jurisdictions), R&D tax credits advisory under the Israeli Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investments, and representation before the Israeli Tax Authority (ITA). Transfer Pricing has grown significantly as a practice area since 2018, driven by OECD BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) framework requirements that directly affect Israeli multinationals.

The Advisory service line is segmented into four sub-lines in Israel: Management Consulting (strategy, operational transformation), Deal Advisory (M&A due diligence, business valuations, fairness opinions), Risk Consulting (regulatory compliance, enterprise risk management, internal control frameworks), and Cyber Security Services. The Cyber practice offers Penetration Testing, Red Team exercises, SOC maturity assessments, and cyber regulatory compliance reviews against Bank of Israel Directive 361 and the Capital Market Authority's cyber standards.

KPMG Clara — the firm's digital audit platform — was publicly announced in 2017 and has been continuously developed since. Clara integrates with ERP systems including SAP and Oracle, and is available in part through cloud infrastructure on AWS. In 2024, KPMG launched the AI Squared framework, which embeds Generative AI capabilities built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service into the Clara platform and into advisory workflows. This represents the most significant product development event in KPMG's technology stack in recent years.

No major KPMG service lines have been formally discontinued in the 2022-2025 period in Israel. In 2021, the standalone Financial Services Consulting practice was folded into the broader Advisory line under a unified go-to-market structure, reducing separate practice branding without eliminating the underlying service offerings.

KPMG holds ISO 27001 certification for information security management at the global level, a credential that is increasingly required by clients handling sensitive financial and personal data. In Israel, the KPMG Cyber practice is authorized under Bank of Israel guidelines to conduct IT risk assessments for regulated financial institutions. KPMG's audit practice maintains its PCAOB-registered-firm status, with its most recent inspection report publicly available on the PCAOB's website in Washington, D.C.

KPMG competes directly with the other three Big Four firms in every market it operates in, including Israel. Deloitte — operating in Israel as Brightman Almagor Zohar — is the largest Big Four firm globally with approximately $65 billion in revenues for FY2023, and competes with KPMG across audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory. In the Israeli tech sector, Deloitte has historically held a strong position in auditing large technology companies and has a significant Risk Advisory practice. EY — operating in Israel as Kost Forer Gabbay & Kasierer — is particularly strong in the startup-to-IPO pipeline, auditing a large number of Israeli venture-backed companies preparing for NASDAQ listings. PwC maintains its global brand name in Israel without a local legacy-firm prefix and has made ESG Advisory a distinctive emphasis in the Israeli market since 2022.

KPMG's global consulting arm has been recognized in several Gartner and Forrester evaluations. In the Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Risk Management (2022 edition), KPMG Consulting was positioned as a Visionary. In the Forrester Wave for Managed Security Services Providers, Q4 2023, KPMG Cyber was recognized as a Strong Performer. No Israel-specific Gartner or Forrester Magic Quadrant exists for professional-services firms, as these analyst rankings cover software vendors rather than advisory firms.

KPMG's pricing positioning in Israel is unambiguously Premium. Audit fees charged by Somekh Chaikin for large public companies are materially higher than those charged by mid-tier Israeli accounting firms such as BDO Israel, Grant Thornton Israel, or Fahn Kanne (RSM Israel). The premium is justified in the market by the PCAOB registration requirement, the global network coordination for multinational clients, and the reputational signaling value of a Big Four auditor's signature on a company's annual filing.

In 2023, Somekh Chaikin publicly noted through TASE filings that it served as the statutory auditor for approximately 30 companies listed on TASE, with aggregate market capitalizations in the hundreds of billions of NIS. Each new engagement win — and each loss — is a publicly reported event: Israeli public companies must file an Immediate Report (Doch Meedee in Hebrew regulatory parlance) when they change auditors, disclosing the reason and the outgoing firm's name. These filings serve as a running public scoreboard of competitive wins and losses among the Big Four in Israel.

The trajectory for KPMG globally is growth: the 9% revenue increase in FY2023 was driven largely by Advisory and Deals Advisory, offset slightly by a slowdown in Audit fee growth. In Israel specifically, growth is driven by increased demand for Cyber Security services following Bank of Israel Directive 361 (effective 2022) and the ISA's new reporting requirements for material cybersecurity incidents, modeled partly on the SEC's own 2023 cybersecurity disclosure rules. ESG Advisory is a growing area as Israeli institutional investors and regulatory bodies push for sustainability disclosures.

KPMG has made a number of acquisitions globally in recent years. In 2021, KPMG US acquired Lippincott, a brand strategy and design consultancy. In 2022, KPMG Spain acquired Solertia to reinforce its SAP implementation capability. In Israel, no acquisitions by Somekh Chaikin or by KPMG into an Israeli target have been publicly reported between 2022 and 2025, though KPMG regularly evaluates boutique technology-advisory firms globally as bolt-on acquisition targets.

Somekh Chaikin KPMG maintains offices in four Israeli cities. The flagship office at 2 Bialik Street, Ramat Gan occupies multiple floors of a modern office building within the same cluster of blocks as the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, making it logistically convenient for audit partners who regularly attend Board and Audit Committee meetings with publicly listed clients. The Tel Aviv office serves overflow capacity and specializes in certain Advisory and Tax functions. The Haifa office serves Northern Israel clients, particularly in the industrial and pharmaceutical sectors. The Jerusalem office serves government, public-sector, and nonprofit clients, as well as companies operating in the capital.

The approximately 1,800 Israeli staff are distributed primarily across the Ramat Gan and Tel Aviv locations. The Audit practice accounts for the largest share of headcount, followed by Tax, Advisory, and Cyber Security. Finance, HR, and IT support functions are also based in Israel. Unlike Israeli technology companies — where a significant proportion of a global workforce is often concentrated in Israel — KPMG's Israeli presence is calibrated to the Israeli market itself rather than serving as a global delivery center.

In 2023, Somekh Chaikin expanded its Ramat Gan floor space by approximately 800 square meters to accommodate headcount growth in the Advisory and ESG practices. No reductions in force or office closures have been reported for Somekh Chaikin in the 2022-2025 period. This contrasts with the wave of layoffs seen across Israeli hi-tech companies in 2022-2023, and reflects the countercyclical nature of professional services: regulatory audit demand remains stable regardless of technology market conditions.

The historical founders of Somekh Chaikin were Israeli: the firm of "Somekh" was established in what is now Israel in 1924, making it one of the oldest continuously operating accounting firms in the country. The Chaikin firm merged with it in subsequent decades, and the combined entity joined the KPMG network during the 1990s. The current Managing Partner of KPMG Israel is Sara Shar'abi, appointed in 2021, making her one of the senior-most women leading a Big Four member firm in Israel. Key technical leaders in the Cyber practice frequently hold backgrounds in IDF technology units.

KPMG Israel hires across a well-defined set of roles. On the Audit side, the firm hires Junior Auditors (typically CPA-track graduates), Senior Auditors, Audit Managers, and Senior Managers on a continuous basis from universities including Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, and the Technion. On the Advisory side, the firm hires SAP consultants, Salesforce architects, Power BI analysts, and strategy consultants. The Cyber practice hires Penetration Testers, SOC analysts, and cloud security architects — often with prior service in IDF intelligence units such as 8200, Mamram, and Unit 81, whose graduates are valued for their technical depth and security clearance experience.

There are no external investors in Somekh Chaikin — as a partnership, ownership is held by the Israeli partners of the firm, not by external capital. The most significant strategic relationships are with Microsoft Israel (stemming from the global $1 billion KPMG-Microsoft partnership announced in 2023) and with SAP Israel and Oracle Israel, which collaborate with KPMG on ERP transformation engagements. KPMG Israel also maintains formal collaboration with the Israel Securities Authority and participates in the ISA's working groups on audit quality standards and digital-asset accounting treatment. KPMG annually publishes the "Startup Ecosystem" report on Israeli venture capital and startup trends, a widely cited industry document that reinforces the firm's visibility in the Israeli technology community.