KPMG reviews

3.8

74% would recommend to a friend

(39,877 total reviews)

Mattias Schmelzer

83% approve of CEO

64% positive business outlook

KPMG has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 39,877 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The KPMG employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management & Beratung industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

40K reviews
4.0
Apr 25, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits are great. You get five weeks of paid vacation/PTO on top of several firm holidays which you will NEED for the number of hours you work when you are there (see the dissatisfied work-life balance). If you are up for the hours and ready to kiss your life goodbye for 17 hour days during your 6-8 week busy-season every year the payoff in experience and things you get to do like interacting with high level executives at Fortune 500 companies is so worth it. At a time in the Bay Area after the dot-com bust when companies are declaring bankruptcy, very close to breaking even, or watching every penny that is spent KPMG is still spending to impress. You can expect lavish recruiting events and lots of presents and goodies at events. There is a beautiful black-tie optional Christmas party with dinner and live music, summer picnics, fall baseball day with tailgate party, winter ski trip (where the company will pick up your trip, lift ticket, rentals, lessons, and food/drinks), sign off parties after your busy season, ALL of which you can bring a guest to.

Cons

The downside is the hours. You work a lot, you will rarely if ever see a forty hour week. And on top of that you are expected to study for your CPA exam. You can use your vacation to study because there is a separate charge code for the schedule so the entire form knows who is taking time off to study but it’s the last thing you want to do on your vacation your first couple years out of college. Busy season can be rough: long hours in little rooms packed full of sleep-deprived, fiendishly working people can lead to some late night crying sessions in the bathrooms. If you can just let things go and ride it out you will be fine and a little stronger than you went in. There is a lot of pressure to get your work done fast when you often times don’t have control over how fast or when you are provided the support and answers you need from the client. Everyone understands this but it does not extend the deadlines so you need to get your stuff done.

5.0
Apr 25, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

KPMG provides a lot of benefits from employment not necessarily offered elsewhere. They have the basics - fair pay and benefits, but also a lot of paid time off even as a first year associate. They offer a lot of training, which is something very few other firms are doing, and actually help the employee make time to attend the training they offer. The corporate culture is oriented very strongly toward community service, offering firm-sponsored activities as well as the flexibility to volunteer for things the individual employee finds important. In fact, they have an entire committee ("Involve") dedicated to these types of initiatives. Professionally, they also provide a very developed growth strategy, including help goal setting and working toward those goals. At KPMG you can really develop your own path and grow both professionally and personally with a lot of support.

Cons

The biggest downside I see to working at KPMG is the sheer time committment. This is not different from other large firms, however. KPMG likes to advertise that they help you have a work-life balance, but I believe this is an inaccurate title. I remember one employees example of this balance, when he said he was able to leave work in the afternoon to attend his child's play, and return to work at nine o'clock that night. To me, that's not a balance, it's just flexibility. I do believe flexibility is important, but in the end it's not 'balance'. I believe a lot of newer employees in the next few years will be moving away from that model, and truly trying to have more of a balance, at least when it's not busy season.

5.0
Apr 25, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. KPMG offers not only a great salary, but offers some amazing benefits to everyone. I receive seventy-five cents for every dollar up to 5% of my salary that I put into my 401(k) plan, but not only do I get that for retirement, I also receive a pensions plan with a contribution of $5,000 at the start, and then yearly credits that increase with seniority and position. 2. The people that I work with are from top tier universities here in Texas. They are all understanding and give you the tools needed to succeed in your job. They take the time to teach and ensure that you will succeed on the projects you work on. 3. KPMG is very active in the community and is always trying ways to get everyone involved to making Houston a better city to live in.

Cons

Honestly, there are no downsides to working at KPMG. There are only downsides to working in the accounting industry as a whole. These may include long hours during certain times of the year - no 8 to 5 here. Don't get me wrong, there are days that we can leave on time, but as we are very project driven, it just depends on what you are working on. One thing I can say about KPMG is that there is no overtime. Overtime is not given at any big four accounting firm, but some of the smaller firms still offer it at my level and I am sure it comes in real handy when trying to pay the bills.

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