KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

CASE STUDY:

Ghighilan AlexandruBurciu Andrei

Bucharest, 2014

THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3

1. General description of the company .................................................................... 3

1.1. History ...........................................................................................................3

1.2. About KPMG ................................................................................................ 4

1.3. Strategic groups .............................................................................................5

2. Organizational goals, values and performance ....................................................6

2.1. Goals ..............................................................................................................6

2.2. Values & culture ............................................................................................7

2.3. Performance ...................................................................................................9

3. Industry analysis ..................................................................................................9

4. Analysis of the strategic capability within the company ...................................12

4.1. SWOT Analysis ...........................................................................................13

5. Organizational structure and management system analysis ..............................13

6. Nature and source of competitive advantage of the company ...........................15

7. Description and implementation of the strategy of the company ......................16

Conclusion ...............................................................................................................17

References ................................................................................................................18

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Introduction

Due to the rapid evolution of the world economy which dynamically changes every day and due to the trade flows, is created huge number of great opportunities for the companies. Many businesses aim to leverage a competitive advantage by their technologies, skills of the employees, production capabilities and financial strength of high growth markets, to create truly global business.

KPMG International Cooperative, the fourth largest accounting firm in the world by revenue, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) makes the Big Four Auditors, which have created oligopoly in auditing large companies.

KPMG’s service lines are divided into audit, tax, and advisory, with industry-specific focus in each. They operate in 152 countries and have 145,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. Through their worldwide network they are able to offer their clients the benefits of a wide pool of skills and experience, while also utilizing an in-depth understanding of each national market. As a professional services firm, they provide comprehensive, tailored and industry-specific services to meet clients' needs, whether they are multinational or local. KPMG was one of the first professional services firms to align its services along industry lines and still focuses on delivering high-quality, coordinated services to organizations in the key lines of business: Financial Services; Industrial and Consumer Markets; Information, Communications & Entertainment; Infrastructure, Government & Healthcare.

With a worldwide presence, KPMG continues to build on their member firms' successes thanks to clear vision, rigorously maintained values and, above all, its people. Their challenge is to continue harnessing the talents and expertise of their people and to bring those together, efficiently and effectively, to serve their global and national market clients in better ways. The following pages describe who they are, what they do and how they do it. (KPMG Global Frontiers)

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1. General description of the company

1.1. History First of all, I should start by deciphering the KPMG's initials, which stand for the

founding fathers of the organization, Piet Klynveld, William Barclay Peat, James Marwick and Reinhard Goerdeler. The modern network of member firms was born in 1987, following a series of expansions and mergers, with the unification of accounting firms PMI (Peat Marwick International) and KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler). It has the origins in Switzerland and now it has a global network comprising 152 countries and 145,000 staff worldwide.

In Romania, KPMG appeared in 1994 as an independent member firm of the KPMG International Cooperative due to the demand of the local market. Later on, in 1999, they opened a second office in Timisoara. They have about 650 staff and provide a wide range of Audit, Tax and Advisory services created to assist companies doing business in Romania. They became one of the leading providers of professional services in the financial industry and their high standards and performances are highly recognized. At the moment, they work from the headquarters in Bucharest as well as in other five cities: Iasi, Constanta, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Chisinau.

As the business world changes in response to the new economic challenges, so does KPMG, and they strive to keep their commitment to provide consistently high quality services. (KPMG Romania)

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1.2. About KPMG KPMG is a global professional provider of

Audit, Tax and Advisory services and industry insight to help organizations evaluate risks and perform in the dynamic and challenging environments in which they do business every day. They assist firms and organizations in meeting their compliance requirements and help them to develop and take advantage of the opportunities, adding value to their clients’ business. They have specialized staff with many different skills and backgrounds, and they are flexible - they adapt their services and develop new ones to meet the needs of clients as market conditions change. Collectively they employ more than 145,000 people across a wide range of disciplines.

KPMG in Romania now employs more than 600 people, including both local and expatriate staff, who combine detailed experience of the Romanian market with international know-how. The keys to their success are the quality and capabilities of their people, which are developed through ongoing training in a broad range of skills at all levels of the firm.

The firm's clients include business corporations, governments and public sector agencies as well as not-profit organizations. They look to KPMG for a consistent standard of service based on high order professional capabilities, industry insight and local knowledge.

KPMG tries to create sustainable, long-term economic growth, not just for their company and clients, but for the society they work in. They seek to be good corporate citizens, making a real difference to the communities in which they operate. (KPMG Romania)

1.3. Strategic groups Despite the fact that it is globally known and provides professional quality services,

KPMG is a part of the “Big Four Auditors” group. As the press has written “The Big Four (also written Big 4) public accounting firms (audit firms) dominate the sector and are major developers of talent within the financial services industry. Despite their size, they are organized as partnerships rather than as corporations.” (Kolakowski, 2012)

The same Kolakowski is saying in the Financial Careers Guide that The Big Four “are orders of magnitude larger than the next biggest competitors, in terms of employees, revenues, and numbers of Fortune 500 clients. They are the result of consolidation in the public accounting sector.”

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The strategic group that makes the Big Four includes:

• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu • Ernst & Young • PricewaterhouseCoopers • KPMG

Making a Big 4 performance analysis, 2009 and 2010 were tough years for the accounting firms named above, with performance largely affected by the global economic crisis. 2009 combined revenue fell by 7% from 2008, but stabilized in 2010 as revenue increased 1.4% to $95 billion from $94 billion in 2009. Results for the previous year, 2011, have been extraordinarily optimistic, with all service lines and geographies recording terrific growth from 2010, lifted by emerging countries, improvements in equity markets, and return to global economic growth and executive optimism. Combined 2011 revenue for the four firms rose to historic high levels of $103 billion, up 9% from 2010, and surpassing the previous record of $101 billion set in 2008. (Big4.com, 2012)

Ernst & Young revenues grew the slowest at 7.6%, Deloitte at 8.4%, PwC increased 10.0% and KPMG grew the fastest at 10.1%. PwC grew faster than Deloitte and posted 2011 revenues of $29.2 million, $400 million more than Deloitte, thus reestablishing its leadership position as the largest accounting firm in the world. (Big4.com, 2012)

The Big Four firms cumulatively employ more than 650,000 staff globally, with a total of 35,000 partners overseeing a steep pyramid of about 490,000 professionals. Net employment increased by 36,000 from 2010 to 2011. (Big4.com, 2012)

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Big4.com, 2012Source:

2. Organizational goals, values and performance

The mission of KPMG or the answer to the question “Who we are and what we do?” is “Cutting through complexity” which is also part of the logo of the company. In other words, their mission is to be the global network of professional services firms whose aim is “to turn understanding of information, industries and business trends into value.” (KPMG Facts and Figures)

The vision statement answers to the question “Where we are going?” KPMG's vision is to be the leader in the markets the organization chooses to serve and to be recognized as outstanding professionals by working to achieve the highest standards of integrity and service. (World Economic Forum)

2.1. Goals KPMG’s primary goal is maintaining and enhancing the quality of the professional

workforce. Wherever they operate they want to be no less than the “professional employer of choice.” (KPMG UK)

Besides this, there are a number of goals set for the near period or future regarding their clients, level of expertise, organization, partners and people and communities.

Therefore, in addition to their continuing ‘core activity’ of growing their global accounts over the next three years they will focus on six priority growth sectors and 42 global accounts within those sectors. Furthermore, they will increase their client portfolio in two high-growth markets — Turkey and Gulf Holdings. Another goal is to ensure their clients access to the very best expertise regardless of geography. The third goal is to develop a fully integrated and consolidated organization, by improving both the quality and efficiency of their services. “Attracting, developing and retaining the best people thus ensuring we are ‘the’ market-leading professionals” is another goal of KPMG for the future. They strive to embed the partner career paths as part of their core activities and ensure client satisfaction success. Last but not least KPMG has integrated in their values a Corporate Social Responsibility program, defining the way they do business.

Their people embrace KPMG’s values. These values determine how they interact with clients, with each other and with the world around them. They define what they stand for and how they do things.

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2.2. Values & culture At the core of KPMG's vibrant culture is a set of values that bring out the best in their

people. Their network of member firms in 152 countries worldwide share the same values. What are they and why do they work? Their reputation is created by the way the people within their member firms act with clients, colleagues and their communities. (KPMG Romania) “Commitment to our communities is at the heart of KPMG’s values” as they describe themselves ok the KPMG official site. (KPMG UK)

Values

As Serban Toader, Senior Partner at KPMG in Romania, said: “professional excellence and commitment to clients” is one of KPMG’s core values. (Romanian Business News, 2010, Doingbusiness.ro, 2011) Their values create a sense of shared identity within the KPMG organization. They define what they stand for and how they develop their actions. Their values help them to work together in the most effective and fulfilling way.

Their values are at the heart of their Global Code of Conduct, which defines the standards of ethical conduct they require from people in KPMG member firms worldwide. Some of them can be seen below:

We lead by example, meaning that at all levels they act in a way that exemplifies what they expect of each other and our firms’ clients.

We work together. They bring out the best in each other and create strong and successful working relationships. We respect the individual. They respect people for who they are and for their knowledge, skills and experience as individuals and team members.

We seek the facts and provide insight. By challenging assumptions and pursuing facts, they strengthen their reputation as trusted and objective business advisers.

We are open and honest in our communication. They share information, insight and advice frequently and constructively, managing tough situations with courage and hard working.

We are committed to our communities. They act as responsible corporate citizens by broadening their skills, experience and perspectives through work in their communities.

Above all, we act with integrity. They are constantly striving to uphold the highest professional standards, provide sound advice and rigorously maintain their independence. (KPMG Romania)

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Culture

KPMG in Romania is helping businesses respond to changes in the global economy. They are also committed to providing an environment where people can flourish and contribute to a sustainable world.

The KPMG culture is rooted in their values. Their integrity and policy of open and honest communication builds trust and cooperation, while their flexibility and diversity creates a culture in which people share knowledge freely, bringing out the very best in each other. When asked why they choose to work with KPMG, numerous clients refer specifically to their high level of professional ethics, their loyalty and their approachability.

Their culture extends beyond good business practice. They are also recognized for the efforts they make to alleviate poverty, support education and protect the environment. KPMG in Romania works diligently with other companies, governments and non-governmental organizations to address these problems and make a positive difference in peoples’ health, welfare and prosperity.

Their employees benefit from this forward-thinking approach. A critical element of KPMG’s vision is that their firm is recognized as an "‘employer of choice" - to recruit, retain and develop the very best people. This allows their people to flourish both as professionals and as individuals - to enjoy a challenging career and get the most from their personal lives. They do so knowing that they are part of a responsible and positive culture that extends beyond them into the greater business, social and natural environment. (KPMG Romania)

2.3. Performance

KPMG in Romania continued its growth in 2010-2011, its turnover rising from 34 million euros for the year ended 30 September 2010 to 35 million euros as at 30 September 2011. They had announced a turnover of 35.2 million euros for the year ended September 30, 2012, up slightly from the previous year. These figures are based on financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and include operations of the KPMG entities in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

As Serban Toader, Senior Partner of KPMG in Romania states “To achieve growth in such a difficult economic climate is a real achievement. It is a tribute to the dedication of our staff, who have been proactive in adapting to the new environment by developing new services to meet clients’ current needs. Our emphasis in 2009-2010 has been to innovate, and to focus not

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only on our core functions- Audit, Tax and Advisory- but also on Lines of Business, to serve the requirements of key industries. Our Lines of Business deliver coordinated services, often combining the work of professionals from more than one function. This means that we have been able to provide a broad package of services, often dealing with several issues the client needed help with at the same time.

Around 20% of our current turnover was obtained by new services which were not there two years ago.” As Toader continues: “This result shows that we made the right decision two years ago to invest in new lines of business. We correctly anticipated market trends, and this is why we have still managed to increase our turnover. Our good results are particularly encouraging at a time when overall the consultancy market has shrunk. This means that not only have we improved our turnover, but also we have increased our share of the market.”

However, as Toader adds: “We can certainly celebrate the 2009-2010 results, but we will not become complacent. The economic climate remains very uncertain, and it is still too early to talk about recovery as far as Romania is concerned. So we must continue to concentrate closely not only on clients’ current needs, but also on their likely future requirements, and continue to work well together as a team. And we will!" (KPMG Romania)

3. Industry analysis

The industry analysis is a market tool used to provide an assessment of the profitability of a particular industry, and it is meant to encompass all the aspects of the external environment of an organization. The industry analysis should comprise information about the competitive conditions in the industry and about a company’s own competitive advantage, resources and market position. We will now look closer at the competitive environment in the financial services industry and will provide further details about KPMG’s strategic capabilities in the following chapter.

Michael Porter’s five forces model is one of the most frequently used tools for industry analysis, due to its intuitive structure and wide range of analysis. The intensity of an industry competition depends on the following five factors:

• Bargaining power of suppliers; • Bargaining power of buyers; • Threat of substitutes; • Threat of new entrants; • Intensity of rivalry in the industry.

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Bargaining power of suppliers

KPMG’s policy is to purchase goods and services that offer the best value for money. This is why KPMG has a separate Procurement Department that is involved in all the acquisition processes in order to insure that the purchased goods and services are the best possible purchase in terms for total costs for the company, are delivered in a professional manner, and are compliant with Romanian and European legislation.

Moreover, in the procurement process the company takes into account the impact on the environment and constantly assesses alternative supplier proposals. KPMG’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy ensures that the firm recycles and minimizes as much as possible its consumption of exhaustible resources (including water, paper, electric energy, and others) and purchases only from sustainable sources.(KPMG UK, 2012)

Bargaining power of buyers

The continuous increase in fee transparency gives customers credible negotiating positions and more bargaining power.(KPMG LLP, 2012)

Moreover, the trend towards moving the ad-valorem rates to fixed and hourly rates leads to a greater client bargaining power and determines clients to be more skeptical about the fees charged. This increase client power may result in a greater willingness among important client to manage the portfolios themselves. (Citywire, 2012).

Threat of substitutes

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The threat of substitutes is very small in this industry. Substitutes for audit services are practically inexistent, especially for the companies that are obliged by law to have a yearly audit (such as banks, listed companies and other non-banking financial firms). For smaller companies, a valid alternative would be to practice an internal audit.

As for the tax and advisory services, companies can always opt to manage their own issues, although the expertise of a specialized company could be invaluable or extremely costly to obtain on an individual basis.

Threat of new entrants

The financial services industry has very low barriers to entry, especially due to the fact that it requires minimum capital investment. However, except small regional companies, the trend for the last few years was of a decrease in the number of consultancy and audit companies (the Big 8 have become the Big 4 after Arthur Andersen crashed din 2002 following the Enron scandal, Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young in 1989, Deloitte, Haskins & Sells merged with Touche Ross to form Deloitte & Touche in the same year (New York Times, 2012), Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers and PMI (Peat Marwick International) and KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler) formed KPMG in 1987 (KPMG UK, 2012)).

Intensity of rivalry in the industry

The intensity of the competition in the financial services industry is mainly due to the rivalry existing among competing companies. In 2009, the big four companies had a combined market share of 84% (Bizlawyer, 2010), while other small companies amounted together to only 16% of the financial services industry market shares (companies such as BDO International, Mazars, Horvarth, Grand Thornton and other local companies). (Ziarul Financiar, 2012)

During 2011, KPMG has had the fastest worldwide growth rate – 10.1%, as compared to the other Big Four companies: PwC - 10%, Deloitte – 8.4% and Ernst & Young – 7.6%. In 2011 PwC outgrew Deloitte in terms of revenues, and obtained the leadership position as the largest accounting firm on the planet. (Big4, 2012).

In Romania, KPMG is currently the leader on the market of consultancy, audit and accounting services, reporting in 2012 a turnover of € 35.2 million (a slight increase over the precedent year). (KPMG RO, 2012)

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4. Analysis of the strategic capability within the company

KPMG's aim is to be a globally consistent organization with excellent people who have deep industry knowledge, providing multidisciplinary capabilities. This approach is designed to:

• meet clients' expectations. Their focus is on ensuring client satisfaction and client success. They strive to understand their clients’ needs, to exceed those needs and to consistently add value whereas doing so.

• motivating, empowering and retaining employees. Their objective is to create a High Performance Culture – a virtuous circle in which the opportunity to help the clients overcome their most complex challenges and motivates and develops their talented people.

• create opportunities for KPMG's people and enable the company to fulfill its responsibilities to the capital markets and communities. In 2011 KPMG invested heavily in recruitment and on-boarding senior external talent, developing career paths to give a clearer structure to their people’s careers, and a new KPMG Business School.

• deliver reliable and high quality services, using efficiently teamwork and cooperation between different departments of the company.

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4.1. SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• The brand is well-known and it is associated with a good reputation

• The quality of the products and of the services

• Strong and diversified client base • Global Market Presence • Wide range of services sustaining

revenue moment

Weaknesses

Legal proceedings

Opportunities

• Strategic Acquisitions • Strong partnership with Government

agencies • Early adoption of IFRS standards could

stimulate demand for accounting and auditing services

• Increasing spending on infrastructure could stimulate demand for advisory services

•••

Threats

Stringent regulatory environment Technological changes Global economic slowdown could affect consulting business

5. Organizational structure and management system analysis

KPMG International is a Swiss entity coordinating a network of independent firms. The client services are provided by KPMG member firms or other independent firms with a license to use KPMG’s name and brand. Each KPMG member firm is a separate legal entity. In Romania, there are four KPMG member firms: KPMG Romania S.R.L., KPMG Audit S.R.L., KPMG Tax S.R.L. and KPMG Advisory S.R.L.

The four firms are managed by the 20 partners, headed by the senior partner, Serban Toader.

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1

This structure is not an official representation of KPMG Romania’s organization structure.

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The company follows the social model of organization, as it has a flexible structure, based on teams and teamwork. Also, the management hierarchy is flat, and most value is put on knowledge, transparency of information and knowledge diffusion. KPMG has high corporate ethics, social responsibility, and well defined public relations.

The management system represents a framework of processes that should ensure the company’s ability to reach targeted goals. Although in practice the management system can include more tools and schedules, for purposes of simplification, we can state that inside KPMG it is based on the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” model.

On the planning phase, the objectives are established and plans and predictions are made. Next, in order to implement the processes, they segregate duties between departments and employees, make teams, provide relevant training and make any necessary strategy changes. In the check phase, the actual results are measured against the targeted goals, followed by the act phase, when any deviations from the plan are analyzed and corrected.

6. Nature and source of competitive advantage of the company

The competitive advantage of the company is defined as the strategic advantage one business entity has over its rival entities within its competitive industry.

The high quality of the services provided is one of the most important competitive advantages of KPMG. The company is renowned for its qualitative customer-focused services and for its efforts to foresee and understand current and future client needs and to meet client requirements. It is also notorious for its continuous improvement processes based on the “Plan, Do, Check, Act” model, as described in the previous chapter.

Another competitive advantage is the trust inspired by KPMG’s brand name and its trained specialists. In order to retain its highly skilled employees, KPMG recognizes the need of a balanced personal and professional life. It is in a permanent search of new ways to improve work experience and to provide development opportunities and flexible working arrangements.

Moreover, KPMG gains a competitive edge through its use and sharing of knowledge. Information is one of the most important business assets, along with the computer systems, processes, networks and people. To maintain this competitive advantage the company places great emphasis on the protection of information for its clients, but also on the protection of internal information. The technology used to create a secure and reliable communication environment includes software such as KClient and Exchange 2000 Server.

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KPMG also delivers sustainability through its ability to create and deliver for all its stakeholders. A great emphasis is put on public relations and building effective stakeholder communication networks. (KPMG Australia. 2012). Relevant for maintain its competitive advantage and its leadership position on the Romanian market are also Corporate Social responsibility events, which will be described in further details in the following chapter.

7. Description and implementation of the strategy of the company

The strategy of a company is a long term plan used to achieve the company’s goals and objectives. KPMG’s strategy for the next three years is very ambitious, based on global and regional resources and on the more than 600 specialists in Romania. Despite the harsh business climate, KPMG is constantly looking for new ways to help its clients evolve, to minimize the inherent risks and to offer them the necessary comfort to successfully manage stressful periods and to have a better control over the performance of their companies. (KPMG RO, 2012).

KPMG’s strategy focuses on three main areas:

The organization – KPMG strives towards being “the best firm to work with” and supplier of choice for its customers. Progress is being done in this respect for a clear decision making and consistent delivery of services. KPMG continually invests in its front and back office processes in order to easily share information across borders. This should lead to greater economic success and profitability on the long-run. KPMG also focuses on growth and stability in order to increase and sustain its market share.

Partners and people – KPMG is constantly focused on the retention of key talents and on the engagement of a global workforce operating in a fluid environment. (KPMG Global, 2012). KPMG seeks people with broad-based experience, talent, motivation and client focus. Moreover, it makes sure that employees’ profile matches the vale drivers of the business. Due to the technologic changes and current workforce challenges, the company is looking to develop greater confidence, leadership and credibility, to increasingly use technology in order to shift from administrative matters to more high-value activities and to align its strategy with the needs of the entire company. (KPMG Global, 2012).

The Community – KPMG has a very well defined Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, by mobilizing its business skills in innovative ways in order to provide a mutual benefit for its communities, clients and people. Among the projects of CSR in which KPMG Romania has been involved so far, we can specify: a charity football tournament, raising money for Hospice Casa Sperantei, Capitala Creste Verde cycling marathon, Save the Children projects, and the support offered to school 134 from Rahova. Moreover, through its Green Policy, KPMG managed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 25% in three years’ time, to reduce the quantity of paper used, to

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recycle more paper and plastic materials and to reduce the consumption of electric energy. (Diaconu, G. 2012). Government and EU regulations are increasingly becoming a driver of firms’ strategy. The top 5 strategic elements that have been the most influenced by the changes in the regulatory environment are:1

• Innovation and investment in new services;

• Changes in tax planning and firms’ organization structures; • The opportunities for new mergers and acquisitions; • The emergence of new markets; • The enhancement of IT and risk management technology.

Because the regulatory landscape has such a high impact on the company’s strategy, KPMG permanently monitors the legislative activity of the Romanian authorities, as well as any important changes in the worldwide legislation.

Conclusion

KPMG is one of the biggest audit, accounting and advisory companies in the world, and the leader of the local financial services market. KPMG’s long term goals are to create sustainable economic growth, not only for the company and its customers, but also for the society at large. Moreover, KPMG strives to maintain and enhance the quality of its global workforce.

The company is also looking to increase its client portfolio, provide customers with unlimited access to expertise, develop and consolidate a fully integrated organization and give back to the community through its Corporate Social Responsibility programs.

Despite the harsh conditions of the business environment, KPMG knew the greatest turnover increase in 2011 on a global scale (in the industry), while in Romania it became the leader on the market of consultancy, audit and accounting services.

The company has a flat, flexible organization structure, which allows a better development of its capabilities and competitive advantage. Its high quality services, skilled employees and knowledge sharing have given KPMG a competitive edge through the years and allowed it to help its clients evolve and improve the performance of their own companies.

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