Investing In The Future

By Rio Rose Ribaya

Malaysia’s pioneering accounting and auditing firm KPMG has been investing millions to recruit and give new talent proper training in preparation for opening new service lines that veer towards IoT, network infrastructure and technology. All this in keeping with its long-standing tradition of staying ahead of curve.

KPMG in Malaysia has been helping people, businesses, companies and corporations longer than the Malaysian Federation devoted itself to democracy. Wars and crises have ebbed and flowed… and the 92-year-old multinational company stays true to its commitment to inspire confidence and empower change. And it intends to keep it that way in the future too. Its top brass is bent to stay at the forefront of the industry as it rides the new wave of the Industrial Revolution, which once helped transform accounting into a formal profession in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

According to Datuk Johan Idris, Managing Partner of KPMG in Malaysia, one way the Firm is doing so is by remaining relevant, both globally and locally. “We are 29 years older than Malaysia, and we have always strived to ensure that our people are equipped with the relevant skillsets to deliver real results for our clients. Investing in our people is what will bring us to the future.”

Chief among these prospects is the creation of new service lines in technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), and network infrastructures in hopes to extend market acceptance in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. In line with this, KPMG in Malaysia top executive also reveals that the company is engaging globally with major players in the technology space like IBM, Microsoft and AliBaba to provide tailored solutions and services for its clients.

Last December, KPMG announced a five-year global partnership with Microsoft to accelerate the digital transformation of KPMG member firms and mutual clients as it begins the modernisation of its workplace by using the Microsoft 365 suite of cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools.

“You can see that the financial industry is transforming. Even the clients are transforming. It’s exciting because there are a lot of things that we can do in service lines such as advisory that has something to do with tech,” says Johan, who is also a former president of Malaysian Institute of Accountants. “Over the years we have invested, and will continue to invest, in people and new technology to better cater to our clients and provide new services. This is key to staying ahead within the rapidly changing market,” he notes.

In fact, Johan adds, KPMG in Malaysia has already spent a couple of millions to recruit and bring in new talent from different spectrum just to stay ahead of the accounting and auditing curve locally. Additionally, the Firm launched its KPMG Ambassadors programme that gives the opportunity to students to learn more about the specifics of working in the audit and advisory industry. Designed as a one-year internship programme, it targets students who are on either their second or third year of getting accounting or non-accounting related Bachelor’s or Master degrees for potential careers in KPMG. “It’s about targeting and recruiting the best talent with the right attitude who want to work here. For me, it’s a very strategic and impactful programme,” says Johan.

Since 2016, KPMG in Malaysia has also been running the Cyber Security Challenge where student participants are put to test on their cybersecurity skills and knowledge in reverse engineering, steganography, cryptography, programming, network analysis, infrastructure hacking, web application security and digital forensics. These targeted recruitment programmes make KPMG as one of the Top 10 graduate employers in Malaysia. “I believe graduates join us because they believe that we can give them the right opportunities to propel them further,” concluded Johan.

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