KPMG Selects 135 Recipients of Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics Program

Eagle Scouts, Beta Alpha Psi presidents, athletes, multi-linguists, and business owners make up the incoming class of the KPMG Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics Program.

KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, developed this first-of-its-kind and award-winning program to prepare accounting students for the digital marketplace. The 135 participants in the program’s second class each will receive full tuition funding, an internship on a KPMG audit or tax team, and a full-time position upon graduation with KPMG through an advanced entry program.

“We’re matching new technologies to audit professionals who must be future-ready and know how to use these new tools effectively,” said Frank Casal, KPMG Vice Chair – Audit. “These talented individuals have a thirst for learning and critical thinking skills, exactly the characteristics needed in this environment of tremendous change and disruption and to deliver high quality audits.”

As the audit and tax professions incorporate emerging and advanced technologies – data and analytics, robotics, natural language processing, predictive analysis, cognitive capabilities, and workflow automation – the KPMG program prepares auditors and tax professionals for the future with technical proficiency, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, while maintaining a focus on quality audits and adding value across an entire organization.

“Future business leaders must be able to harness and analyze the data in a company’s tax filings to help increase efficiency, reduce risk and create value across an entire organization,” said Jeffrey C. LeSage, Americas Vice Chair – Tax. “This program provides them with hands-on experience with D&A and the opportunity to build advanced skills they can bring to our clients.”

KPMG collaborated with the Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business and the Villanova School of Business to launch the program in 2016, disrupting the audit profession’s education experience. A year later, KPMG expanded the program to nine schools, increased the number of scholarships to 135, and added a tax component. KPMG provides each school with access to proprietary KPMG technologies that integrate easily into its academic programs.

Schools participating in the KPMG Master’s program include:

In addition to the program participants, hundreds of other students at each school will benefit by learning from the practical use of the latest analytics, technology and data sets, and proprietary KPMG technologies.

The application for the 2019-2020 program is open and can be accessed via KPMG Recruiters and at: www.kpmgmasters.com.