‘Big Four’ accounting firm KPMG and MindBridge, a financial risk discovery platform, have established a strategic partnership; bringing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) into KPMG digital audits around the world. KPMG’s smart audit platform ‘KPMG Clara’ will use MindBridge’s technology to utilise AI in its audits; enabling enhanced identification of unexpected or high-risk transactions – providing enhanced audit quality.
KMPG Clara launched in 2017, as a scalable, cloud-based platform – offering a consistent risk-based and data-enabled digital audit for KPMG firms worldwide. MindBridge aims to offer its statistical, machine learning, and rules-based analytics technology, to be combined with KPMG Clara’s capabilities, to improve risk identification in digital audits.
The partnership follows a multi-year collaboration between KPMG in Canada and MindBridge, in which the two organisations focused on harnessing the power of AI for enhanced risk assessment, as well as improved audit quality.
Through KPMG Clara, KPMG firms continue with their shared commitment to transform the audit by harnessing the power of technology with the aim of providing higher quality and transparent results.
As AI technologies continue to dominate the headlines and retain public interest, this partnership looks to provide a “world-leading” example for designing, building and applying AI capabilities in a safe and responsible way. Both KPMG and MindBridge also have a shared goal to use AI to reimagine the audit experience, while managing associated risks and putting necessary safeguards in place.
Looking to ‘digitally transform the audit’
Sebastian Stöckle, global head of audit innovation, said: “In an increasingly complex, uncertain world, businesses are looking to cut through the noise and gain a better understanding of their place in the world.
“Our alliance with MindBridge will bring increased levels of AI into KPMG Clara, allowing for improved risk identification, helping in the continued delivery of higher quality audits by combining KPMG firm’s in-depth industry experience and MindBridge’s advanced techniques. Working together we also continue to digitally transform the audit, providing increased quality and value to clients and enhancing public trust.”
Leyton Perris, CEO and president of MindBridge, also explained the potential that AI could help fulfil: “The alliance with KPMG speaks volumes to the step change we are leading in the modernisation of the audit industry. Our platform, integrated into KPMG Clara, provides a thorough analysis of clients’ financial data, identifying risks at a transactional level across complex businesses, setting the new standard for cohesive data science and AI-led auditing capabilities.”
Larry Bradley, global head of audit at KPMG, also discussed the development: “Through the alliance, KPMG auditors will benefit from using MindBridge’s AI-embedded audit intelligence tools, visualised analytics, and the in-depth resources needed for stronger analysis and assessment of risk.
“That means member firm auditors are spending less time on routine data reviews and instead will increase focus on identified relevant riskier items. With this new lens, KPMG auditors can see new insights into clients’ business that drive better analysis, better conversations, and better quality.”
