KPMG to Reorganize Into 3 Regional Units

Accounting firm KPMG International said it will consolidate its operations into three key units in a sweeping restructuring designed to mirror the way its multinational clients operate. The move reorganizes the Big Five accounting firm into a regional global structure, replacing the previous country-by-country system with three new units covering the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia-Pacific regions. Also, KPMG’s holding company, KPMG International, will remain intact and continue its role as an oversight body for the group. Firms in North and South America, plus Australia and New Zealand, are taking the lead and have approved the new regional power structure and will form KPMG Americas as of July 1. The new KPMG Americas, whose firms generated nearly half of KPMG’s $10.4-billion revenue last year, will be headed by Stephen Butler, chairman and chief executive of KPMG’s U.S. operations.