KPMG opens collaboration hub in the metaverse

KPMG’s U.S. and Canadian firms debuted a metaverse collaboration hub Wednesday where its employees, clients and communities will be able to connect, engage and explore growth opportunities across industries and sectors during virtual meetings. 

The firm envisions a virtual office space where avatars will be able to interact in meetings and training sessions and showcased an animated YouTube video demonstrating how it will look, with whiteboards, roundtables, conference rooms and other gathering places.

Both firms have also created dedicated teams to help clients pursue their own metaverse strategies. The move follows other recent crypto and Web 3.0 developments by both of KPMG’s North American firms. KPMG in Canada recently added Ethereum and Bitcoin to its corporate treasury and engaged with the broader crypto ecosystem through the acquisition of a World of Women NFT.  KPMG in the U.S. has integrated the nonfungible token experience and crypto training into onboarding for new professionals. Both firms have also begun leveraging Chain Fusion, a proprietary tool that helps with audit services for financial services, fintech and crypto companies. The collaboration hub will enable KPMG to offer immersive learning and development experiences, as well as recruit talent and converge the physical and digital worlds.

“The metaverse is a market opportunity, a way to reengage talent and a path to connect people across the globe through a new collaborative experience,” said Laura Newinski, deputy chair and chief operating officer at KPMG in the U.S., in a statement “The unique experience provided by our collaboration hub will tap the creativity and passion of our people and clients to accelerate innovation.”

KPMG US YouTube channel

“Launching a collaborative space in the metaverse is a natural evolution in our journey as an innovation-driven firm,” said Elio Luongo, chief executive officer and senior partner at KPMG in Canada, in a statement. “The world has changed drastically over the last few years, and our people and clients are interested in exploring new ways of working. This offers them a new immersive space to exchange ideas.”

Other firms have also begun getting involved in the metaverse. Last December, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Hong Kong firm announced that it had bought land on a metaverse platform known as The Sandbox, and in January Prager Metis CPAs opened a virtual CPA firm in Decentraland, a 3D virtual world (see story). The Maryland Association of CPAs pioneered the concept back in 2008 when it set up CPA Island, a space on the Second Life virtual reality platform where some firms like KatzAbosch opened virtual offices.

For more information about KPMG’s metaverse plans, click here.