KPMG Salary Guide - Pay Levels, Bonuses, Commission, and Benefits

Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) is one of the world's leading tax, audit and consulting firms, with a global staff of over 219,000 employees.

KPMG attracts over 30,000 job seekers annually due to its position as one of the Big 4 consulting firms, along with:

• Deloitte
• Ernst & Young (EY)
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

According to Statista, KPMG generated 32.13 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2021. But is their revenue per employee ratio just as impressive?

In this post, we’ll cover all the key information you need to know before applying for a job at KPMG, including:

• Career categories and levels
• Salary structures (all data is taken from glassdoor.com)
• Bonus packages

KPMG Salary Guide: How Much Do KPMG Employees Make?

Careers at KPMG are split into 3 main categories:

• Advisory
• Audit
• Tax

The Advisory category is made up of 6 levels, based on experience. These levels are (from junior to most senior):

1. Analyst
2. Consultant
3. Senior Consultant
4. Manager
5. Senior Manager
6. Partner

The Audit and Tax categories, however, share the same hierarchy, which is split into 3 levels:

1. Associate
2. Senior Associate
3. Manager

KPMG also offers a paid internship program that lasts between 3 to 6 months and that, on average, pays $4,965/mo.

The internship monthly salary encompasses a Base Pay of $4,641/mo and a Bonus of $324/mo.

Once the intern successfully completes the program, they usually receive an offer for a permanent position at the firm.

Advisory Department Salaries

KPMG Advisory department focuses on helping businesses boost their performance, make better use of their IT investments, manage risk, shield financial assets, and improve market confidence.

Employees in the Advisory services department can expect a salary ranging between $84K and $282K per year, depending on their level.

Advisory Analyst Salary

The average salary for an Advisory Analyst is $84,091 and it comprises of:

• Base Pay: $79,361/yr
• Performance Bonus: $4,729/yr

Advisory Consultant Salary

KPMG Advisory consultants have the same salary structure as analysts, but can also benefit from commission on top of base pay and bonus. The average total salary is $112,879:

• Base Pay: $89,861/yr
• Performance Bonus: $5,869/yr
• Commission: $17,148/yr

Advisory Senior Consultant Salary

Advisory Senior Consultants are paid around $144,446/yr. Here is a breakdown of their average salary:

• Base Pay: $110,989/yr
• Performance Bonus: $8,498/yr
• Commission: $24,959/yr

Advisory Manager Salary

Advisory Managers earn an average salary of $149,842/yr, broken down into base pay, bonus, and stock:

• Base Pay: $126,733/yr
• Performance Bonus: $10,860/yr
• Stock: $12,249/yr

Advisory Senior Manager Salary

The average salary for an Advisory Senior Manager is $168,017 per year, which follows the same compensation structure as Advisory Managers:

• Base Pay: $139,787/yr
• Performance Bonus: $11,630/yr
• Stock: $12,844/yr
• Tips: $3,755/yr

Advisory Partner Salary

Advisory Partners earn an average salary of $282,717/yr, which includes several benefits:

• Base Pay: $169,670/yr
• Performance Bonus: $25,026/yr
• Commission: $42,608/yr
• Stock: $30,429/yr
• Profit Sharing: $14,983/yr

Audit Department Salaries

At KPMG, the Audit department helps clients conduct efficient financial audits and assess their current technology. Professionals working in this department can expect an annual salary range of $69K to $133K, according to their level.

Audit Associate Salary

Audit Associates can expect to make around $69,732/yr. Here is a breakdown of their average salary:

• Base Pay: $66,822/yr
• Performance Bonus: $2,910/yr

Audit Senior Associate Salary

Audit Senior Associates can receive an average salary of $93,291/yr, which includes:

• Base Pay: $88,712/yr
• Performance Bonus: $4,578/yr

KPMG Audit Manager Salary Structure

The median salary for KPMG Audit Managers is $133,858/yr:

• Base Pay: $126,272/yr
• Performance Bonus: $7,586/yr

Tax Department Salaries

KPMG Tax department offers tax consulting for individuals, organizations, trusts, and partnerships.

The average annual salary seen in the Tax department is $69K to $111K.

Tax Associate Salary

Tax Associates working at KPMG will earn around $69,100/yr. Here is the salary breakdown:

• Base Pay: $65,887/yr
• Performance Bonus: $3,213/yr

Tax Senior Associate Salary

KPMG Tax Senior associates will benefit from an average annual salary of $86,114/yr:

• Base Pay: $82,156/yr
• Performance Bonus: $3,958/yr

Tax Manager Salary

Tax Managers can expect an average salary of $111,896/yr. The annual salary comprises:

• Base Pay: $105,386/yr
• Performance Bonus: $6,510/yr

Other Roles

With over 219,000 employees worldwide, KPMG has several other departments and roles available. Below are the 3 other popular categories that come after audit, tax, and advisory:

• Business Support Services
• Federal
• Innovation & Technology

Here are the average US salaries for the most popular roles at KPMG (according to Indeed)

Comparably has digged even deeper by creating the table below, which shows the average salary seen across 14 different KPMG departments:

At KPMG, the Director of Sales benefits from the highest yearly salary at $234,010/yr. While the Receptionist role earns the lowest salary at $39,346/yr.

249 KPMG employees were surveyed to see how they felt about their salary. The result showed that KPMG was ranked at the Bottom 35% when compared to businesses of the same size.

Benefits Package

KPMG offers an excellent benefits package which includes:

• Medical insurance, prescription drug coverage, dependent day care flexible spending accounts, and health care flexible spending accounts
• Dental plan for preventive, diagnostic, restorative, and orthodontic care
• Vision plan covering eye tests, contact lenses, and eyeglasses
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment Coverage, Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, and Family Term Life Insurance
• Additional business, pet, automotive, or personal accident/personal cancer insurance
• Money-saving perks, including student loan refinancing, homeowners insurance, and mortgage assistance
• Health support tools, such as health coaches
• Family resources, such as backup child and elder care
• Paid time off, including medical leave, jury duty, and volunteering
• Flexible work arrangement
• 401(k) Capital Accumulation Plan
• Special discounts on selected vehicles, retail, recreation, well-being, and electronics
• Financial perks, such as signing bonus, stock options, and yearly bonuses

Out of 145 reviewers on Indeed, all of them rated benefits such as insurance, flexibility at work, childcare, health and wellness, and retirement 100% positively.

Financial perks received 89% positive reviews, while paid time off received 95% positive reviews.

Salary Raises

At the beginning of 2022, KPMG US invested almost $160million in pay raises for around 30,000 employees. The pay increases were broken down as follows:

• $5000 for directors, senior managers, senior directors, managing directors, and executive directors
• $7000 for managers, associate directors, and senior associates
• $3000 for associates
• $2000 for some of the other roles, including tax technicians, leads, and analysts

Work Life Balance

KPMG employees gave their work-life balance a 3.1 on Glassdoor. According to Comparably, only 31% of KPMG employees are happy with their work life balance. This is possibly due to the fact that most KPMG employees work long hours:

• Only 7% of employees work 7 hours or less
• 25% of employees work 8 hours a day
• 41% of employees work 10 hours a day
• 15% of KPMG employees work 12 hours a day

Culture and Values

KPMG believes in the following values:

• Integrity: Doing the right thing
• Excellence: Learning and improving every day
• Courage: Always making brave decisions
• Together: Respect is the core of their strength
• For Better: They do what is truly important

Furthermore, they believe in the importance of honest communication, collaboration, trust, diversity, and flexibility.

These values help their employees grow both as individuals and professionals.

FAQ

1. How long does it take to get promoted at KPMG?

On average, a promotion is granted to consultants, senior consultants, and analysts after two to three years in their role. Managers and senior managers can expect to fulfill their role for at least four to five years before reaching the Partner level.

2. Can you negotiate your salary at KPMG?

Yes, you can negotiate your salary offer at KPMG as long as you have the relevant experience and qualifications. For example, you could use previous similar experiences to advance a level or ask KPMG to match an offer made to you by another firm.

3. What Big 4 Firm pays the most?

Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC offer more or less identical compensation. Each Big 4 pays close attention to what the other firms offer, meaning that if you receive an offer from Deloitte, you may be able to easily negotiate a better salary with KPMG. Salaries for all Big 4 firms vary based on location, level, and practice.

4. Are bonuses and other benefits included in KPMG's compensation package?

Yes, KPMG offers a comprehensive benefits package that extends beyond base salary. This can include performance-based bonuses, health insurance, retirement contributions, and other perks such as tuition reimbursement, professional development opportunities, and more. The exact offerings may vary by region and role.

5. How frequently does KPMG review and potentially increase salaries?

Typically, KPMG conducts annual salary reviews for all its employees. During this process, they consider factors such as individual performance, role, and market conditions. If an employee has performed well and contributed significantly to the firm, they may receive a salary increase or promotion. However, any salary adjustment is at the discretion of KPMG management.

Conclusion

Working in consulting requires dealing with facts and data on a daily basis, making it difficult to maintain a consistent level of energy 5 days a week. The hours are long, but the pay is great.

If instead you are more interested in having a better work-life balance, at 4 Day Week, we are here to help. We only list jobs with a 4 day work week (usually 32hrs) and most companies offer this with no reduction in salary.

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