At last month’s Accountant & International Accounting Bulletin Awards in London, KPMG took home two big awards, while PwC and others won top honors in various other important industry categories.
KPMG walked away with the “Thought Leadership of the Year” trophy for its 2016 Global CEO Outlook and “Communication Campaign of the Year” for its campaign surrounding last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
The CEO outlook, which surveyed 1,260 chief executives in 10 countries, revealed many interesting findings, including the takeaway that today’s corporate leaders believe that business transformation has become a “now or never” proposition. A staggering 41% of executives polled believe that their company will be changed into a significantly different entity, with the data and analytics revolution being a big part of their rationale.
According to their views, it is by no means an exaggeration to call the expected pace of this change a revolution. Nearly three-fourths (72%) of CEOs said they believe that the next three years will be more critical for their industry than the previous 50. As they try to navigate this tumultuous time — which has only been further thrown into uncertainty by the results of yesterday’s U.S. presidential election — they will also have to sidestep many challenges. Customer loyalty, economic forces, and new disruptors are the three key challenges CEOs expect to face.
Such results are what led to the award going to KPMG. “We are exceedingly proud to have our 2016 CEO Outlook recognized as thought leadership of the year by The Accountant and International Accounting Bulletin,” said Isabelle Allen, KPMG International’s global head of clients and markets. ”The Global CEO Outlook offers a thought provoking view of the challenges CEOs see for their businesses, and themselves personally, over the coming three years. We are pleased that it has resonated so strongly with our clients, the wider business community and the media.”
PwC claimed first place in the London-based publication’s “Audit Innovation of the Year” category for Halo, its data-auditing tool. The technology aims to harness the power of data, and the Big Four accounting and professional services firm is making Halo the basis of its “pipeline of new data products” that will include artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
“These developments create major opportunities for us to continually meet the changing needs of our clients and stakeholders and to reshape the assurance landscape by opening up the way to new forms of assurance and audit in the future — such as real-time assurance,” said Richard Sexton, global assurance leader at PwC.
Other companies and groups that won awards at the event include: Praxity Global Alliance for “Association of the Year,” WithumSmith+Brown, PC (HLB International) for “Employer of the Year,” Xero for “Accountancy Software of the Year,” Alliott Group Ltd for “Rising Star Association of the Year,” PP&C Auditores Independentes for “Single Entities Communication Campaign of the Year,” HLB Russia for “Advisory Project of the Year,” International Federation of Accountants for “Accounting Capacity Building Champion of the Year,” Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for “Professional Body of the Year,” and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) for “Sustainability Champion of the Year.”
