We act ethically and transparently

We act with integrity and uphold moral and ethical principles

We adhere to the highest professional standards as a basis on which we provide advice to our clients.

1. Our commitment towards clients

Our KPMG teams are made up of specialists equipped with relevant expertise and the necessary experience. We actively control all processes of each engagement and carefully monitor and point to agreed milestones and follow approved timetables. We work efficiently and make the most of our knowledge so that our cooperation with clients is as beneficial as possible and disturbs the clients' standard work flow as little as possible. We are available to address ad hoc issues throughout the year and can promptly react to the clients' needs.

We contact clients only with essential requests; our role is to support them and to finalise matters independently and not make them more complicated. We provide on-going feedback on the progress of each engagement and all matters that may impact on the clients’ decision-making. Straight-forward behaviour is the basis of open and sincere cooperation. If there is something we cannot do or if we know others who can do it better - we will say so. We always try to find win-win solutions.

We never charge unreasonable fees that would not, moreover, have been approved by our clients in advance. We look for synergies and opportunities for improvement and we pro-actively advise clients when they may save time and costs and mitigate risks.

2. We create and foster long-term client relationships

A designated client partner is responsible for the quality of all services provided to each particular client and may be contacted whenever clients need to do so. The partner coordinates the communication and relationship with the client and bears the responsibility for the client's satisfaction.

We help our clients to stay abreast of news and get together with them e.g. at conferences, training courses and seminars that we organise; we also prepare analyses, research and benchmarking studies for them.

3. Engagement work principles

In managing independence, we make use of a world-wide KPMG application, which records and monitors all KPMG investments including partners' and managers' private investments.

We also use a global electronic system for controlling independence and conflicts of interest, which allows us to review and approve business relations between KPMG and clients within our global network of KPMG offices. This helps ensure that KPMG member firm engagement teams provide only services which are not in conflict with our independence and impartiality.

KPMG member firms follow strict internal confidentiality guidelines regarding client-related information and all information obtained during engagements is considered confidential. All KPMG employees including administrative, support and technical department staff are obliged to maintain confidentiality. 

Quality and risk management principles and instruments

• We have a comprehensive quality and risk management system in place, which fully complies with the International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC 1), the codes of ethics for auditors and accounting experts and attorneys-at-law, as well as rules required by international regulators.

In general, our quality management system rests on the following three pillars:

• The firm’s management is responsible for our corporate culture, quality and risk management.
• We only work for clients who do business in line with valid regulations and follow ethical business principles.

We use a global electronic system for controlling independence and potential conflict of interest, which monitors services provided not only to a specific company but also to its related entities.

For each individual client and every engagement, we assess the impacts of our cooperation on our firm’s reputation.

Every year, all employees complete mandatory training sessions and confirm their independence towards our audit clients.

Employees regularly participate in training courses focusing on legal compliance and ethical conduct.

Each of function comprises a broad methodological background and tools complying with regulatory requirements, and reflecting the newest trends in the given industry.

Annually employees participate in a range of expert training courses.

Our employees are our main asset. To be able to offer the quality services and added value which our clients expect from us, we support a motivating and inspiring working environment and corporate culture. To adequately promote KPMG's reputation, employees need to adhere to our values. The recruitment of suitable candidates and their professional growth is crucial.

Each engagement is managed precisely in compliance with clear rules and set process procedures. Timely involvement of managers and partners into the engagement process is standard.

The quality standard put in place involves regular annual KPMG review of selected engagements by staff of other member firms reviewing compliance with all internal corporate regulations.

All employees as well as any third party may make use of the KPMG Ethics Hotline to report issues or complain about unethical behaviour.

The Code of Ethics lays down the firm’s corporate culture and its values vital for a successful and sustainable business.