KPMG discloses how much it will pay staff this financial year

The professional services firm has revealed which staff will get the largest pay rises this financial year as it discloses remuneration in a bid to promote equality in the workplace.

Senior and high ranking employees at KPMG will earn an average pay rise of less than one per cent this year, a modest increase against the backdrop of inflation running at its highest level in three decades.

KPMG says the small increases to pay impacting staff in client-facing roles based in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra reflects “market conditions and affordability”.

Graduates employed by the accounting firm will be paid anywhere from $65,000 in its external audit division to $73,500 in data and tech — an average increase of just over 2 per cent across the company.

Employees in consulting with 2-3 years experience will receive the biggest pay rise of 7.4 per cent taking the minimum entry point from $81,500 to $87,000.

The minimum entry rates disclosed by KPMG include superannuation but exclude bonuses and other incentivies that can boost what staff take home.

KPMG Australia national managing partner people & inclusion Dorothy Hisgrove said that the move to publish salaries would promote competitiveness within the industry and promotes ongoing enhancements in gender pay equity.

“This aligns with our commitment around diversity, equity and inclusion and helps ensure our people are being treated fairly,” she said.

“The career model in place at KPMG allows accelerated progression through the bands. Our people generally progress through levels relatively quickly and many are promoted before or as they reach the midpoint for their role. For context, of all the 1,225 promotions in FY23, 60 per cent were promoted before they reached their midpoint.”

KPMG’s tax division was awarded the lowest average pay rise of 1.2 per cent, while tech and data had the highest at about 3.2 per cent. However, directors employed in data and tech would see their salaries remain unchanged at $200,000.

Managers — those with at least four years experience would earn a minimum of $110,000 in the deals division up to $122,000 in Data & Tech.

Directors were paid the least in External Audit at $173,500-$182,000 up to $201,000 in consulting.

The modest jump in salaries for most staff compares to major increases awarded to many public servants with NSW government offering 4.5 per cent rise to combat what it says are “cost of living pressures”, while those employed by the Australian Government received little more than 5 per cent.

The salaries cover those employed in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Fair Work Australia lifted the minimum wage in June by 5.75 per cent to $23.23 per hour — the biggest on record, a decision that caught outgoing Reserve Bank Philip Lowe by surprise who warned that inflation would be difficult to manage if all workers receive a pay rise that matched CPI.

“We will get ourselves into trouble if all workers feel the need to be compensated for high inflation,” Dr Lowe said at last month’s Morgan Stanley Summit. “If wages keep matching inflation then where do we think it will be next year … higher again and so forth.

KPMG is the first big four consulting firm to publicly release its pay figures for this financial year after disclosing them in an email seen by staff on Tuesday.

KPMG’s said its approach to remuneration was based on salary surveys across different markets and industries, which provided thousands of data points to support benchmarking.

“We use this market data alongside equity and fairness, individual performance, demand for roles or skills, geographic differences, industry conditions, and business affordability to determine our midpoints and salary bands for our client-facing roles,” it said.