I'm looking for

The KPMG Restructuring practice advises a wide range of businesses that find it increasingly difficult to manage their cost base and meet their financial obligations, including in respect of their pension schemes. Following a number of high profile failures, the management of pension scheme obligations has become a primary concern for all stakeholders (government, corporates and trustees) and, as a result, we have seen a material increase in demand for our advice in this area. Our team is targeting further significant growth over the next few years, leveraging our market leading credentials in this area.


During 2019, our Restructuring team advised on several high profile insolvencies, including a number of retail CVAs, where addressing the business’s pension obligations was a key concern. Over the course of 2019 we provided pensions specific Restructuring advice on corporate transactions with a total value in excess of £5 billion, across a wide range of sectors (Oil & Gas, Defence, Retail, Manufacturing), with clients ranging from Financials Investors and Global Listed Groups through to family owned businesses.


Due to the volatility in pension asset values and the UK population living for longer, pension funding requirements have grown materially in recent years. Further, following several high profile corporate failures, the regulations regarding the funding of pension schemes has become increasingly stringent. As a result, dealing with pensions stakeholders is now seen as a key boardroom issue, and our Restructuring pensions expertise means we liaise with our clients at a boardroom level – often directly with the CEO and / or CFO.


Due to the rapid growth in demand for these services, we are looking for a Manager to join our expanding National team, with this role based in London. Further, it is our expectation that there will be the opportunity for the right candidate to progress over time to an Associate Director grade.


The London Restructuring team comprises over 250 people, led by 24 partners and four associate partners. This specific role would see the successful candidate joining the National Markets London team (approx. 60 people, four partners and one associate partner), with a particular focus on assessing the financial strength of the companies that are responsible for funding defined benefit pension schemes and assessing how much these companies can afford to pay to their schemes to meet their funding requirements.


Our work is hands on – as well as producing concise reports, we are in the boardroom providing direct strategic and negotiation support, and then implementing our recommendations. Applicants should be ready to work in a dynamic, flexible and fast paced environment. The role requires strong accounting analysis, report writing skills and a commercial mind-set.


We work with a wide variety of clients, from small privately owned enterprises through to FTSE 100 and high profile businesses. Applicants should expect to work across all sectors.


Further, this role would also be ideal for candidates looking to work flexibly – we would be more than happy to accommodate a 4 day working week, or working reduced hours across a 5 day working week.


Roles and Responsibilities


To be an effective Manager within the Employer Covenant team, and in this role specifically, you will undertake the following:
• Build strong, trusted adviser relationships with senior management and other key stakeholders during engagements (including trustees, solicitors and actuaries);
• Manage teams of colleagues working on engagements, ensuring effective delegation and also multiple work stream delivery;
• Manage engagements and projects to scope, time, quality and budget complying with KPMG engagement management practices;
• Appraise situations (which can be challenging & fast developing) and look to develop innovative solutions, assessing options for businesses and/or stakeholders;
• Communicate views and insights (both in writing and verbally) in an effective and compelling manner to clients and KPMG colleagues, able to adjust style to circumstances;
• Lead the design and development of client ready deliverables with minimal Director and Partner input;
• Coach and develop team members providing high quality developmental feedback;
• Identify opportunities for the wider firm; and
• Involvement in business development activities, including developing pitches and proposals to win new work.


Qualifications and Skills


Key skills and competencies required:


• Strong commercial and business acumen, with evidence of experience;
• Demonstrable experience in leading work streams, advising and working alongside a range of stakeholders;
• Ability to work innovatively and ‘self-start’;
• Desire to build wide advisory expertise and develop knowledge of the team’s offerings;
• Ability to communicate well with operational and financial staff at all levels;
• Good time management and organisational skills, together with the ability to prioritise tasks;
• An ability to produce high quality, detailed and accurate work, and produce concise and creative reports and presentations;
• Enjoy working in a dynamic, flexible and fast paced project environment;
• Willingness to embrace work across all sectors;
• Willingness to undertake some travel, albeit this is typically limited to day trips; and
• Strong financial and analytical skills, with relevant accountancy qualification.


Experience and Background


Prior experience of undertaking pensions related work is not essential. Up front training and continuous coaching will be provided.

The Insolvency Restructuring team [in London] are looking for a Manager to join their team. We are looking for an individual to work alongside colleagues in the Core Insolvency team which is responsible for providing insolvency and contingency planning advice in large, complex situations often involving multi-jurisdictional advice.


The team delivers a blend of stakeholder advisory work, typically linked to providing advice around distressed businesses and supporting restructuring via the use of insolvency procedures as well as undertaking formal insolvency work for typically large and complex institutions.


The team is not aligned to specific sectors and specialisms, however there are individuals with significant experience in certain areas and situations, and we would welcome this in applicants. Applicants however should expect to work across all sectors as situations and clients demand.


Where possible, assignments will be resourced to suit an individual’s base location, but the nature and unpredictability of our work will mean that some travel (and possible international working) will be required. The role will involve working across a range of assignment types, as highlighted above, and applicants should be ready to work in dynamic, flexible and fast moving environments.


Role and Responsibilities


To be an effective Manager within Restructuring you will need to undertake the following:
• Working in engagement teams of typically 3 to 6 people, supporting senior team members on a range of product types;
• Build strong, trusted adviser relationships with senior management and mid-level executives and other key stakeholders in engagements (including lawyers and contacts at banks and other lenders);
• Manage engagements and projects to scope, time, quality and budget complying with KPMG engagement management practices;
• On certain relevant assignments, overseeing work as the main point of contact with the client, reporting back to engagement leaders and other senior staff;
• Undertaking of detailed analysis to present robust advice to client teams;
• Appraise challenging & fast developing situations and look to develop innovative solutions and assess options for businesses and their stakeholders, which in certain instances may involve consideration of formal insolvency processes;
• Potential involvement in new product development or business development activities;
• Development of junior staff on assignments.


Qualifications and Skills


• Qualified Chartered Accountant or background in the Restructuring profession;
• Some corporate insolvency experience beneficial, and ideally an insolvency licence / JIEB qualification (or an intention to commence this qualification) although this is not a requirement;
• Desire to build wide insolvency skillsets and develop knowledge of all Restructuring offerings;


Experience and Background


• Demonstrable experience in managing own work streams, within the Restructuring and Insolvency space;
• Strong commercial and business acumen;
• Ability to work innovatively with a track record of being able to ‘self-start’ whilst also capable of effective delegation to teams of colleagues;
• Ability to communicate well across a range of operational and financial staff at all levels. This is also often in challenging circumstances given the financial positions of the organisations we typically work with;
• Willingness to embrace work across all sectors and potentially undertake some travel;
• A positive team influence and achievements beyond the realms of project work including development and mentoring of junior team members;
• Drive and enthusiasm.

KPMG’s Special Situations Group is made up of approximately 85 people, led by a team of seven partners, who are looking to enhance the delivery capability in order to support the next phase of growth.


The team delivers a broad spectrum of restructuring work including lender and company side advisory through a period of distress and/or restructuring, as well as implementation support covering turnaround, transformation and liquidity (both working capital improvement and cash preservation for stressed and distressed situations).


Whilst the team is not aligned to specific sectors there are individuals with significant experience in certain sectors and specific functional and/or sector focus would be considered a benefit. Applicants however will be expected to work across all sectors and situations depending on client demand.


Role and Responsibilities


We are looking to recruit an Associate Director to join the team to support the future growth plans to support the broad turnaround, transformation and liquidity offerings.


The vacancy will be based in London, although applicants will be required to work in other UK, European or international based locations depending on client demand.


Key Responsibilities:


• Responsibility for delivery of client projects, taking the role as day to day contact on engagements.
• Able to build and maintain strong, trusted adviser relationships with senior management and mid-level executives and other key stakeholders.
• Manage teams of colleagues delivering engagements, ensuring effective delegation and multi-work stream delivery.
• Deliver engagements and projects to scope, time, quality and budget complying with KPMG engagement management practices.
• Communicate views and insights (both in writing and verbally) in an effective and compelling manner to clients and KPMG colleagues, able to adjust style to circumstances.
• Lead the design and development of client ready deliverables with minimal Director and Partner input.
• Work with Partners / Directors across the business development cycle, including development of proposals, client sales presentations and participation in client pitch presentations.
• Coach and develop team members (and client staff) and provide high quality developmental feedback.
• Develop insightful sector points of view on key strategic issues for your chosen sector(s) including leading or playing a key role in a sector campaigns as many SMs do, including attendance of pitches
• Identify, design and lead practice development initiatives, coordinating other members of the team.
• Appraise challenging & fast developing situations and look to develop innovative solutions and assess options for stakeholders.
• Significant involvement in business development activities, including developing pitches and proposals to win new work including participation in pitch presentations.


Qualifications & Skills


• Ability to communicate well across a range of operational and financial staff at all levels including Board Members and other Senior Executives.
• Ability to work innovatively and ‘self start’.
• Ability to motivate a team to deliver outstanding work.
• Desire to build wide advisory skill set and develop knowledge of all Restructuring offerings.
• Ability to leverage personal and firm wide networks to support lead generation.


Background & Experience


• Drive and enthusiasm.
• Strong commercial and business acumen.
• Demonstrable experience in leading multi-work stream advisory projects (successful candidates will need to demonstrate some experience in each of the turnaround, transformation and liquidity disciplines).
• Experience at advising and working alongside a range of stakeholders, including PE firms, Lenders, corporates and internal KPMG stakeholders ie. CST partners and sector leads.
• Experience of being involved in at least one sector campaign.

KPMG’s Restructuring team are looking for a specialist experienced Employee Claims Senior Administrator to join their team. The team of trusted advisors offer a full range of services to stressed and distressed businesses, ranging from formal insolvency through to advising profitable businesses on enhancing value and solving issues. This role will be focusing purely on employee related matters arising on our distressed advisory and insolvency engagements.

The successful will join our national Employee Claims team, the work services a full spectrum of businesses from small owner managed concerns through to large multinationals, right across the UK. Whilst this role would primarily be office based, periodic travel (often at short notice) to deal with employee matters on live engagements will be required. This will on occasion require travel across the UK.

Key Responsibilities:

- Support engagement manager on insolvency assignments in dealing with all employee aspects of the case.
- Oversee completion process for employees of relevant forms to seek to ensure submission on a timely basis.
- Prepare employee related correspondence for manager approval, including letters, emails and file notes of key employee related decisions.
- Attend employee meetings to assist in answering employees’ queries, including potentially leading challenging meetings alongside more senior staff.
- Ensure minutes of any employee meetings are taken and maintained on file.
- Liaise with company HR staff to ensure all employee records are retained.
- Liaise with the engagement manager, company payroll staff (or a payroll bureau) and our cashiers to ensure that wages are paid where required.
- Ensure tax and RTI payments and filings are completed on an accurate and timely basis.
- Work closely with our Pensions team on any pension and auto-enrolment matters.
- Update and maintain IPS for employee information.
- Agree employees’ preferential and unsecured claims for manager approval.
- Field any ongoing employee queries throughout the life of an insolvency case.
- Provide specialist advice to our team on advisory engagements where insolvency may be a possible outcome.
Key skills and competencies required:

- Experience in a similar role in an insolvency practice, preferably using IPS.
- Previous payroll/HR experience in wider industry preferable, although not essential.
- Highly organised and have an ability to prioritise effectively.
- Have flexibility to be able to respond to sudden and sharp changes in workload.
- Common sense and an eye for detail/accuracy.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to remain calm and professional in times of stress.
- The confidence and ability to challenge more senior staff on matters such as employee consultation.

KPMG Overview

Joining KPMG means joining a talented team of exceptional colleagues who bring innovative thoughts and a natural curiosity to the work they do each day. No one type of person succeeds at KPMG; a diverse business requires diverse personalities, characters and perspectives. There really is a place for you here.


Department Information

We are the in-house tax team for KPMG International (“KPMGI”). This is a unique opportunity to work in an internal rather than client-facing KPMG team.


KPMGI carries on business activities for the overall benefit of KPMG network firms, but does not provide professional services to clients. One of the main purposes of KPMGI is to facilitate the provision by KPMG network firms of high-quality Audit, Tax, and Advisory services to their clients. For example, KPMGI establishes and facilitates the implementation and maintenance of uniform policies and standards of work and conduct by the KPMG network firms, and protects and enhances the use of the KPMG name and brand for the benefit of these entities.


The team works on a wide and varied range of tax matters across direct and indirect tax. Some of the work is UK focused, but much of the work is international, dealing with a variety of jurisdictions outside the UK. We drive the tax strategy, which means understanding KPMGI’s business requirements and interacting with a variety of internal and external stakeholders to provide tax advice and ensure that tax obligations are met around the world. The work is varied and we operate in a challenging and stimulating environment.



Like many in-house tax teams, KPMGI outsources its compliance and also appoints advisors to assist on specific projects. Where we use outside advisors, the tax team is responsible for actively managing the advisors, scoping their work, agreeing their fees, receiving and reviewing output and communicating findings and action points to the business.



Role and Responsibilities

We are looking for a full time manager who will be based in Canary Wharf, London. There is minimal travel required. The role reports into a London based Tax Director, with the Head of Tax based in the US. Other than the Head of Tax, all of the in-house direct and indirect tax team are based in London.


The successful applicant will demonstrate an entrepreneurial attitude by working on and helping to run a portfolio of advisory and compliance projects. You will enjoy working in a dynamic, fast changing environment and relish a role which is constantly changing according to the needs of the business and the requirements of the KPMG network firms globally. We are a close knit team and you will receive guidance and support from other team members to develop and grow.


Typically, projects involve interaction with other teams within KPMG International (e.g. commercial, legal, finance) and with the tax team at the relevant KPMG member firm, and might include:

- Helping to assess the corporate tax obligations in various territories and coordinating with the finance team and local tax advisors in order to fulfil these obligations.
- Understanding the changing business activities and helping to advise on proposed restructuring steps, including understanding the accounting position and providing input into legal documentation.
- Understanding the business model for any new services to be provided and coordinating with the business and legal teams, and in some cases, other KPMG member firms, in order to recommend and implement an appropriate operating structure.
- Taking responsibility for organising the team’s training programme.
- Liaising with KPMG Member Firm’s in-house tax teams on the tax treatment of their transactions with KPMGI.
- Monitoring the implementation of significant tax legislative changes around the world (e.g. BEPS) and assessing its impact on KPMGI’s tax position.
- Being responsible for tax compliance filings in a number of different jurisdictions, including overseeing the gathering of information and managing advisors.
- Dealing with enquiries from local tax authorities.
- You will also be responsible for mentoring and coaching junior staff.

Qualifications and Skills

Qualified CTA or equivalent, with a corporate tax background and experience in industry. Some indirect tax experience preferred but not essential.



Experience and Background

- High level of drive and enthusiasm and a willingness to learn about new taxes.
- Enjoy working with individuals from diverse backgrounds around the world, and good at quickly building different networks according to the demands of each project.
- Passionate about developing an exceptionally performing team.
- Strong project management skills; comfortable in dealing with issues crossing over multiple taxes and multiple jurisdictions, and a practical approach to resolving issues and providing advice.
- Ability to communicate effectively at all levels (internally and externally) both in writing and orally, with tax specialists and non-tax specialists, in the UK and overseas.
- Ability to identify and evaluate risk issues and know when to involve others. Must be a team worker.
- Strong UK and international tax knowledge and experience
- Comfortable with reviewing overseas tax calculations (based on advice from local advisers), experience with understanding and interpreting financial statements and accounting data.