IBM case study

A beautiful new relationship with IBM

The introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley led to opportunities as well as constraints for professional services firms. In KPMG's case, it led to an opening to build a global Transaction Services relationship with IBM. We were asked to showcase our talent on a relatively small deal and performed so well we were immediately offered another deal. We are now IBM's preferred provider of due diligence services globally.

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Telecommunications company case study

It all started in Sydney

In the wake of Sarbanes-Oxley, many U.S. companies were obliged to reassess the business relationship with their auditors. Their aim, of course, was to avoid giving the perception that the independence of their auditor was compromised. IBM was no exception and in mid 2003, sought to identify a secondary provider to their auditor for due diligence work on potential acquisition candidates. They wanted to identify an alternative provider in case there was a conflict of interest. They therefore offered us and several of our competitors relatively small deals in order to showcase our approach to due diligence work, our team and our reporting style. Our deal was the potential acquisition of a small software company based in Sydney, Australia.