KPMG is betting that a well-placed carrot, in the form of cash prizes, will spur consultants into becoming the AI pioneers it needs for the future.
In an effort to boost internal AI innovation, the Big Four firm is launching an awards program for its US advisory division.
Dubbed the “AI Spark Innovation” awards, it plans to identify and reward employees who can demonstrate “an incredible thing that they’ve done with AI,” with a view to scaling those ideas across the firm, Rob Fisher, KPMG US’s vice chair of advisory, told Business Insider.
The firm will award “outsize monetary awards” for the most “exciting ideas” that create value for clients or enable KPMG’s back office to operate more efficiently, said Fisher.
Fisher declined to specify the exact dollar amounts, but he said that, in most cases, the cash prizes would be “materially larger than an end-of-year variable compensation award.”
The Big Four firms typically award annual bonuses of 3% to 6% of employees’ salaries. For early-career consultants, that can range between $70,000 to $120,000, depending on location, meaning that the prize could be worth several thousand dollars.
However, the money may be split between teams and will vary based on the impact of the idea, a person familiar with the program told Business Insider.
Employees from the director level below are eligible, they said.
“It’s really intended to be a pretty exciting amount of money, especially for our more junior staff, because they’re fixed dollar amounts. The upside relative to salary is more for our less tenured folks,” Fisher said.
‘Grassroots innovation’
KPMG and its Big Four rivals — Deloitte, EY, and PwC — are on the front lines of AI in the business world. The firms have poured billions of dollars into integrating AI across their own workforces, and are now responsible for guiding Fortune 500 companies through the same transition.
They act as “client zero,” these firms serve as a template for how AI can drive value, meaning the pressure is on to demonstrate AI excellence.
The traditional consulting model has measured success primarily through “utilization,” or billable hours. That model is evolving with AI to focus more on outcomes and value, but the existing culture still leaves busy consultants with little time to experiment.
When employees are just measured on utilization, it actually discourages people from bringing their best and “coolest” uses of AI, said Fisher. He hoped the financial boost would encourage employees to come forward with ideas.
“We’re trying to figure out how we get all that grassroots innovation unlocked by trying to bring some more carrots forward to our folks,” said Fisher.
The firm is also aiming to accelerate the advisory division’s shift to an AI-first culture and make technology adaptation visible and rewarding, a person familiar with the program told Business Insider.
Having run a pilot in the first quarter of 2026, the first tranche of official rewards will be awarded next quarter. Nominations will come from various group leaders and will be reviewed quarterly by a steering committee.
Though KPMG has set a budget, the firm is willing to overspend if there are enough ideas that deliver measurable client impact, potential future savings, and boost efficiency.
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