KPMG Embark Internship: Who Should Apply?

KPMG sponsors the KPMG Embark Scholars program, one of the most interesting internships in the consulting landscape today. In this article, we’ll take a close look at the KPMG Embark internship. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about what to expect from the KPMG Embark Scholars program, including responsibilities, benefits, and the qualifications you need in order to apply. This will give you a better idea of whether the KPMG Embark internship is right for you and, if so, how to apply.

For aspiring management consultants, especially those working or interested in the fields of finance and accounting, KPMG is perennially viewed as a top employment destination. KPMG is a consulting firm that specializes in providing auditing, tax, and advisory services to a variety of clients across the most impactful industries. Working at KPMG can help you build your skills in financial consulting and accounting, which will make you attractive to future employers and clients alike.

 

What Is KPMG Embark?

Okay, so first thing’s first, what is the KPMG Embark Scholars program? This program, also known as the KPMG Embark internship, is a paid internship that focuses on recruiting and developing the most talented students of color. This internship can be extremely helpful in several ways. In addition to providing KPMG Embark Scholar interns with firsthand experience providing financial consulting services to a variety of companies in some of the world’s most important industries, the KPMG Embark program offers KPMG Embark scholars with world-class training and development so they can deepen their expertise in the firm’s signature consulting areas of Auditing, Tax, and Advisory services.

KPMG is widely viewed as an inclusive, collaborative, and supportive workplace. All members of the company are expected to empower one another to maximize their potential and achieve professional success. A major component of the KPMG Embark Scholars program involves learning to work in teams as you help important client organizations meet their financial needs, improve their decision-making, and develop greater financial efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

KPMG Embark interns are empowered to take the next step toward an impactful career in financial consulting. Because KPMG serves clients across such a wide variety of industries, KPMG Embark scholars leave the program uniquely positioned to advance their careers in the industries and practice areas of their choice.

With that said, the KPMG Embark Scholars program is also specifically designed to recruit talented students and enable them to advance within the company. The program invests significant resources into building interns’ knowledge of the company’s core practices, so successful KPMG Embark Scholar interns can continue working with the company in a practice intern capacity the following summer before potentially being hired as full-time employees. The KPMG Embark Scholars program, therefore, is an excellent opportunity to gain employment at a leading financial consulting firm.

KPMG Embark Details

Now let’s take a closer look at some of the details of the KPMG Embark program.

The program is eight weeks in length and offered on a rolling, year-round basis. KPMG Embark scholars gain training throughout this time by rotating among teams offering Auditing, Tax, and Advisory services. Throughout this rotation, KPMG Embark interns gain insider knowledge of the firm while building the skills and expertise necessary to determine which advisory areas they would like to work in the following summer as practice interns, should they continue with KPMG.

KPMG Embark Scholars are offered extensive professional support and development opportunities throughout the internship. All KPMG Embark Scholar interns are included in a network of colleagues and mentors who help ensure interns’ successful engagement across all the firm’s Business Resource Groups. Further, KPMG Embark scholars are assigned to teams to gain experience collaborating on an assigned Capstone project, which they will work on throughout the entirety of the internship.

Of course, you’ll also want to know about the KPMG Embark internship salary. KPMG Embark scholars are reportedly paid an average prorated base salary of $55,000 per year, with up to $5,000 in additional bonuses. This puts the KPMG Scholar salary on par with internships for such leading firms as BCG and McKinsey, where the respective intern salaries are $60,000 and $62,000, respectively. This remains substantially below internship salaries at Bain, however, which average $72,000.

Should You Apply?

Does the KPMG Embark Scholars program sound appealing to you? If so, let’s take a closer look at the required qualifications to see if you should apply.

In order to qualify for the KPMG Embark internship, applicants must:

• Identify as a member of racial and ethnic minorities that are historically underrepresented in the consulting and professional services industry (including Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander).
• Currently be pursuing a degree in Accounting, IT, or equivalent at an accredited college or university.
• Have at a minimum two years of education remaining before being eligible for full-time employment.
• Possess excellent skills in communication, leadership, teamwork, and time management.
• Possess the technical skills necessary to help the firm meet its business objectives.

Conclusion

While the consulting and professional services industries have made significant advances in DEI-related issues in recent decades, racial and ethnic minorities continue to be underrepresented. This makes progressive initiatives like the KPMG Embark Scholars program urgently necessary. If you identify as a member of a traditionally underrepresented minority and you’re interested in a high-profile consulting career focusing on auditing, tax, and/or financial advisory services, you should consider applying to be a KPMG Embark Scholar.

If you want more insider information about the program from past and present KPMG Embark Scholar interns, check out the KPMG Embark Scholar Reddit here.

And for more official information about how to apply and current openings, click here.

 

Additional Resources:

• Top Sophomore Summer Internships for Consulting
• Virtual Internships: How To Prepare
• Consulting Internship: How to Land an Offer
• Consulting Resume: Complete Guide