Buzzwords such as smart responsive cities, digital transformation, budget pressure and cost optimization as well as sustainability and resilience are as omnipresent in the public sector as they are anywhere else.
Federal, cantonal and municipal administrations are forced to take on more tasks with the same or fewer staff, while simultaneously providing efficient, transparent and citizen-oriented services. All the while, the digital transformation itself is posing new challenges for administrations.
KPMG supports you and your employees in your initiatives to create both digital and analog added value to the benefit of taxpayers. We do so in a climate of mutual trust, respect and integrity. In close collaboration with you, our specialists develop workable results and accompany the projects through to their implementation in day-to-day business.
KPMG Government House of Services
Our support for the federal, cantonal and municipal authorities is pragmatic and targeted. We provide services for your challenges in four areas:
Operational Excellence
Budgetary pressure, fiscal priorities, residents' expectations and constantly changing regulatory requirements. The public sector faces a multitude of challenges.
We improve the quality, performance, efficiency and resilience of organizations through operational excellence. Among other things, in the public sector this means a more efficient handling of administrative and governmental tasks while at the same time providing citizens with a high quality of service. Using a holistic approach, we comprehensively analyze and optimize your business processes.
These findings are then translated into sustainable and forward-looking strategies that will stand the test of time, even in challenging situations. KPMG has had the pleasure of accompanying numerous public bodies at all federal levels and under various legal mandates on such projects and is very familiar with the regulatory and political environment.
You may be wondering
- Do we regularly review the impact of our spending?
- Have we designed our administration and processes efficiently – and with the use of new technologies?
- Do other public administrations fulfill the same statutory mandate more easily, cost-effectively, efficiently or to a higher standard?
KPMG’s expertise
- Process and organizational analysis: evaluate what success factors make up an efficient and effective organization and identify specific measures that need to be taken at the organizational unit level. To this end, KPMG has developed a maturity model that serves to examine specific success factors.
- Impact-oriented administration: design and implement concepts for integrated task and financial planning with added value for your citizens.
- Process automation & artificial intelligence: increase in efficiency and quality through the use of modern technologies.
- Benchmarking: conduct various benchmarking analyses using a tried-and-tested procedure to identify the potential for cost optimization, derive appropriate measures and then implement them in a targeted manner.
- External dossier checks: review client dossiers regarding quality & impact in case management (e.g. in the areas of social welfare, child and adult protection, public employment services & unemployment insurance, asylum & migration, etc.).
Smart Responsive Cities & Digital Transformation
Modern-day governments interact with their residents in a direct and customer-friendly manner. It uses the latest technologies to meet its legal obligations faster, more cost-effectively, with higher quality and more easily.
No doubt you have already given the subject a lot of thought. But in our experience, due to the fast pace of technology, it is still worth constantly reassessing your own structures and processes. We are happy to support you in this. And we have the right specialists on board to take the next step together with you in the area of Smart Responsive Cities.
There are, however, also risks associated with the digital transformation, for example in data management, cybersecurity and cloud governance. In close collaboration with you, we develop practical, legally compliant solutions and support your project until it is implemented in your day-to-day business.
You may be wondering
- Have we scrutinized and improved our structures and processes with regard to the latest technologies?
- Do we know what the citizens expect from a modern, digitalized administration?
- Have we developed a strategy and clear goals for the digital transformation of our administrative organization over the next five years?
- Have we defined important framework conditions for this (e.g. effective data management, current cloud governance)?
- Are we familiar with our city's next steps towards becoming a Responsive Smart City?
- Have we protected our system infrastructure and data against attacks and theft (e.g. cyberattacks)?
- Have we implemented our IT projects in a state-of-the-art approach, i.e. agile and with short response times?
KPMG’s expertise
- Digital strategy development: strategically align the digital transformation with the vision and goals of the administrative organization's stakeholders and set priorities based on key value drivers
- Transformation support: provide ongoing support for digitalization programs and projects, including structuring governance, program management and control and quality assurance
- Process automation & artificial intelligence: improve efficiency and quality through the use of modern technologies (e.g. robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, digital platforms).
- Digital administration: setting up a digital administration that is geared towards building and implementing digital services, workflows and processes as well as interfaces to participating or affiliated organizations (e.g. municipalities)
- Digital participation: support digital participation activities to align the digital transformation with the needs of stakeholders (e.g. online surveys, citizen workshops, workshops with interest groups)
- IT transformation: align the IT organization with the digital and functional goals and requirements of the organization, adapt the IT operating model and implement the IT transformation to build the necessary IT skills
- Cloud adoption: provide end-to-end support for cloud transformations, from defining the cloud strategy and conducting cloud assessments or cloud spend analyses to setting up hybrid cloud operations
- Cybersecurity: provide assistance with all aspects of data security, conduct cyber vulnerability analyses with risk assessment, develop IT security and data protection strategies and set up corresponding security and resilience architectures, set up integrated data protection and control systems, continuous operational monitoring of IT security including the recovery of damaged areas after cyber incidents.
- Smart Responsive Cities: jointly identify the next strategic initiatives or a holistic agenda for your “city of the future”.
Forensics and certifications
Forensic investigations and compliance management prevent white-collar crime and compliance violations.
In recent years, the public sector has also seen an increase in financial losses due to white-collar crime. Be it fraud cases, problems with contract compliance or the handling of a large transaction - such matters entail increased risks.
You can rely on our forensics team to help you prevent, detect and investigate all types of white-collar crime. We are also committed to assisting you with a strategic approach and advising you on claims for damages, recourse and other steps that can be taken based on the facts we have identified.
You may be wondering
- Do we have any open questions about accounting standards, internal control systems or legal issues?
- Is there anything in our organization that we would like to have investigated confidentially by an independent entity?
KPMG’s expertise
- Forensic investigations and Compliance management: This gives you a handle on potential risks and allows you to react appropriately (e.g. when examining your internal control system, procurement or financial processes)
ESG and sustainability
The ESG megatrend has profoundly shaped the economy and as a result also public administrations.
It is not only private companies that have various sustainability aspects at the top of their list of priorities. The pressure to act is also increasing for the federal government, cantons and municipalities. One example is that the central federal administration is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
KPMG has long been providing comprehensive support to the public sector in the implementation of sustainability strategies.
You may be wondering
- What regulatory ESG requirements do we need to meet?
- How can we develop and implement a comprehensive sustainability strategy to meet the current (regulatory) requirements?
- What are the opportunities (e.g. cost savings, improved crisis resilience) for us as a result?
- What requirements do we have to meet in the context of sustainability reporting?
KPMG’s expertise
- Developing sustainability strategies: we support you in designing end-to-end strategies that facilitate regulatory compliance and sustainable transformation.
- Innovative concepts: we analyze the impact of new concepts and measures, e.g. using the True Value Method (e.g. in mobility or infrastructure planning).
- Establishing measurement processes: we will accompany you in implementing measurement processes as a basis for developing suitable strategies.
- Reporting on sustainable development: assisting in establishing transparent reporting on sustainable development, tailored to the needs of organizations in the public sector.
Why KPMG?
Our consultants' many years of experience and our goal-oriented approach, paired with the necessary pragmatism, make KPMG a reliable partner for federal, cantonal and municipal administrations.
We are very familiar with your challenges, the relevant strategic issues and the cultural and political environment.
SGVW Partnership
At KPMG, we are proud to be a partner of the Swiss Society of Administrative Sciences (SGVW), the knowledge and networking platform for the public sector.
Federal, cantonal and municipal employees come here for inspiration, food for thought and, above all, invitations to the high-profile "Bernerhof Talks" and the "Autumn Conference". These two events in spring and fall bring together the "who's who" of public administration. We look forward to welcoming you at the next opportunity!
You will find more information here (in German):
Contact our experts for more information
Have you found a suitable answer to your question? We look forward to supporting you with your next challenge and are available to you as a sparring partner at no obligation.
We look forward to hearing from you.
