ResumeAdapter
Updated 2026-07-01

KPMG hires against
five values, proven by results.

Why this matters

KPMG publishes five values, Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, and For Better, each with a one-line gloss, identical on its global and US pages. They are a set, not a numbered scorecard. This page names them from KPMG, then goes where the careers site does not: it maps each value to the resume evidence that actually proves it, and flags the UK behavioural capabilities as a separate, UK-only model.

Scan my KPMG resumeFree to scanFive valuesResume evidence mapped
By the numbers
What KPMG recruits on
Values
Five, not a numbered scorecard
The values
5
Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, For Better
Listed first
Integrity
But KPMG does not rank them
Source
kpmg.com
Our Values, careers and culture
The five values, in one line each

The values KPMG hires against.

KPMG publishes five values, each with a one-line gloss. The names and glosses below are quoted verbatim from KPMG's own pages. They are a set of values, not a numbered scorecard.

01
Integrity. We do what is right.
02
Excellence. We never stop learning and improving.
03
Courage. We think and act boldly.
04
Together. We respect each other and draw strength from our differences.
05
For Better. We do what matters.

Value names and glosses quoted from KPMG's pages, kpmg.com/us/en/careers-and-culture and kpmg.com/xx/en/about/our-values (accessed 2026-07-01).

The quick answer

What are KPMG's values, and what does KPMG look for?

KPMG publishes five values, each with a one-line gloss: Integrity, we do what is right; Excellence, we never stop learning and improving; Courage, we think and act boldly; Together, we respect each other and draw strength from our differences; and For Better, we do what matters. KPMG frames what it looks for through these values rather than a US competency scorecard, so it reads for people who made a hard call under pressure, raised the standard of the work, took a bold but right position, built and widened a team, and delivered an outcome that mattered. These are values, not a numbered rubric, so the move is to prove each one through a concrete, quantified outcome rather than naming it. KPMG in the United Kingdom additionally publishes a named behavioural capabilities framework, but that is UK-specific. The wording is KPMG's; the resume mapping is ResumeAdapter editorial guidance. Scan your KPMG resume.

KPMG describes the people it is made up of through five values, each with a short gloss: Integrity, doing what is right; Excellence, never stop learning and improving; Courage, thinking and acting boldly; Together, respecting each other and drawing strength from differences; and For Better, doing what matters. KPMG calls these values the foundation of everything it does, presents them as a set rather than a ranked or numbered scorecard, and uses identical wording on its global and US pages. They describe the culture KPMG hires and works by, not an interview score sheet.

KPMG publishes five values, Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, and For Better, each with a one-line gloss, and calls them the foundation of everything it does. This page quotes the names and glosses verbatim from KPMG's own global and US pages, then maps each one to the resume evidence that proves it.

One honest caveat up front: these are values, not an Amazon-style numbered scorecard, and the US firm publishes no competency model that grades each interview answer against a value. KPMG in the United Kingdom does publish a named behavioural capabilities framework, nine of them, assessed across its graduate process, but that is a UK model. We flag that distinction clearly and do not present it as a US requirement.

Where this page goes further than the careers site is the resume reading. KPMG tells you the values it hires by. It does not tell you which line on your resume proves them. That mapping, from each value to the evidence a reviewer can actually read, is the wedge, and it is labeled throughout as ResumeAdapter editorial guidance, not a KPMG claim.

The reading is the same for every one: a reviewer indexes on the value being visible in the bullet itself, not asserted as an adjective. A line that reads committed to integrity and excellence fails, because it names the values. A line that reads corrected a 3.8 million dollar misstatement before sign-off passes, because it shows Integrity without ever using the word. The entries below give you that pattern for all five.

The five values

Each value, what it means,
and the evidence that proves it.

Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, and For Better. The value name and gloss under each are KPMG's, quoted verbatim; the intent and the resume mapping below are ResumeAdapter editorial guidance, not a KPMG claim.

01
Value 01

Integrity

KPMG's words

We do what is right.

How KPMG reads it (editorial)

On a firm that audits public companies and advises on controls and risk, KPMG reads integrity as the license to operate. It points to people who made a hard call under pressure, not people who list integrity as a personal quality.

How to show it (ResumeAdapter editorial)

ResumeAdapter editorial guidance: show a risk or control you owned and the exposure you reduced. Point to a finding you stood behind, a control you rebuilt, or a hard call you defended, with the number. Integrity is a thing you did, never a trait you claim.

Show this on the resume

Make yourself the one who owned the call. Show the stake and what you protected in the same line.

Flagged a revenue-recognition gap on a SaaS audit and rebuilt the control, correcting a 3.8 million dollar misstatement before sign-off.

Avoid this anti-pattern

Naming integrity as a trait with no owned action behind it. Highly ethical professional committed to integrity states the value instead of proving you acted on it.

Highly ethical professional committed to integrity and doing the right thing.

02
Value 02

Excellence

KPMG's words

We never stop learning and improving.

How KPMG reads it (editorial)

KPMG reads excellence as people who raise the standard of the work, measured by a result. It is the difference between someone who calls themselves detail-oriented and someone who can name what got measurably better because of them.

How to show it (ResumeAdapter editorial)

ResumeAdapter editorial guidance: show a standard you raised or a process you improved, with the figure. Name the rework you cut, the cycle you shortened, or the method others adopted. Excellence shown is improvement with a number, not a list of adjectives.

Show this on the resume

Show the improvement and the figure. Lead with what got better, not with how busy you were.

Cut audit fieldwork rework 30 percent by standardizing a reusable testing workflow that two later engagement teams adopted.

Avoid this anti-pattern

Claiming to be detail-oriented with no result attached. Detail-oriented and always improving names the value without proving an outcome.

Detail-oriented self-starter who is always learning and improving.

03
Value 03

Courage

KPMG's words

We think and act boldly.

How KPMG reads it (editorial)

KPMG reads courage as moving first or taking an unpopular but right position, not waiting to be told. It points to candidates who changed an outcome by acting, not who describe themselves as bold or proactive.

How to show it (ResumeAdapter editorial)

ResumeAdapter editorial guidance: show a position you took or a change you drove, and what it changed. Point to a recommendation you stood behind or a process you stopped, with the result. Courage is a decision a reviewer can read, not an adjective.

Show this on the resume

Make yourself the one who acted first. Show the decision and the result it produced.

Pushed a client to halt a flawed close mid-quarter, then led the redesign that prevented a material misstatement.

Avoid this anti-pattern

Describing yourself as bold or proactive with no decision behind it. Proactive, bold thinker names the value instead of showing you acted.

Proactive, bold thinker who is never afraid of a challenge.

04
Value 04

Together

KPMG's words

We respect each other and draw strength from our differences.

How KPMG reads it (editorial)

On cross-functional, multi-office engagements, KPMG reads collaboration as a result produced with others. It points to people who built and widened a team, not lone operators who describe themselves as team players.

How to show it (ResumeAdapter editorial)

ResumeAdapter editorial guidance: show a team you pulled together or a stakeholder group you aligned across functions or markets, with the outcome. Point to juniors you developed or a cross-team plan you drove. Together is a result delivered with others, not a label.

Show this on the resume

Show the team you widened and the outcome it produced. Name the people developed and the result delivered.

Coached three associates toward promotion while aligning client and offshore teams on one delivery plan that shipped two weeks early.

Avoid this anti-pattern

Calling yourself a team player with no collaborative result. Collaborative team player names the value without showing what the team achieved.

Collaborative team player who works well with diverse groups.

05
Value 05

For Better

KPMG's words

We do what matters.

How KPMG reads it (editorial)

KPMG reads this as work that changed an outcome for a client, a market, or a community, not a restatement of the firm's purpose. It points to people whose work mattered in a measurable way, not people who quote the value back to it.

How to show it (ResumeAdapter editorial)

ResumeAdapter editorial guidance: show client value created, a program delivered, or a measurable result, and let it speak to the purpose. Name the outcome that mattered and quantify it. For Better is an outcome, never a slogan you repeat.

Show this on the resume

Show the outcome that mattered and let it carry the value. Lead with the result, not the mission.

Delivered a controls remediation that cleared a client's path to a clean audit opinion and an on-time financing round.

Avoid this anti-pattern

Restating the purpose as a personal passion. Passionate about doing what matters proves nothing on its own.

Passionate about doing work that matters and making a difference.

Value names and glosses from KPMG's pages, kpmg.com/us/en/careers-and-culture and kpmg.com/xx/en/about/our-values (accessed 2026-07-01). The intent and the resume mapping are ResumeAdapter editorial guidance, not a KPMG claim.

The UK behavioural capabilities

The named hiring model, but it is UK, not US.

If the five values are how KPMG describes its culture worldwide, the closest thing to a named, assessed hiring rubric is published by KPMG in the United Kingdom, not the US firm. KPMG UK lists nine behavioural capabilities and states they are assessed throughout its graduate recruitment process. They are useful to understand, but treat them as UK-published: the US firm hires against the five values, not this list, so do not optimize a US application around it.

  • 01Career Motivation
  • 02Delivers Quality
  • 03Drives Collaboration and Inclusion
  • 04Strives for Continual Improvement
  • 05Exercises Professional Judgement
  • 06Makes an Impact
  • 07Seizes Business Opportunities
  • 08Demonstrates Innovation and Curiosity
  • 09Resilience

The nine behavioural capabilities are published by KPMG UK, kpmgcareers.co.uk/graduates/how-to-apply/behavioural-capabilities (accessed 2026-07-01), and are a UK graduate model, not a US framework. KPMG US hires against the five values above.

Some candidates arrive expecting a KPMG version of Amazon's leadership principles: a numbered list the interview is explicitly scored against. KPMG US does not publish one. What it publishes is five values, presented as the culture the firm hires and works by, not a candidate scorecard. The only named, assessed behaviours model KPMG publishes is the UK graduate behavioural capabilities, and that is UK-specific. For how the US interview actually runs, see the KPMG interview process spoke.

The practical difference for you is small. Whether a firm uses a scored rubric or a values set, the winning resume move is identical: prove the behavior through a quantified outcome rather than naming it. Do not build a labeled values section on your resume; build bullets where the values are visible in the results. And in the interview, bring specific stories with a real stake and a measurable outcome, which work whether or not a question is tagged to a value.

How to show KPMG's values

Five moves from
generic resume to KPMG-true.

01
Step 01

Prove Integrity with a risk or control you owned

KPMG's first value is Integrity, doing what is right. Show a risk you flagged, a control you rebuilt, or a finding you stood behind, with the exposure you reduced quantified. Replace committed to integrity with the hard call you actually owned.

02
Step 02

Prove Excellence with a standard you raised

Excellence is never stop learning and improving. Show a process you improved or a quality measure you raised, with the figure: the rework you cut, the cycle you shortened, the method others adopted. Lead with the improvement, not with detail-oriented.

03
Step 03

Prove Courage with a position you took

Courage is think and act boldly. Show a recommendation you stood behind or a change you drove first, and what it changed. Replace proactive, bold thinker with the decision you made and the outcome it produced.

04
Step 04

Prove Together and For Better with team and client outcomes

Together is drawing strength from differences and For Better is doing what matters. Show a team you widened or juniors you developed, and a client outcome that mattered, each quantified. Let the result carry the value rather than naming collaboration or purpose.

05
Step 05

Scan and iterate against a KPMG posting

Upload to ResumeAdapter against a specific KPMG posting to see where your bullets name the values as adjectives instead of demonstrating them, and iterate until owned judgment, raised standards, bold calls, widened teams, and outcomes that mattered are visible in the work.

FAQ

KPMG values FAQ

The questions candidates surface about what KPMG actually looks for, after they have read the pillar. Answers are byte-identical to the FAQPage JSON-LD, because AI engines that extract HTML and AI engines that extract JSON-LD should not see different text.

What are KPMG's values?

KPMG publishes five values, each with a one-line gloss: Integrity, we do what is right; Excellence, we never stop learning and improving; Courage, we think and act boldly; Together, we respect each other and draw strength from our differences; and For Better, we do what matters. KPMG presents them as a set of five rather than a ranked or numbered scorecard, and the wording is identical on its global and KPMG US pages. They describe how KPMG people are expected to behave, not a scored hiring rubric. On a resume, the move is to prove each value through a concrete, quantified outcome rather than naming it. The value wording here is KPMG's, from kpmg.com; the resume mapping is ResumeAdapter editorial guidance.

What does KPMG look for in candidates?

KPMG frames what it looks for through its five values, Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, and For Better, rather than a US-specific competency scorecard. In practice the firm reads for people who made a hard call under pressure, raised the standard of the work, took a bold but right position, built and widened a team, and delivered an outcome that mattered, each shown through a quantified result rather than an adjective. KPMG in the United Kingdom additionally publishes a named behavioural capabilities framework assessed across its graduate process, but that is a UK model, not a US one. The durable resume advice is the same either way: prove the values through quantified outcomes. The value wording is KPMG's; the resume mapping is ResumeAdapter editorial guidance.

How do I show KPMG's values on my resume?

Prove the values through outcomes, and never name them. Do not build a labeled values section; build bullets where each one is visible in the result. For Integrity, show a risk or control you owned. For Excellence, show a standard you raised with a number. For Courage, show a position you took and what it changed. For Together, show a team you widened and what it delivered. For For Better, show an outcome that mattered for a client. A line like corrected a 3.8 million dollar misstatement before sign-off proves Integrity without naming it. This mapping is ResumeAdapter editorial guidance; the value wording is KPMG's. Scan your resume to see which of these signals a recruiter would actually find.

Does KPMG use a competency framework?

Not as a US-published model. KPMG US frames what it looks for through its five values, Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, and For Better, rather than a numbered competency scorecard. KPMG in the United Kingdom does publish a named framework, its behavioural capabilities, nine of them, including delivering quality, exercising professional judgement, making an impact, and resilience, assessed throughout the UK graduate recruitment process. Treat that list as UK-published, not a US requirement, and do not optimize a US application around it. The durable advice holds in both places: prove the behavior through quantified outcomes rather than reciting a framework. The framework names are KPMG UK's; the rest is ResumeAdapter editorial guidance.

Which KPMG value is most important?

KPMG does not rank its five values. It presents Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, and For Better as a single set, and although Integrity is usually listed first, KPMG does not publish a hierarchy or weight among them. For a candidate, the useful read is that the values work together rather than competing, so the strongest resume proves several of them across different bullets rather than over-indexing on one. Show a hard call you owned, a standard you raised, a position you took, a team you widened, and an outcome that mattered, each quantified, and you cover the set without naming any of them. This guidance is ResumeAdapter editorial; the values are KPMG's.

Continue

The rest of the KPMG
resume cluster.

01 / Pillar

How to get a job at KPMG

The pillar covering KPMG's Avature application, the five values, the Associate-to-Partner ladder in summary, and the video-first interview.

Read
02 / Spoke

KPMG career levels and salary

The Associate, Senior Associate, Manager, Senior Manager, and Partner ladder mapped to titles, with crowdsourced salary bands and the promotion bar at each step.

Read
03 / Spoke

The KPMG interview process

The Avature application, the two live video interviews, the behavioral rounds, and how the values surface across the loop.

Read
04 / Resume example

Accountant resume example

A worked accounting resume with the quantified, owned-outcome impact a KPMG reviewer reads for, for a side-by-side read.

Read
Related

ATS Statistics

The dataset behind the editorial findings on this page, including the median pre-edit resume score.

Read
Related

All company guides

The full index of company resume hubs, each with its hiring bar mapped to resume language.

Read
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