Toronto-based KPMG Canada, a professional services firm providing audit, tax, and advisory services to Canadian companies, has appointed Andrew Forde as its first head of AI research.

This newly created role will see Forde take a leading role in shaping KPMG Canada’s national strategy for building bridges between academic research and innovation and real world business applications when it comes to artificial intelligence.

“The role is to focus KPMG’s national AI research agenda,” said Forde in an interview with PeopleNX. “It’s about bridging both the frontier in AI that is happening with what will work in the real world. The goal is to translate AI into real systems, real decisions and real outcomes for our clients.”

Forde, who is also a partner at KPMG’s technology strategy and digital transformation practice, is also an adjunct professor of applied science and engineering at the University of Toronto, where he teaches innovation, systems thinking and the responsible deployment of emerging technologies. 

He has been with KPMG Canada since 2023. Previously he was an associate partner, data, AI and technology transformation with IBM Consulting from 2021 to 2023, and managing director, STRADA with CGI from 2018 to 2021.

Focusing AI on business needs

Forde explained his new role will have several facets, with one of the most important being not to let clients get caught up in the hype that often surrounds AI. He wants to ensure enterprises see tangible benefits from AI and to help focus firms working on AI-driven solutions that are addressing business needs.

He referenced a KPMG report that found only two per cent of companies were seeing tangible benefits from adopting AI. 

“So lots of people are spending in this space,” he said. “What that means is folks are taking in tools without actually understanding what that’s going to mean for their business. There are always pressures at play, market pressures, board pressures and sometimes you find yourself deploying AI for the sake of deploying AI.”

To overcome that challenge, Forde said a much more holistic approach is needed when it comes to AI in enterprises, one that includes technical integration, process redesign and workforce adaptation. He likened it to create a toolbox of services and consulting offerings to a problem, not trying to use a single tool to help KPMG Canada’s clients. 

“Unless we understand what we should be doing and how to change our day-to-day activities to take advantage of these tools, we’re going to be doing the same thing we always do, but now we have AI tools beside us,” Forde explained. 

“We’re interested in making sure that the right research questions are being asked, such that the advancements that innovators are developing are connected directly to client challenges,” Forde continued. “Let’s actually do due diligence to ensure that it will achieve value for the organization. We want to drive tangible value, not just hyperbolic statements.”

Applications related to risk and reputation

While revenue generation and addressing real-world business challenges will be important, his role will also be to ensure KPMG Canada stays abreast of, and provides guidance for, risk mitigation and reputation management.

“We want to ensure that AI is governed, it is secure , that it’s trusted,” he said. “And making sure that folks understand how AI is actually being adopted, what the hype cycle is, what is real, and the timelines that we should be working towards.”

While his role is very new, Forde said it will create a precedent for AI consulting going forward.

“If we’re able to show that this is a new way to not just mirror research and consulting and implementation, but to bring it all together to really transform, I think we’ll start seeing this role pop up across other professional service firms,” Forde added. 

"This appointment is part of KPMG's broader commitment to investing in AI capabilities that support Canadian businesses and institutions long term," said Stephanie Terrill, Canadian managing partner of digital and transformation, KPMG Canada in a release announcing Forde’s new role.

"By embedding research-led thinking into our AI solutions, we are helping Canadian organizations move complex and often abstract ideas into action to generate real economic value here at home."