KPMG Briefly | Your biggest AI risk, sustainability reporting, 2025 game changers

Welcome to the first KPMG Briefly for 2025 – where we share big picture insights (in small parcels) across people, planet and tech! This month, learn more about why people are your biggest risk to AI, how Australia fares in sustainability reporting, and what the biggest game changers for 2025 are (hint, it’s in the tech section).

People | Your workforce is the biggest risk to AI integration

While gen AI is getting more airtime than ever, it turns out there’s a high dose of employee scepticism when it comes to actual business implementation.

Last year, a global Ipsos study found that Australia is the country most nervous about AI, stemming from the fear that it will jeopardise jobs and take over human tasks.

This means, if your organisation wants to make the most of the benefits of AI – improved productivity, smart decisioning, more innovation – a key task will be to ensure your people are willingly on the journey with you.

Our latest thought leadership explores the people side of AI transformation, and how to help employees feel empowered by the technology so they, and the organisation, can make the most of its benefits.

Is your organisation already doing this well? Let us know in the comments.

Read the report??????????????????????????????????????????????

Planet | Aussie insights into the sustainability reporting survey

KPMG’s latest Australian Sustainability Reporting Survey is out, highlighting key trends among ASX 100 companies. Here are some takeaways:

• Almost there:?97% of Australia’s top companies report on sustainability, slightly outperforming global peers.
• Climate awareness:?90% recognise climate as a financial risk, with 76% aligning their reports with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
• Third-party assurance:?67% now obtain third-party assurance for their sustainability information, up 13% from the previous year.
• Carbon targets:?90% report carbon targets, with 37% using Science Based Targets initiative guidelines.

The shift is driven by the new Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS), pushing companies to understand stakeholder expectations, invest in quality non-financial data management and grasp the impact of climate and social issues.

Globally, KPMG’s survey shows sustainability and ESG reporting is now standard, with 96% of the G250 participating.

Download the report for local and global insights.

Tech | 2025’s business game changers

Every year we ask Australian business leaders what their top challenges are for the near future in our Keeping us up at night survey.

This year, technology seems to be behind most of their insomnia, with digital transformation crowned top challenge, cyber risks sitting at a close second and emerging technologies like AI coming in at fourth place.

KPMG Australia’s CEO Andrew Yates connects the dots of these multifaceted challenges: ‘Technology, AI and cyber were the issues of most relevance to our business leaders, who are increasingly joining these together as a single critical and interconnected issue. Leaders are also concerned about meeting associated demands into the future, with preparing for a future skills gap in areas such as technology and data science also joint-top of the wider societal challenges impacting business.’

But it wasn’t all tech – concerns over the slowing economy, and cost of living are also prominent, while talent acquisition and retention has become less of a priority.

Read the report for details.

Catch you next time

We hope you enjoyed this edition of KPMG Briefly. If you liked what you read, feel free to share with a friend! We also want to hear from you – let us know in the comments what you want to see in future issues.