Accounting Today | By Ranica Arrowsmith | Sep 16, 2016

KPMG has introduced Digital Ledger Services, a suite of services to help financial services companies implement blockchain technology, in Canada.

Blockchain technology is in essence a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of records that is secure from tampering and revision. KPMG’s new service is meant to provide faster and more secure transactions, streamline and automate back office operations, and reduce costs via the use of blockchain-based technologies.

KPMG’s Digital Ledger Services include full lifecycle support from strategic qualification and business case development to relevant use-case development, systems and operations integration, and ongoing management of a company’s blockchain infrastructure. The lifecycle support includes management consulting, risk consulting in financial processes and regulation. KPMG’s in-house coding and development will also be part of the services offered to clients.

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KPMG is making a big push to expand its blockchain service offerings across its member firms worldwide. The firm has dedicated more than 80 partners and executives to focus on the technology, and is working on several blockchain projects with clients globally. Among these projects is the qualification of a blockchain solution for a major bank’s global payments, and the development and prototyping of smart contracts in insurance and involvement in blockchain workshops across Canada and Europe.

“Distributed ledgers as exemplified by blockchain are an exciting way to rethink how contracts between multiple parties can be reliably and securely executed without the need for central intervention,” said Lian Zerafa, Canadian lead for financial services consulting for KPMG. “It engenders agility, trust and traceability and opens up entirely new ways that parties can interact with each other, whether for basic payments or more complex activities such as identification or providence verification.”

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