KPMG UK and Blue J expand strategic alliance to tax tools

Big Four firm KPMG has continued to expand its AI offering, with a new strategic alliance with Blue J. The alliance will help the firm introduce generative AI into tax tools.

Earlier in 2024, KPMG announced a new partnership with financial services platform Xceptor. The move ensured that KPMG clients will benefit from Xceptor’s data automation and technology to accelerate the digitisation of their tax processes and to streamline and improve their tax-related workflows, incorporating sophisticated AI and data automation tools.

Now, the firm’s new strategic partnership with Blue J will lead to the launch a new generative AI powered product to answer challenging tax research questions in seconds. KPMG will have exclusive access to the tool, Ask Blue J, among the Big Four professional services firms in the UK (also including PwC, EY and Deloitte) for the first three years.

Stuart Tait, chief technology officer for tax and legal at KPMG UK, said, “Being one of the first adopters of Blue J’s technology in the UK has already yielded great results, so we’re pleased to be building on this with Ask Blue J. Generative AI will drive a seismic change in the tax profession, and we’re excited to be able to deepen our Blue J alliance to accelerate our adoption of this technology. Their database of curated tax content will give employees a significant head start on creating other generative AI tax solutions and we’re looking forward to this next phase of our alliance.”

Ask Blue J will accelerate the adoption of generative AI by using OpenAI's GPT models, which have been fine-tuned for tax, and accessing Blue J’s curated database of current tax content. This new tool will allow the firm to not just predict tax outcomes but also ask detailed questions related to tax, building on the work already being done since the first link-up with KPMG and Blue J in 2022.

Expanding on this, the move will use Blue J’s AI technology to predict tax scenario outcomes with 90% accuracy for employees to then review. For example, working out whether a worker is employed or self-employed for tax purposes. The tool is now available in the firm’s 3,000 strong tax and legal function, and this will dramatically reduces the time spent searching for and analysing tax legislation and case law, enabling KPMG’s tax experts to spend additional time advising clients on more complicated and urgent issues, rather than on the more administrative aspects of tax cases.

Benjamin Alarie, CEO of Blue J, added, “With the launch of Ask Blue J in the UK, we are introducing a new approach to tax advisory services. Combining KPMG’s tax expertise with Blue J’s advanced AI creates a powerful tool that will forever change how tax advice is formulated and delivered. Our strategic alliance is about providing tax professionals with reliable, fast, and precise tax insights, directly informed by authoritative sources. We’re not just incrementally improving existing tax research practices; we are leading the industry towards greater efficiency and enhanced client value in tax advisory with the adept use of AI.”