Duration: 23:41
PART 1 — Analytical Summary 🚀
Context 💼
In this session, leaders from KPMG Belgium and Odoo (with Sebastian hosting) recount a multi‑year partnership that began as a modernization of KPMG’s accounting services and evolved into a broader transformation story. The goal was twofold: elevate client experience and unlock efficiency at scale. For KPMG, a Big Four firm with more than 275,000 employees across 140+ countries, the stakes were high—consolidate legacy tooling, solve capacity constraints in a “bottleneck” accounting market, and deliver truly real‑time accounting. The collaboration culminated in KPMG stepping down as Odoo’s auditor to preserve independence and immediately formalizing a strategic alliance.
Core ideas & innovations 🧠
KPMG ran a rigorous selection—10 contenders, extensive demos, and deep tests—before selecting Odoo for its openness to feedback, product velocity, and native integration across finance workflows. The implementation began late 2021; by early 2022, KPMG migrated roughly 1,200 clients to Odoo in one go, becoming a Gold Accounting Partner overnight. What followed is a textbook example of co‑creation: KPMG’s feedback influenced releases in Odoo 16, 17, and 18—and they’re anticipating new capabilities in Odoo 19 (e.g., an audit file and upgraded dashboards).
Real‑time accounting wasn’t a slogan; it became an operational loop tied to the business fabric: - Sales invoices are issued and transmitted electronically via the Peppol network, tracked end‑to‑end with automated reminders and immediate accounting entries. - Purchase invoices flow in through Peppol; expense reports are digitized, approved, and posted without paper. - Payments are grouped into SEPA batches (XML export to banks), and PSD2 feeds bring bank transactions back into Odoo automatically. - Payroll files (“SODA” files) arrive via services such as cod box/email aliases and are ingested into Odoo. - A KPI dashboard updates continuously, turning finance into a live, decision‑ready system. - Year‑end and statutory flows sync with Silverfin, bridging operational accounting and closing/tax reporting.
This end‑to‑end integration reframed the role of the accountant: away from repetitive bookkeeping and toward proactive, analytics‑driven advisory. KPMG operationalized this with two synergistic teams—accounting key users (deep Odoo knowledge for day‑to‑day) and implementation specialists (from incremental requests to full transformations)—a structure they credit as a core differentiator.
Impact & takeaways ⚙️
The results are tangible. Client experience rose with always‑current data; efficiency gains were dramatic—e.g., VAT returns that took three days are now completed in roughly four hours. The alliance also became a growth engine: KPMG attracted new clients specifically seeking Odoo expertise and scaled its implementation team accordingly (now serving as KPMG’s global center of excellence for Odoo).
Market observations reinforce Odoo’s upmarket momentum. KPMG sees: - Adoption expanding from SMEs to large groups, often in a two‑tier ERP approach (corporate ERP at HQ, Odoo in subsidiaries). - Many implementers struggle with finance depth; KPMG often co‑delivers, taking the Accounting/Finance scope while partners handle the rest. - Cross‑border rollouts are smoother with multi‑company and multi‑VAT localization out‑of‑the‑box. KPMG even pushed for a multi‑company dashboard (delivered in v18) to service many clients efficiently.
Change management was a real challenge—training during COVID waves, instituting new ways of working, and maintaining upgrade cadence—but the payoff has been a durable cultural shift: more agile, client‑centric, and collaborative operations powered by Odoo. Looking ahead, KPMG targets Gold Implementation Partner status, continued hiring, and deeper use of AI features previewed at Odoo Experience. The North Star remains the same: integrated simplicity that turns finance into a live feedback loop for better, faster decisions. 💬
PART 2 — Viewpoint: Odoo Perspective
Disclaimer: AI-generated creative perspective inspired by Odoo's vision.
What I value most in this journey is how simplicity scales when it’s truly integrated. Real-time accounting isn’t about one feature; it’s about wiring the entire flow—sales, purchase, bank, payroll, expenses—so the numbers are always alive. KPMG’s team pushed us hard on details like multi-company dashboards and audit files, and that pressure made the product better for everyone.
The partnership works because it blends speed and rigor: our rapid product cycles with KPMG’s deep finance expertise and client proximity. When accountants spend less time reconciling and more time advising, the ecosystem wins—customers, partners, and the community. That’s the outcome we’re building for.
PART 3 — Viewpoint: Competitors (SAP / Microsoft / Others)
Disclaimer: AI-generated fictional commentary. Not an official corporate statement.
Odoo’s progress with KPMG demonstrates real traction in finance and a credible two-tier ERP play. The integrated UX, upgrade cadence, and growing accounting depth are compelling—especially for subsidiaries and fast-scaling midmarket firms. Their co-creation model clearly accelerates time-to-value.
That said, the enterprise bar remains high: global compliance at scale, segregation of duties, complex consolidations, and auditability across heterogeneous landscapes are non-trivial. Change management for frequent upgrades and multi-geo governance will test durability. Differentiation will hinge on how far Odoo can industrialize controls, analytics, and AI-driven automation while preserving the simplicity that’s powering adoption.
PART 4 — Blog Footer Disclaimer
Disclaimer: This article contains AI-generated summaries and fictionalized commentaries for illustrative purposes. Viewpoints labeled as "Odoo Perspective" or "Competitors" are simulated and do not represent any real statements or positions. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.