PwC announces new strategy: The New Equation

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Zurich, 15 June 2021 – Today, the international PwC network unveiled The New Equation, PwC’s landmark global strategy which aims to respond to fundamental changes in the world, including technological disruption, climate change, fractured geopolitics, and the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Equation is based on an analysis of global trends and thousands of conversations with clients and stakeholders. It builds on more than a decade of sustained revenue growth and continued investment.

The New Equation focuses on two interconnected needs that clients will face in the coming years.

The first is to build trust, something which has never been more important, or more difficult. Organisations increasingly need to earn trust across a wide range of issues which are important to their stakeholders. Success depends on fundamental shifts in the way executives think, organisational culture, systems and ambition.

The second is to deliver sustained outcomes in an environment where competition and the risk of disruption are more intense than ever and societal expectations have never been greater. Businesses need to change faster and more thoroughly to attract capital, talent and customers. Too often, however, narrowly conceived transformation initiatives do not deliver the outcomes they promise. This means that a new approach is needed.

Bob Moritz, Global Chairman of PwC said: “The profound changes in the world mean that in order to succeed, organisations need to create a virtuous circle between earning trust and delivering sustained outcomes. By bringing our unique combination of capabilities together, and matching it with serious investment and our commitment to quality, we can help them do that. In doing so, we will help clients unlock value for shareholders, stakeholders and wider society."

How PwC will help build trust and deliver sustained outcomes

Instead of a traditional technology-driven approach to transformation, PwC’s approach is focused on the outcome that the effort seeks to achieve. PwC plans to mobilise expertise in audit, strategy and implementation consulting, data & analytics, digital and cloud services, implementation consulting, human resources, tax, legal and compliance. In addition, the expertise available in the areas of cyber security, data protection, ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) and AI will be expanded further.

The foundation for this strategy is PwC's multidisciplinary model, which brings together a passionate and diverse community to help organisations build trust and deliver sustained outcomes. The model enables investment at scale in the combination of skills that is essential for delivering quality and impact for clients, stakeholders and society. PwC firms will invest US$12 billion over the next five years, creating over 100,000 net new jobs across PwC, as well as continuing to develop the skills of PwC’s partners and employees.

Planned investments include:

• ESG. PwC will expand the Centres of Excellence for specialists on key ESG topics, including climate risk and supply chain. In July 2020, we set up in Switzerland a Centre of Excellence for Sustainability that reflects our integrated way of working because we’re convinced that this highly complex issue requires a cross-industry and interdisciplinary approach. PwC will also create a global ESG Academy which will enable all PwC partners and staff to integrate the fundamentals of ESG into their work. 1,000 partners from 60 territories across the network have already completed an in-depth six week programme focused on business issues resulting from critical global trends.
• Quality. PwC will continue to invest in further enhancing quality across its businesses. This includes US$1bn dedicated to accelerating the deployment of technology that further automates the implementation of quality frameworks in audit, as well as building the delivery model for the audits of the future - which are expected to require more types of data, assess a broader range of risks and more fully integrate non-financial information. This additional investment in technology builds on the ongoing focus on quality, supported by rigorous methodology and training across all lines of service.
• Leadership Institutes. Today’s leaders need new skills to help them lead through and manage uncertainty, build inclusive cultures, and support transformation. New Leadership Institutes will be created to support clients and stakeholders.
• Technology. PwC will continue to rapidly expand its use of the cloud, artificial intelligence, technology alliances, virtual reality and other emerging technologies in order to deliver insight and drive a competitive advantage for clients. In addition, PwC is accelerating the deployment of technology products, supporting seamless collaboration and enabling its people to automate processes. These products and automations will transform the client experience and allow new insights and value to emerge.

Commitments in Switzerland

As part of The New Equation PwC Switzerland is also announcing plans to meet the specific needs of client stakeholders in our market. Here in Switzerland, PwC will:

• accompany the necessary transformation processes on the customer side and in society individually and competently under the motto “Trust in Transformation”.
• develop further, particularly in the areas of digitalisation of the core business and provide scalable solutions that create even more added value through a digital experience.
• position itself even more clearly in the market as an integrated service and product provider through customer-based thinking and a customer-centric problem-solving approach.
• continuously expand its solutions through strong alliances with renowned technology partners.

“In an increasingly disruptive environment, we find individual answers to complex questions. From strategy to implementation, we confidently accompany our clients with our diverse industry and market knowledge, thereby increasing their resilience and supporting them in exploiting their growth potential,” said Andreas Staubli, CEO of PwC Switzerland.

Employees as a driver of sustainability

With lived values and a clear corporate purpose, we motivate our teams, increase our attractiveness in the labour market and build trust in society. For example, PwC Switzerland participates in a number of gender equality and diversity initiatives and also takes measures to increase diversity in all dimensions, including the establishment of gender-neutral or gender-sensitive language use. We also actively support women on their path to leadership positions through mentoring programmes as well as internal and external networks. We have also further expanded our inclusive leadership concepts, which will become an integral part of management training in the future with the "Inclusive Leadership Badge". At PwC Switzerland, we plan to complement our strong focus on the digital upskilling of our employees with a sustainability-focused programme which will be integrated into all business units.

PwC is continuing to attract diverse talent, supported by expanded flexible and remote working opportunities, as well as making progress in the previously announced commitment to upskill our own people. The 100,000 net new jobs worldwide will be focused in emerging skill areas, from ESG to AI. In addition, PwC will continue to hire over 30,000 people worldwide into early career posts each year, providing training and qualification opportunities that set people up for a promising career either within PwC or elsewhere.

Delivering Net Zero, increasing transparency

In addition, the network is mobilising around the commitment made last year to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, which involves transforming its business model to decarbonise its value chain. It is submitting specific science-based targets to the SBTi, and each member firm has appointed a Net Zero leader to enable progress based on local plans.

PwC is committed to reporting transparently on its own business activities. For this reason, we are currently examining how we can further expand our reporting, for example by including the sustainability indicators of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum or the recommendations of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, of which we are a member.

Bob Moritz went on to say: "There is a strong need for stakeholders from across society to work together. Whether it’s the pandemic, climate change, social injustice or the digital divide, there is a growing expectation that businesses have a role to play in addressing broader societal issues. Our new strategy is about helping clients address their toughest challenges and delivering for society and the planet."