KPMG has a training facility for its employees in Florida, called Lakehouse.
The Big Four firm invited Business Insider's Polly Thompson for an inside look.
From putting greens to soft serve ice cream, this is what being there is like.
When KPMG's client-facing US employees fly to its sleek $450 million training facility in Florida, roughly once a year, they're there to learn.
I was there alongside 225 excited interns, a group of midlevel professionals, and some of the firm's most senior leaders.
But the 18-hole putting green, tropical weather, and karaoke in the bar made it feel as much like a corporate amusement park for adults as a corporate retreat.
The company told me owning the lavish property, which sleeps 800 people, costs the same as what it spent on training before it opened in 2019. They also evangelized the need to bring people together, even if that meant flying people in from across the country.
This is what being there was like, from drummers pumping people up to ice cream to warnings about alligators.
To understand KPMG's Lakehouse, you have to wipe the image of classic lakehouse out of your head.
I wasn't sure whether to expect a corporate office or a quaint cottage that the name made me picture. Lakehouse turned out to be neither.
From Orlando Airport, KPMG shuttles employees by bus to the facility in Lake Nona, a planned community and innovation hub.
When I saw it for the first time as I drove up the wide horseshoe driveway, I was surprised by its size.
I was ushered into a spacious, air-conditioned lobby with two-tiered windows that let all the light in.
Smiling staff in Lakehouse-branded polo shirts welcomed people as they instructed them to find their name badges and drop bags in their rooms.
On my first evening, a welcome presentation for summer interns featured a group of drummers.
A welcome presentation in the property's large conference hall kicked off with a drum parade.
At one point, the drummers raised their sticks in the air and shouted, "KPMG." If it hadn't before, Lakehouse felt like a corporate holiday camp now.
Jason LaRue, a partner and the head of talent and culture at KPMG, told me the drumming was to make the interns "feel celebratory."
"We're just trying to show people that it's different and to create a special kind of energy," he added.
KPMG-ers can preorder free tea and coffee from their rooms.
There's a Starbucks in the lobby where free coffee and tea are available throughout the day. If you preorder from your bedroom early enough, you can pick it up before training.
The lobby looks down onto "The Exchange," the main food hall.
The 'AI Quad' in the lobby is a support hub for any questions about the technology.
In May, KPMG turned a corner of its lobby into an "AI Quad."
It's really just a group of four tech support staff standing by in the lobby to answer any on-the-fly questions that employees, partners, or visiting clients about using AI.
Classrooms were designed to encourage participation.
I saw employees, young and older, using different learning spaces and walking around like it was a remarkably elegant college campus.
There were smaller breakout rooms with casual seating arrangements, meeting rooms, classrooms for around 20 people, and large spaces for 100 or more people to gather.
I also sat in on AI training sessions for tax and audit interns, during which someone from the on-site gym ran in and announced he was leading a five-minute "wellness break" of stretching and breathwork accompanied by relaxing music.
For downtime, there's mini-golf and cycling.
Some accountants are more vivacious than others, so having a few activities can help them break the ice and network, Sherry Magee, the senior director of client and community relations at Lakehouse, told me.
Lakehouse Park's most recent addition is an 18-hole putting green.
The green is designed to mimic famous golf courses — a nod to KPMG's sponsorship of the Women's PGA Championship.
Evelyn Nunez-Alfaro, a tax intern, told me that she had already played pickleball and some mini-golf on her first day. "It's fun being active over here," she said.
The sporting options don't stop at golf. There are courts for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball, as well as a bike trail.
The property also has a basketball court, beach volleyball court, two pickleball courts, a softball field, and a bike trail.
I was starting to wonder if coming to Lakehouse feels at all like being at work.
Andre Gaviola, an audit intern, said the amenities "really show that the company prioritizes work-life balance,' adding, "I'm not going to say it is a vacation, but in some ways it feels like a vacation."
Enjoying Florida nature comes with risks.
During my tour, I saw signs warning guests to watch out for the local wildlife. One KPMG employee mentioned a rumour that a drunken partner had fallen in the lake and tussled with an alligator.
I had to ask about that.
Alligators are just an "urban legend," Magee, my tour guide, told me. "You have to put up the signs, but there are no alligators," she said.
But some remained wary. Gaviola had ventured out on the bike trail, but stayed on his bike the whole way. "I saw the signs and was a little concerned."
In the evenings, guests can do karaoke and salsa-making at The Landing.
The Landing is a popular hangout in the evenings. Maybe that's inevitable at a company-owned training facility where employees stay on-site. Several interns told me they were planning to watch the NBA finals there.
It often hosts events and competitions, like karaoke and salsa-making competitions.
A large square bar, TVs on the walls, and pool tables were visible from outside. But I didn't get to see it open as KPMG didn't let me stay on-site — presumably to avoid a journalist hanging out with consultants letting loose.
The main canteen, The Exchange, is full of free food.
Gaviola, the audit intern, told me what stood out most about Lakehouse was "the free food and the abundance of it."
At The Exchange, a large canteen overlooking a green courtyard, the breakfast offerings included bacon, eggs, pancakes, a fruit and yogurt bar, breakfast tacos, and healthy smoothies.
At lunch, serving stations had pasta, pizza, sushi, hot subs, grilled fish, and colourful salads.
Some of the treats were too good to say no to.
For dessert, hot apple pie, doughnut balls, and beignets caught my eye. But in the Florida heat, I had to make the most of the soft-serve ice cream tap and toppings.
There are also a few Easter eggs around Lakehouse that don't show up on the property's app — yes, it has its own app — like a secret freezer filled with ice cream on an upper floor.
There was one food item that almost everyone mentioned.
I asked what the best food was.
Pasta alla vodka, bang bang shrimp, and the smash burgers came up, but KPMG-ers were unanimous: chocolate-drizzled peanut butter bites.
"I would travel across the country multiple times a year just to eat the peanut butter bites," said a partner in the interns' welcome talk.
My guides asked the kitchen to prepare a plate specially for me, even though they weren't typically available that day, such was people's enthusiasm.
The little Rice Krispies bits gave them a nice crunch, and they weren't as intensely peanut-buttery as I expected. Given the hype, I wasn't blown away, but writing this is making me crave one.
Everyone from the CEO to interns sleeps in the same type of bedroom.
Interns and KPMG's most senior leaders were all staying in the same style of bedroom, Magee told me.
Each room has an en-suite bathroom and a desk because, after all, everyone's meant to be working.
KPMG employees get an early start at the on-site gym.
Guests often head to the gym or for walks around the property before training. When I visited in mid-morning, it was fairly empty, but Magee said it gets busy at around 6 a.m.
Lakehouse sells merch, including golf balls and Taylor Swift-esque friendship bracelets.
At the imaginatively named "The Store," guests can buy Lakehouse-branded clothing and small gifts. I found golf balls and chip markers for sale, a nod to KPMG's connection to women's golf.
A woman's sports jacket cost $63, and KPMG caps were $25. I was expecting prices to be higher.
For $2.25, guests can buy Taylor Swift-esque friendship bracelets spelling out "fueled by curiosity" or "Lakehouse."
There are over 1,700 solar panels on the roof.
Magee said that 7% of the property's energy came from the 1,700 solar panels on the roof. The facility also provides guests with reusable aluminium water bottles and refill stations.
But how environmentally conscious is it to fly thousands of employees across the US to Lakehouse?
For every person who flies, KPMG pays a "tax" to its internal sustainability efforts, Magee said, though she didn't say how much this was.
The company knows how many employees are on-site at Lakehouse, so it adjusts factors like vehicle size and supplies to reduce waste, she added.
Some of KPMG's gatherings are still virtual, but you need to bring employees together, and that means flying them somewhere, Magee said.
Do you have a story to share about your career as a consultant? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or on Signal at Polly_Thompson.89.
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