Australia leading the focus on AI governance, cyber security: KPMG

Editor’s note: Parts of this story first appeared on Accounting Time’s sister brand, HR Leader.

In a survey conducted between 17 February and 17 March 2026 which collated responses from 2,110 C-suite and senior business leaders, the Global AI Pulse survey, KPMG found that although Australia trailed behind the world in using AI for productivity and on the analytics and real-time insights, these local businesses led in their focus on AI governance, cybersecurity, data protection and building stakeholder confidence.

Still, some organisations fail to reap the benefits of their AI-plan and lose money in the process. The founder and chief executive of consulting firm ADAPTOVATE and founder of Enterprise AI Group, Paul McNamara (pictured), has pointed to the responsibility that HR leaders have in implementing AI training across the workforce.

“There is no such thing as one AI,” McNamara told HR Leader. For the executive, AI exists in three “buckets” or stages: personal productivity, workflow automation, and “moonshots”.

These descriptions mirror the three-bucket framework described by LinkedIn chief economic opportunity officer Aneesh Raman, co-author of Open to Work, and the “three horizons of AI” as explained by Gartner director Jonathan Tabah on an HR Leader podcast episode.

“AI is not going to take jobs, but people [who] know AI will take people’s jobs, so if you’re not using it, you won’t be competitive in the market,” McNamara said.

However, he argued that some companies are not disciplined in their AI spend, and they throw money at AI without embedding a strategy to achieve business outcomes. McNamara emphasised that organisations need to ensure maintenance and governance are in place before large-scale AI implementation can occur.

As the leaders in the AI transformation, McNamara emphasised that Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) need to embed AI training that resembles social media.

“It needs to be YouTube-style learning ... I need to consume it like I do my social media right on the bus, as I listen to a podcast on the bus. I need my six-minute training, which gives me a quick update on what I need to know in AI,” he said.

McNamara noted that, compared to Australia, the US market has begun to expect organisations to make a return on investment from their AI spend, and the European market has legislated AI training across the workforce, enforced under the EU AI Act by 2 August.

In its survey, KPMG found that only 35 per cent of Australian businesses prioritised AI-driven productivity compared to the global average of 42 per cent.

KPMG Australia chief technology officer John Munnelly said: "There is still a lot to do when it comes to productivity, and Australia has all the right foundations to take advantage of what's coming. It’s now up to us to seize those opportunities."

Despite the nation falling behind in focus on AI-led productivity, the survey revealed that Australian businesses led the world in AI governance and cybersecurity, with 31 per cent of Australian businesses having a focus on AI governance compared to 26 per cent of global businesses, and 38 per cent of Australian businesses reporting focusing on cybersecurity, protecting data, and building stakeholder confidence as key priorities compared to just 26 per cent of global businesses.

“Australian businesses are much more conscious about trust and the responsible use of AI, compared to businesses around the world, and that's what sets us apart,” Munnelly said.

Further, McNamara emphasised the need for Australian organisations to be disciplined in their approach to the AI-transformation. Instead of organisations emptying their coffers to simply “do AI”, he stressed CHROs must control the rollout of the technology – tap into senior employees and upskill them in AI so they can retain their expertise, while facilitating the AI transformation.

“You’ve got some amazing experts ... that you’re going to need for the [AI rollout],” McNamara said.

“HR leaders [need to] say … ‘I’m going to lead this, and my people need to learn how to do it first’ [and] we’re going to help drive this across the organisation.“