Federal senators have accused senior leaders in Australia's accounting and auditing industry of behaving disgracefully as more revelations emerge about KPMG's whistleblower scandal.

At a parliamentary hearing in Canberra on Friday the former head of audit at KPMG Australia, Julian McPherson, apologised to a whistleblower after the committee heard the unnamed individual had allegedly been pressured to leave the firm.

The committee also heard that the whistleblower's computer had been covertly searched because senior KPMG executives were worried that they would leak confidential information about the firm's business.

When senior executives from Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CA ANZ) appeared before the committee, senators asked them to explain what was going on in the industry.

Senators pointed to the PwC tax scandal in 2023, when it was revealed that senior partners at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia had misused confidential government tax information.

Now KPMG Australia is embroiled in a series of allegations about the misuse of confidential client information, which have led to a series of high-profile resignations and demotions at the firm in recent months, and senators want to know how Australia's accounting industry is being regulated.

Irreparable breach of trust

Starting...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisAFBVV95cUxQNThibThHbW5kU2c0a0FndWI4...