A growing stream of testimony is putting renewed pressure on one of Australia’s major audit firms. The latest evidence raises difficult questions.

According to Reuters

KPMG Australia may face new allegations of misconduct from whistleblowers. During a parliamentary hearing in Canberra on 14 August, the chair of the relevant committee, Deborah O’Neill, said that an increasing number of people were approaching parliament with similar complaints.

The investigation into KPMG Australia began in March following an anonymous whistleblower report. It alleged that the company had used confidential client information when bidding for audit contracts.

Initially, KPMG described the allegations as unfounded. Since then, the company’s CEO, head of audit and chair have resigned. KPMG has also admitted that its employees improperly used internal documents.

Many, many other people are coming to us, and they are talking about the same behaviour being repeated.

– Deborah O’Neill

KPMG’s fourth internal investigation

KPMG admitted that it had mishandled the original whistleblower complaint. The company launched a fourth internal investigation after three previous reviews found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Former KPMG chair Martin Sheppard also told the parliamentary committee that the company reached a settlement with another whistleblower in late 2024. That person had alleged misconduct in the firm’s tax division.

This was the second day-long hearing into KPMG’s alleged use of client data...

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