The chief executive and audit leader of KPMG’s Australian arm have resigned after the Big Four firm admitted a probe into whistleblowing allegations had fallen short of its standards.
KPMG’s audit work in Australia has been under scrutiny since March, when a senator used parliamentary privilege to air allegations made by a whistleblower that the firm had accessed and shared confidential audit information to win contracts when bidding for work.
It is the second major scandal at a Big Four consultancy in Australia in recent years after PwC’s global arm took control of its local operation in 2023. That was the result of one of its partners using confidential information gleaned from advisory work with the government to feed back into the firm, which used it to tailor tax avoidance advice for global clients.
KPMG has previously argued the whistleblower accusations were “unsubstantiated”, but it had imposed sanctions on some of its staff in April.
However on Friday, Andrew Yates, chief executive of KPMG Australia, resigned with immediate effect after the firm said investigations into the whistleblower’s claims had fallen short. Julian McPherson, national managing partner for audit and assurance, also resigned.
“KPMG Australia confirms its treatment of a whistleblower and investigation into their allegations fell short of the firm’s expectations, those of the whistleblower and the broader community,” the firm said.
Yates, who had previously declared his support for...
Prosecutors concluded that claims alleging President Lee Jae Myung was sent to a juvenile detention center as a teenager were false. An indictment filed by prosecutors against Morse Tan stated tha...