KPMG's appointment of new chair draws flak for alleged 'clear conflict of interest'
KPMG has named Michael Ebeid as the company's newest Independent Chairman amid its audit leaks scandal, a move that critics describe as "performative" after the official's previous dismissal of the whistleblower's accusations in a newly published email.
Ebeid's appointment as new Independent Chairman is KPMG's first major governance step under its newly released Action Plan to recover from the scandal that saw the departure of top executives, including previous board chair Martin Sheppard and CEO Andrew Yates.
Part of Ebeid's mandate is to "strengthen independent oversight" and "drive cultural and governance reforms" within the organisation.
"My first priority is to restore the governance and effectiveness of the Board. We will reshape the KPMG Australia Board with equal independent and partner representation," Ebeid said.
But The Greens called the appointment "performative" after the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services published an email sent by Ebeid in March when the controversies against KPMG were first made public.
In the email, Ebeid told other KPMG executives that Senator Deborah O'Neill was "very inappropriate and unfair" for not contacting KPMG before speaking in the Senate about the issue.
"As we know well, many of the statements she makes are completely false, including the timeline of events, and that he had raises...
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