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KPMG Australia is facing another damaging week as two senior executives exit the firm and fresh allegations about its treatment of whistleblowers emerge just days before a parliamentary hearing.
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General counsel Louise Capon and head of HR Dorothy Hisgrove have stepped down, with both departures coming as the firm prepares to face renewed scrutiny over its handling of allegations concerning misconduct in its audit division.
The departures follow revelations that KPMG paid more than $500,000 to a former senior manager who had raised allegations about wrongdoing in its tax division, with the payment reportedly subject to confidentiality provisions. The claims include allegations involving secret commissions and misuse of client funds, although they remain allegations rather than established findings.
At the same time, documents released ahead of Friday’s parliamentary hearing have raised fresh questions about the firm’s handling of its audit whistleblower. Reports indicate KPMG provided Ashurst with limited information about the allegations, despite already having obtained more detailed material and conducted its own internal investigation.
That is particularly significant because KPMG has already acknowledged shortcomings in how it handled the whistleblower, including failures around the management of the complaints and the rigour of investigations. Several senior figures have subsequently departed, including former CEO Andrew Yates and former chairman Martin Sheppard.
New chairman Michael Ebeid is now facing the difficult task of defending the firm’s governance while trying to draw a line under the scandal. He has also apologised to Senator Deborah O’Neill after previously describing her claims about KPMG as false.
With Parliament set to question KPMG on Friday, the focus is increasingly shifting from individual misconduct allegations to the firm’s broader governance, legal processes and treatment of whistleblowers.
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