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.