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The city skyline is reflected in a puddle at sunrise following rainy weather in Sydney, Australia, August 28, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Australia will on Thursday introduce two previously announced tax bills that will raise petroleum tax revenue and legislate the government's response to a national scandal over confidential tax plans leaked by a PwC Australia partner. The change is one of 11 recommendations from a Treasury review, eight of which the government adopted in August. The centre-left Labor government will also on Thursday introduce legislation prepared in response to revelations a former PwC Australia partner leaked confidential government tax plans then used it to drum up work with multinational companies. Chalmers in August announced a two-year Treasury review into the rules governing large consulting and auditing firms.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Jim Chalmers, Chalmers, Lewis Jackson, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Petroleum, Rent, Labor, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

It said it would tender for a new external auditor as part of "best practice for audit firm rotation". PwC has audited Westpac since 2002, before which PwC partners and their ancestor firms had audited the bank since 1968. However, PwC's lead Westpac audit partner assumed the role less than two years ago, in December 2021, according to a Westpac governance statement this month. A PwC Australia spokesperson said the firm understood the board's decision and was proud of its time as Westpac's auditor. Renamed Scyne Advisory, roughly 1,400 of PwC Australia's more than 9,000 staff moved over to the new firm.

Persons: Loren Elliott, PwC, Lewis Jackson, Christopher Cushing, Robert Birsel Organizations: Westpac, Central Business District of, REUTERS, Rights, Westpac Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC's, Google, Uber Technologies, Facebook, Meta, PwC, Scyne Advisory, Scyne, Thomson Locations: Central Business District of Sydney, Australia, PwC Australia

Renamed Scyne Advisory, roughly 1,400 of PwC Australia's more than 9,000 staff have moved over to the new advisory firm. It said it would tender for a new external auditor as part of "best practice for audit firm rotation". PwC has audited Westpac since 2002, before which PwC partners and their ancestor firms had audited the bank since 1968. However, PwC's lead Westpac audit partner assumed the role less than two years ago, in December 2021, according to a Westpac governance statement this month. A PwC Australia spokesperson said the firm understood the board's decision and was proud of its time as Westpac's auditor.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, PwC, Robert Birsel, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Wednesday, Scyne Advisory, Scyne, Google, Uber Technologies, Facebook, Meta, WESTPAC, Westpac Group, Westpac, PwC's, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia

PwC sign is seen in the lobby of their offices in Barangaroo, Australia June 22, 2023. REUTERS/Lewis Jackson Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - PwC Australia said on Thursday that dozens of staff who had been set to move across to spin-off consultancy Scyne Advisory will no longer have roles at the new firm and have been told to look for jobs internally. Over 1,500 people out of PwC Australia's more than 9,000 staff were expected to move to the new firm, PwC said in September. A Scyne Advisory spokesperson said a delay in closing the deal, originally planned for September, changes to its "partner mix" and the need to establish Scyne as a "sustainable business" were factors in the decision. The move comes as Scyne Advisory gears up to reclaim advisory work that netted PwC Australia A$680 million ($427 million) last financial year.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, PwC, Kevin Burrowes, Lincoln, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Scyne, PwC, PwC Australia, of Finance, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia, PwC Australia, PwC

[1/3] PwC Australia Chief Executive Officer Kevin Burrowes listens during the inquiry into management and assurance of integrity by consulting services at Parliament House in Canberra, October 12, 2023. The global firm announced last month it had taken "appropriate action" against six staff outside Australia who received confidential information and should have raised questions. No confidential information was used for commercial gain, it said. Burrowes told senators PwC Australia had not been provided details about the international investigation and did not know where the staff worked or how they had been disciplined. An investigation by the U.S. accounting regulator, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), is underway and PwC Australia is providing further information to the body, a senior executive told parliament.

Persons: Kevin Burrowes, Mick Tsikas, PwC, Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: Australia, House, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Police, PwC, Public Company, KPMG Australia, Thomson Locations: Canberra, U.S, PwC Australia

☆ PWC Aussie mess is classic do as I say not as I do
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MELBOURNE, Sept 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - PWC Australia is likely to need a long time to recover from what is turning out to be a self-inflicted double whammy. Now the independent review sparked by the furore has laid bare another problem: PWC Australia took a do as I say not as I do approach to running its own shop. The report, commissioned by PWCA in May, written by one of the country’s corporate grandees, Ziggy Switkowski, and published on Wednesday, outlines a series of corporate governance failures. What’s worse, and even more ironic, is PWC Australia’s aversion to tapping external advice. Many of the changes will come from applying, “to the extent feasible”, the Australian Securities Exchange’s corporate governance principles and recommendations.

Persons: Tom Seymour, PWCA, Ziggy Switkowski, “, Kevin Burrowes, That’s, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Lehman Brothers, Silicon Valley Bank, Australian Securities, Thomson Locations: MELBOURNE, Australia, Silicon

PwC sign is seen in the lobby of their offices in Barangaroo, Australia June 22, 2023. PwC Australia in May commissioned former Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski to review the firm's culture and governance after revelations a former partner had leaked confidential tax documents to colleagues to drum up work with global companies. Switkowski identified poor practices "uncorrected for many years", including a board stacked with longstanding PwC partners, a powerful CEO "not perceived to be accountable to the board" and a "whatever it takes" approach to making money. PwC Australia has not committed to releasing their reports publicly. PwC Australia said on Wednesday it would adopt, and in some cases already had, the report's 23 recommendations, which include appointing an external chief risk officer, revamping firm culture, and linking partner pay to ethical behaviour.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, Ziggy Switkowski, Switkowski, Kevin Burrowes, Switkowski's, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PwC, Telstra, Facebook, Police, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia, PwC Australia

The logo of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seen on the top of a Brussels' office of the company, in Diegem, Belgium September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Sept 27 (Reuters) - PwC Australia will appoint outsiders to its board and publish audited financial statements as part of a governance overhaul to bring the partnership closer to public company standards following a scandal over the leak of confidential tax documents. PwC Australia will announce plans on Wednesday to apply some Australian Stock Exchange governance principles including appointing two non-executive directors and a non-executive chair to its board, according to excerpts of plans provided by PwC. The changes form part of PwC Australia's response to a months-long independent review into its governance and culture, which will be published in full on Wednesday. Australia said last month it would drastically toughen penalties against those who promote dodgy tax schemes and strengthen regulators in response to the scandal.

Persons: Yves Herman Acquire, Kevin Burrowes, Ziggy Switkowski, Lewis Jackson, Kim Coghill Organizations: PricewaterhouseCoopers, REUTERS, Rights, Facebook, Australian Stock Exchange, PwC, “, Telstra, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Diegem, Belgium, Australia

REUTERS/Lewis Jackson/File PhotoSYDNEY, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Australia will drastically tighten penalties for promoters of dodgy tax schemes and beef up the power of regulators as part of reforms announced on Sunday in response to a scandal over the use of leaked tax plans by PwC Australia. PwC Australia was not fined for the breach under the existing rules, and the changes will not applied retroactively, a Treasury spokesperson told Reuters. "The PwC scandal exposed severe shortcomings in our regulatory frameworks," said the statement from the ministers for treasury and finance and the attorney general. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) foiled several attempts by companies to subvert the 2016 Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law but was frustrated in its subsequent investigation by "highly ambitious if not false" legal privilege claims from PwC Australia. Collins and PwC Australia were not sanctioned until late 2022 by a separate agency that regulates tax agents, the Tax Practitioners Board, after police said there was insufficient information for them to act.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, Peter Collins, Collins, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, PwC, Facebook, Bills, Reuters, Australian Tax, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia, PwC Australia

☆ Deloitte Australia CEO admits he isn't worth his $2.3 million pay package in a public hearing over salaries and misconduct at consultancy firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Deloitte executives were questioned about the company's integrity at a public hearing on Monday. During the hearing, Deloitte Australia's CEO Adam Powick admitted to being overpaid. Powick reportedly earns $3.5 million AUD ($2.3 million). The CEO of Deloitte Australia admitted to being "incredibly privileged" for his hefty $3.5 million AUD ($2.3 million) pay packet at a public hearing on Monday, according to various local news reports. The CEO, who reportedly earns $3.5 million AUD ($2.3 million), was then asked by Pocock: "Are you really worth seven times the salary of the Australian prime minister?"

Persons: Adam Powick, Powick, Adam Powick –, –, Tom Imbesi, Barbara Pocock, Pocock, didn't, Anthony Albanese, Sneza Pelusi Organizations: Deloitte, Deloitte Australia, PWC, Reuters, ABC, Australia's, ABC News, Australian Securities and Investments Commission Locations: Australia, PWC Australia

Uber and Facebook on Friday said they had received advice from PwC Australia about the law. "We had no knowledge their advice may have been based on improperly obtained information," an Uber spokesperson said. Uber dropped PwC Australia as a tax adviser in 2016 after "engagements" with the Australian Tax Office, the spokesperson added. Uber and Facebook's links to PwC on the leaked tax plans were first reported by the Australian Financial Review on Friday. A PwC Australia spokesperson said the matter "was a PwC issue" and its "clients were not involved in any wrongdoing and no confidential information was used to enable clients to pay less tax."

Persons: Uber, PwC, PwC's, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PwC, Facebook, Reuters, Google, Australian Tax Office, Treasury, Australian, Tax, Board, Public Company, Thomson Locations: PwC Australia, Australia

SYDNEY, July 6 (Reuters) - Two lawmakers on Thursday called on PwC Australia to name all the companies it sought to advise on the basis of leaked government tax plans, after a report linked Google (GOOGL.O) to the national scandal first exposed in January. A cache of 144-pages of PwC emails dating from 2014 to 2017 publicly released by the Tax Practioners Board in May detail how a former tax partner shared with colleagues confidential government tax plans, which they then used to drum up work with companies overseas. One of the released emails dated Jan. 6, 2016 mentioned a "north American project" that had 14 unnamed companies as clients. PwC Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Deborah O'Neill, O'Neill, Barbara Pocock, Pocock, PwC, Tom Seymour, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, Reuters, Google, Tax, Board, Labor, Greens, Senate, PwC Australia's, Thomson Locations: Australia

At the time, a number of organisations had called for the government to delay the planned January 2016 start date. The former partner did not tell Google the information was confidential, the source said. Reuters could not establish if Google was a client of PwC Australia at the time, and if it used the information in any way. What sources told Reuters matches information in the letter, which was publicly released with the name of the company that received the confidential information redacted. Tax officials told parliament in May they foiled several attempts by unnamed multinational firms to subvert the multinational anti-avoidance law in early 2016, months after confidential information had leaked.

Persons: PwC, Peter Collins, Collins, Tom Seymour, Lewis Jackson, Emelia Sithole, Sonali Paul Organizations: Google, Reuters, PwC Australia, PwC, Tax, Board, Thomson Locations: Australia, SYDNEY, PwC Australia

SYDNEY, July 4 (Reuters) - Australia's fourth largest pension fund suspended new work with PwC Australia on Tuesday, the latest in a string of funds to pause work with the accounting firm over a scandal which first surfaced in January over the misuse of government tax plans. The decision by UniSuper, which manages A$115 billion ($77 billion), means five of Australia's largest pension funds, managing a total of some A$865 billion, have paused work with PwC, which says it is a "leading adviser" to the sector. UniSuper said it was concerned by recent events at PwC and the fund had suspended new contracts for the "immediate future". PwC, which was UniSuper's internal auditor according to the fund's 2022 annual report, declined to comment. ($1 = 1.4972 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: UniSuper, Lewis Jackson, Alexander Smith Organizations: SYDNEY, PwC Australia, UniSuper, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: PwC

☆ Allegro says independent board to oversee PwC Australia's government business
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, July 4 (Reuters) - Australian investment firm Allegro Funds said on Tuesday it would set up an independent board to oversee PwC Australia's government practice business, which it bought last month, and committed A$100 million ($67 million) for transition costs. PwC Australia on June 25 entered an exclusivity agreement with Allegro to sell its government practice for A$1 as it battles to contain a fallout from a scandal over the leak of confidential government tax documents. Allegro said it had reached a binding term sheet on the sale, with the new business to be called Scyne Advisory and fully independent of PwC. PwC Australia said on Monday that it fired eight partners as part of an internal investigation into the leak. Former CEO Tom Seymour and the other seven partners named by PwC did not respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Allegro, Tom Seymour, PwC, Renju Jose, Matthew Lewis Organizations: SYDNEY, Allegro, Advisory, Federal, of, Scyne Advisory, PwC, Thomson Locations: Australia, of Australia, PwC Australia, Sydney

SYDNEY, July 3 (Reuters) - PwC Australia has fired eight partners including its former chief executive as part of an internal investigation into the leak of confidential government tax plans by a former partner, the firm said on Monday. The investigation found multiple examples where the "misuse of confidential information" breached professional standards and also identified "a failure of leadership and governance" to address the breaches, PwC said in a statement. Seymour and the other seven partners named by PwC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Three of the partners were singled out for actions that "failed to meet their professional responsibilities". These behaviours are not, and never have been, acceptable under PwC’s standards," said the statement from PwC, one of the world's "big four" accounting firms.

Persons: PwC, Kristin Stubbins, Tom Seymour, Seymour, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PwC, Thomson Locations: Australia, Stubbins

The Australian scandal is the latest in a number the "big four" professional services firm has faced around the globe. Auditor PwC said it was unable to comment on client issues due to confidentiality clauses. Its auditor PwC and affiliates agreed to pay $33 million in fines and compensation to settle U.S. litigation in 2011. India's market regulator barred PwC's local affiliate from auditing listed companies for two years in 2018, but that was overturned the following year. ($1 = 1.4984 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Praveen Menon and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, PwC, Lewis Jackson, Praveen Menon, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers, International, Wyelands Bank, Colonial Bank ., Satyam, Enron, PwC, Thomson Locations: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Alabama, Colonial Bank . India

SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia staff who are found to have acted improperly in a scandal over the leaking of government tax plans will face "severe" consequences, acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins told a state parliament inquiry on Monday. "We have failed the standards we set for ourselves as an organisation, and I apologise on behalf of our firm," Stubbins said. The firm has already placed nine partners on leave and named four former partners directly involved in the breach who have since left the firm. The move will cut PwC Australia off from the "vast majority" of public sector consulting work, although some external audit work for government clients may stay, said Stubbins. She will remain in the role until Kevin Burrowes, currently Global Clients & Industries lead based in Singapore, relocates to Australia for the job.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, Stubbins, David Seymour, Kevin Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Diane Craft, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia, Allegro Funds, Global, Industries, Thomson Locations: Australia, New South Wales, ringfence, PwC Australia, Singapore

☆ Why PwC is selling part of its business in Australia for less than $1
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —PwC, one of the world’s big four consulting firms, is selling its government advisory business in Australia for just cents after a scandal left its reputation there in shreds. As a result, PwC will sell its government consultancy practice in Australia to Allegro Funds, a private equity firm, for just 1 Australian dollar ($0.7), PwC said in a statement. The business accounts for about 20% of the firm’s revenue in the country. PwC Australia has taken steps to try to regain trust. The firm also ordered nine partners to go on leave as it carried out an investigation “into who may have shared or misused confidential information,” acting CEO Kristin Stubbins said in an open letter in May.

Persons: CNN —, PwC, Peter Collins, Tom Seymour, Kristin Stubbins, Stubbins, Collins, ”, “ Organizations: CNN, Allegro Funds, Australian Treasury, Australian Senate, Police, PwC, Mr Locations: Australia, PwC, PwC Australia

SYDNEY, June 26 (Reuters) - Australian lawmakers will ask for more details about PwC staff involved in the leak of government tax plans when acting head Kristin Stubbins appears before a state parliament on Monday, her first public appearance since her predecessor stepped down over the scandal. But there were still many unanswered questions, inquiry chair and Greens party lawmaker Abigail Boyd said on Sunday. "(The sale) seems like a really good way to avoid scrutiny," she told Reuters on Sunday. "Look we've taken action, we've sold off the business, we've got a new person in, everything is fine. She will remain in the role until Kevin Burrowes, currently Global Clients & Industries lead based in Singapore, relocates to Australia for the job.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, Stubbins, Abigail Boyd, we've, Boyd, David Seymour, Kevin Burrowes, Lewis Jackson, Diane Craft Organizations: SYDNEY, Global, Industries, Thomson Locations: New South Wales, NSW, Singapore, Australia

SYDNEY, June 25 (Reuters) - PwC Australia on Sunday entered an exclusivity agreement with private equity firm Allegro Funds to sell its government practice for A$1 as it brought in an executive from Singapore to lead its local firm through the fallout from a national scandal. Amid a growing backlash from key government clients, PwC said it had entered an exclusivity agreement to divest its federal and state government business to Allegro Funds for A$1 ($0.67) as first reported on Friday. A spokesperson for Allegro Funds declined to comment. NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVEGlobal PwC Chair Bob Moritz publicly apologised in a statement and said PwC Australia had failed to meet the firm's standards and values under past leadership. "PwC Australia has significant work to do and I am confident that the steps they are taking ... will result in a stronger firm," Moritz said.

Persons: PwC, Justin Carroll, Deborah O'Neill, Bob Moritz, Kevin Burrowes, Kristin Stubbins, Burrowes, Moritz, Lewis Jackson, Sam McKeith, Christopher Cushing, Tom Hogue Organizations: SYDNEY, Sunday, Funds, Allegro Funds, PwC, Labor, Global, & Industries, Thomson Locations: Australia, Singapore, Sydney

[1/2] PwC sign is seen in the lobby of their offices in Barangaroo, Australia June 22, 2023. PwC Australia made A$3 billion ($2.01 billion) in revenue last financial year. Allegro Funds describes itself as a restructuring specialist with over A$4 billion ($2.68 billion) under management. Acting PwC Australia chief executive Kristin Stubbins said last month the firm would "ringfence" its government consulting business and appoint a separate board to consider "strategic options for the business". In a sign the scandal is beginning to impact PwC's private sector work, four major pension funds managing roughly A$750 billion froze work with the firm this month.

Persons: Lewis Jackson SYDNEY, PwC, Kristin Stubbins, Lewis Jackson, Lincoln, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia, Allegro, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Financial, Funds, PwC Australia, Thomson Locations: Barangaroo, Australia

SYDNEY, June 21 (Reuters) - The chair of an Australian senate committee looking into PricewaterhouseCoopers' leak of a confidential government tax plan has called for an international investigation into the matter. Earlier this month, PwC Australia listed in an unpublished letter to the senate committee at least 67 current and former staff who may have known of the 2015 leak of confidential government tax plans. Acting CEO Kristin Stubbins apologised for the leak on behalf of the firm in an open letter last month. The report also called on PwC to cooperate fully with a current Australian Federal Police investigation. ($1 = 1.4778 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Richard Colbeck, PwC, Kristin Stubbins, Lewis Jackson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Australian Federal Police, Thomson Locations: Australia

SYDNEY, June 7 (Reuters) - HESTA, one of Australia's largest pension funds, on Wednesday froze work with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia, the latest fund to blacklist the firm amid a national scandal over its misuse of confidential government tax plans. The A$72 billion ($48 billion) fund is "very concerned" and will "restrict consideration of PwC for any new or additional service provision", according to a statement on Wednesday. The fund is audited by PwC. The move comes days after Australia's largest and second-largest pension funds froze work with the firm and raises the risk PwC may lose private sector clients just as a growing list of government agencies pause or review work with the firm. PwC on Monday named at least 67 current and former staff associated with the breach in an unpublished letter to lawmakers.

Persons: PwC, Lewis Jackson, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, Thomson Locations: Australia

SYDNEY, June 2 (Reuters) - Australia's largest pension fund will pause use of the domestic unit of auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the "big four" firm reels from a national scandal over its use of confidential government tax plans to drum up work with global clients. The roughly A$290 billion ($196.71 billion) fund, AustralianSuper, has frozen new contracts with PwC and expressed concerns about the scandal "at the highest level", according to a spokesperson. An audit contract worth A$1.6 million in 2022, will be reviewed this year, the spokesperson added. The Reserve Bank of Australia on Wednesday froze future work while Treasury and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority have hinted that the firm is blacklisted. The A$150 billion AwareSuper said the fund was working with PwC to determine whether tax advisers who had worked with the fund were implicated in the leak.

Persons: PwC, Lewis Jackson, Gerry Doyle Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Reserve Bank of Australia, Wednesday, Treasury, Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, Thomson Locations: Australia

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