Another KPMG leader steps aside amid audit leak scandal fallout

Eileen Hoggett has worked for KPMG for more than 30 years. (Sourced: kpmg.com) Eileen Hoggett's move marks another major change in the firm's leadership team after the chief executive and head of audit resigned last week. Ms Hoggett will return to a full-time audit role as investigations continue. The changes come after publicly aired revelations by a whistleblower that auditors at the firm had misused confidential client documents. There could be more leadership changes at KPMG, more clients leaving the firm and wider ramifications about the way big four firms are regulated. Link copiedShareShare articleKPMG Australia chief operating officer Eileen Hoggett will step aside while investigations are pending into an audit leak scandal at the big-four firm. Her move marks another major change in the firm's leadership after Friday's resignations of chief executive Andrew Yates and head of audit Julian McPherson. KPMG is fighting to contain reputational damage from revelations aired under parliamentary privilege that its auditors had misused confidential client documents. The claims against KPMG were first formally made by a whistleblower in May 2024, dismissed by KPMG, then came to light when Labor Senator Deborah O'Neill aired them under parliamentary privilege this year. The claims include that the firm's partners misused board papers from Lendlease to pitch for and win external audits of Westpac and Dexus. If you have more information about this story, please contact Nassim Khadem at khadem.nassim@abc.net.au or nassimkhadem@protonmail.com The only client to publicly confirm KPMG misused its documents so far is Lendlease. After decades as a client of KPMG, Lendlease will put its external auditing contract out to tender next year. It is understood SingTel Optus was also told by KPMG that its data was accessed in an attempt to win the audit work of Telstra. Another KPMG client named under privilege was Macquarie Group. Senator O'Neill chairs a parliamentary joint committee that also unveiled the PwC tax leaks saga, when it was revealed the firm shared confidential government documents with multinational clients. The Department of Finance later had PWC agree to an order to stand down any staff involved in the breach and effectively shut the firm out of new federal contracts by ordering officials to consider confidentiality breaches when evaluating bids. KPMG is now fighting to avoid the same fate, as well as the possibility that it could lose more major clients if there are concerns its auditors cannot be trusted. Senator O'Neill chairs the parliamentary joint committee that aired the whistleblower's allegations against KPMG. (ABC News) Stan Stavros has been appointed KPMG's interim chief executive during the search for a permanent replacement. KPMG Australia chief executive Andrew Yates has quit amid a scandal involving audit partners accessing confidential client documents. In a statement sent to partners via email this morning, Mr Stavros said: "Taking on the role of Interim CEO comes in circumstances neither I, nor any of you, would have liked. I come to this role not having been involved in the whistleblower process, but it is clear to me that we should have handled things differently. I am 100% committed and will ensure we approach the issues in the right way." He said the firm should "expect the heightened public scrutiny to continue for some time" and as investigations continued, it would "work with the regulators and professional bodies examining these matters and continue to engage with the parliamentary joint committee". "My focus is on placing the business in the best position possible in this environment — both navigating the serious whistleblower-related issues but importantly remaining focused on the market and serving our clients," Mr Stavros said. "We must support our people and deliver on our priorities. I will be speaking with you further on this shortly." KPMG is under fire for its failure to properly investigate a whistleblower's allegations about audit leaks at the firm and its handling of confidential client information. (Four Corners) Mr Stavros said changes in leadership would be "effective immediately". Consulting giant KPMG has been accused of submitting inflated invoices and billing the Department of Defence for hours never worked. The firm's chief financial officer, John Sams, would assume Ms Hoggett's chief operating officer role. She will return to a full-time audit role while investigations are ongoing. Other executive moves include Gayle Dickerson stepping into Mr Stavros's previous role as national managing partner of deal advisory and infrastructure, and Scott Guse replacing Ms McPherson as head of audit. "I will consider any further changes at the appropriate time," Mr Stavros said. "I will also today be apologising to all our hard-working people, as these matters do not reflect on the contribution they make to KPMG and our clients every single day.

Another KPMG leader steps aside amid audit leak scandal fallout

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Another KPMG leader steps aside amid audit leak scandal fallout

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