KPMG is a different company now, says chairperson in apology to South Africans

EMBATTLED auditing firm KPMG South Africa board chairperson Wiseman Nkuhlu says the company has changed after suffering reputational damage over its work for the Gupta family, the SA Revenue Service and now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank.

In an open letter to South Africans published in newspapers yesterday, Nkuhlu said KPMG had let the country down, and gaining the trust lost was not an easy task.

“It is appropriate to repeat to fellow South Africans our apology for work that caused real hurt and damage to South African institutions and fellow citizens. We failed by our own standards, and we let the country down. I realise that regaining public trust will not happen quickly. Understandably, people will want to judge KPMG not by its word, but also by its deeds,” he said.

The firm had “nothing to hide” and co-operated with the authorities. On VBS, KPMG former partner Sipho Malaba, who allegedly received R34 million to cook the books at the mutual bank, had been reported to the Hawks, said Nkuhlu. Furthermore, the firm would appear before the state capture commission of inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The firm had done ‘’significant introspection’’ and made changes to with whom it worked, how it conducted itself, and how it did its work, Nkuhlu said.

The firm turned to Nkuhlu, also chancellor of the University of Pretoria, and appointed him to lead its board in March this year. | African News Agency (ANA)