Cheating shock at KPMG

TWO KPMG Australia partners have been forced out of the firm, 16 partners have lost remuneration and the firm has copped a $615,000 fine from regulators over widespread cheating among staff, including auditors, on internal tests. About 12 per cent of the staff, or 1131 people, across the Australian business have been disciplined after a 15-month investigation into improper answer sharing on online multiple-choice tests between 2016 and 2020.

The investigation was sparked by a whistleblower complaint in February last year and KPMG self-reported the issue to regulators, including ASIC.

The disciplinary action has ranged from verbal cautions to written warnings, with 46 people, including 16 partners, losing “tens of thousands of dollars” in pay.

KPMG’s chief executive Andrew Yates said that once the investigation revealed breaches over audit testing, the firm had put all audit partners, directors, senior managers and managers through two years of audit testing.

He said he was “incredibly disappointed” with what was revealed.

“This reflects poorly on the firm and we have taken it very seriously and from the word go have tried to remediate,” Mr Yates said.

He said two partners had left the firm at the end of an investigation.