Parliament axes KPMG

Parliament has cut ties with global professional services company and one of the big-four auditors, KPMG.

The board of Parmed, which is the medical aid scheme for MPs, members of the provincial legislatures and judges, under chairman and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Lechesa Tsenoli, “has unanimously taken a decision to end its contract with KPMG in a meeting held in Cape Town last week”, Parliament said in a statement on Wednesday.

Parmed’s board took the decision to end the relationship after “considering the risks associated with doing business with KPMG after its recent admission of improper conduct that seriously tarnished the firm’s reputation”, Tsenoli said.

Parliament was in discussion about the “immediate termination” of another KPMG contract, which specifically sought to review the effectiveness of the parliamentary service.

KPMG has lost a number of clients after its admission of wrongdoing in the handling of Gupta accounts and the withdrawal of the findings of its South African Revenue Service report.

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has called on the government to review work done by KPMG to make sure that audits are not compromised.