KPMG SA has ‘reformed’

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 South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the defunct VBS Bank.

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

“It is appropriate to repeat 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.

Regarding the VBS scandal, KPMG former partner Sipho Malaba, who allegedly received R34 million to cook the books at the bank, had been reported to the Hawks, said Nkuhlu. Furthermore, the firm would appear before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

“I would like to make an appeal to South African businesses, government, and the public – an appeal for your recognition that KPMG SA is today a very different business to what it was 18 months ago. An appeal for your patience as we continue to do more to demonstrate how we’ve changed.”

The firm had undertaken “significant introspection” and made changes to who it worked with, its conduct and how it did its work, Nkuhlu added.

The troubled auditing firm appointed him to lead its board in March. Nkuhlu is also a chancellor of the University of Pretoria and a former president of the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants. – ANA

I realise that regaining public trust will not happen quickly.

Wiseman Nkuhlu KPMG SA board chairperson