PwC Australia, a consulting firm, acknowledged “repeated failures of leadership” on Wednesday and pledged additional improvements in the wake of a tax leak scandal that damaged its reputation internationally.
Since January, when it was revealed that staff members had divulged details of a private government tax briefing to attract new clients, the firm has been embroiled in scandal.
As it presented an independent study on Wednesday that outlined flaws including a “whatever it takes” focus that may have resulted in “integrity failures,” PwC Australia outlined a number of adjustments.
“Some partners did the wrong thing, while others failed to do the right thing by overlooking or minimising the significance of questionable behaviours,” said the third-party review.
Partners who brought in a lot of money — so-called rainmakers — were described as “‘untouchables’ or individuals to whom the ‘rules don’t always apply'”, it found.
The report criticised the excessive power conferred on the chief executive and cited a perception of “cronyism” in the choice of the top job and other key roles.
PwC Australia declared that it would respond to the findings by altering its culture, releasing thorough audited financial accounts, and expanding its governance board by at least three independent, non-executive members.
In an open letter published concurrently with the study, PwC Australia Chief Executive Kevin Burrowes, who assumed leadership in July, expressed his “deep regret” for the firm’s actions.
“In addition to identified wrongdoing, a series of mistakes, wrong decisions and poor judgements were made,” he said.
“Repeated failures of leadership contributed to an erosion of good governance and weakened our focus on our professional and ethical standards.”
In July, PwC Australia sacked a string of executives and offloaded its lucrative Australian government advisory business for Aus$1 (US$0.63).
