An Australian government-commissioned review has found that KPMG Australia mishandled a whistleblower's allegations of client data leaks and allowed cultural and governance weaknesses to persist for years, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Source: Reuters

The review, carried out by former senior bureaucrat Ian Watt for the Department of Finance, stopped short of recommending a permanent ban on KPMG from federal government work. Instead, KPMG has agreed not to bid for new federal work until the end of February while it carries out further governance reforms, extending a pause that has been in place since June.

Yaani: federal government work brought KPMG A$207.1 million in the 2026 financial year — about 20.7 crore Australian dollars, or 9.5% of the firm's revenue, the report said.

What the review found

"KPMG mishandled the whistleblower matter. Its response was misguided, fragmented, prolonged and, at critical points, lacked clear ownership," the report said. It found the firm treated the complaint mainly as an "employment matter", focused on legal and organisational risks, and paid inadequate attention to whether the allegations might be accurate — even though the whistleblower had raised concerns about unethical conduct driven by commercial pressure and fear of retaliation.

"The review considers that KPMG should not be treated as permanently unsuitable for Commonwealth work, but nor should confidence be restored on the strength of assurances and encouraging early signs alone," the review said, adding that confidence must be earned through evidence of effective, lasting change.

KPMG said it accepted the review's findings and recommendations. "The report lays bare our failings and highlights the hard work that we must do to address them," the firm said.

Source: Reuters via Devdiscourse