PwC Australia has fired eight partners including its former chief executive as part of an internal investigation into the leak of confidential government tax plans by a former partner.
According to PwC, the inquiry discovered many instances of “misuse of confidential information” that violated professional standards, as well as “a failure of leadership and governance” to address the breaches.
“Accountability is critical to improving our culture and based on our investigation to date, it is clear that the conduct of a number of partners fell short of what was expected of them,” acting CEO Kristin Stubbins said.
“They are now being held accountable for their misconduct,” the acting CEO added.
The sackings are the firm’s latest attempt to minimise the impact from a controversy in which a former partner who had been advising the Australian government on new tax legislation aimed at corporate tax dodging shared secret drafts with colleagues, which were then used to drum up business around the world.
Former CEO Tom Seymour resigned in May after acknowledging he had received emails containing secret information regarding the government’s tax intentions, among the eight partners who have departed or are in the process of departing.
PwC did not immediately reply to demands for comment from Seymour and the other seven partners mentioned.
Three of the partners were singled out for actions that “failed to meet their professional responsibilities”.
The other five, including the head of the firm’s financial services division, were removed because of failures to prevent the actions or “hold others accountable for their behaviours”.
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