KPMG Australia

Senator Scarr acknowledged the whistleblower's role in exposing the misconduct and praised the committee's work in bringing the issues to light. Scarr argued that the Corporations Act was not fit for purpose regarding large partnerships and that regulatory reform was essential to restore trust in the financial system. Scarr advocated for the establishment of an independent whistleblower protection authority to support individuals who report misconduct, citing the personal toll suffered by the KPMG whistleblower. Scarr stated that while the specific form of reform, such as breaking up firms, remained an open question, change was urgently required.

Senator O'Neill highlighted the importance of audit integrity for the $412 trillion under management in the superannuation system. O'Neill described KPMG's actions as a grave misuse of access privileges and noted the firm's failure to protect the whistleblower, who faced retaliation including unauthorized laptop searches. O'Neill pointed out that approximately 680 partners at KPMG operate without direct oversight from ASIC or other federal entities. O'Neill affirmed that the committee would continue its work to ensure necessary reforms are implemented to address these structural failures.