[ad_1]
Consulting giant PwC systematically thwarted an IRD investigation by falsely claiming legal privilege over thousands of documents, according to evidence given by its former general counsel and chief executive in his first statement since resigning over the tax leak scandal.
Former chief executive Tom Seymour and general counsel Meredith Beattie appeared on Friday before a parliamentary committee examining structural challenges in the audit, assurance and consulting industries in a hearing that turned heated.
Former PwC chief executives Tom Seymour and Luke Sayers appeared before the parliamentary inquiry on Friday. Credit: Erin Dowdy
Current chief executive Kevin Burrowes was accused of misleading an earlier Senate inquiry by failing to disclose he received $1.2 million in compensation from PwC’s international arm while running the Australian company.
And former chief executive Luke Sayers was visibly frustrated as he explained his dealings with former ATO deputy commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn, who he said loved to gossip and “praised” and “talked up stories” about PwC’s culture rather than using his regulatory powers to identify and correct problems.
Friday’s inquiry is designed to examine whether the partnership model for professional services firms is fit to continue and whether regulations and laws are adequate. Last year, the Tax Practitioners Committee found that former PwC partner Peter Collins Sharing confidential government information on tax reformthe federal police have launched an investigation into the matter.
Seymour told the committee he had asked a PwC lawyer to investigate Collins’ 2018 confidentiality breach but was told no breach had occurred, adding that he “wished it hadn’t happened.”
Previously, Beatty said she had expressed concerns to Sayers about how some tax operations were run while Seymour was head of the department.
The inquiry heard the ATO put enormous pressure on the consulting giant by asking it to produce thousands of documents in 2017-18. Beattie claimed PwC’s tax department did not respond appropriately to the ATO’s requests and pinned the blame on Seymour.
[ad_2]
Source link
