A joint parliamentary committee in Canberra has held hearings to investigate ethical problems and the poor treatment of whistleblowers at KPMG Australia.

坎培拉的一個聯合議會委員會已舉行聽證會，調查 KPMG 澳洲公司的道德問題以及對舉報者的惡劣對待。

The inquiry focused on several cases where KPMG Australia broke client confidentiality. Evidence showed that private data from Optus was shared with staff who were trying to win a contract with Telstra. Additionally, the firm admitted to misusing private information from Lendlease. Consequently, Lendlease ended a 68-year auditing relationship and may ask for their money back. These events follow a similar scandal at PwC in 2023, leading senators to argue that the current regulatory system has failed completely.

此次調查重點在於幾個 KPMG 澳洲公司違反客戶保密協議的案例。證據顯示，來自 Optus 的私隱數據被分享給試圖贏得 Telstra 合約的員工。此外，該公司承認誤用了 Lendlease 的私隱資訊。因此，Lendlease 終止了長達 68 年的審計關係，並可能要求退款。這些事件發生在 2023 年 PwC 類似醜聞之後，導致參議員認為目前的監管體系已完全失效。

There was also significant conflict regarding how the firm treated a whistleblower. Testimony revealed that the person's computer was secretly monitored several times in 2024. This surveillance was authorized by former audit head Julian McPherson to stop data leaks. Former CEO Andrew Yates admitted that the company's response was not good enough and failed to create a safe environment for employees to speak up. He resigned in May shortly after making this admission. However, the firm's chair, Martin Sheppard, refused to change the legal agreement regarding the whistleblower's release.

關於該公司如何對待舉報者，也存在顯著衝突。證詞顯示，該人員的電腦在 2024 年被秘密監控多次。此次監控由前審計主管 Julian McPherson 授權，旨在防止數據洩漏。前執行長 Andrew Yates 承認公司的反應不夠充分，未能為員工創造一個敢於發聲的安全環境。他在做出此承認後不久，於 5 月辭職。然而，公司主席 Martin Sheppard 拒絕修改關於舉報者離職的法律協議。

Currently, several organizations are seeking accountability. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) is investigating Andrew Yates and eleven other people. At the same time, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is looking into the roles of partners Eileen Hoggett and Paul Rogers. The committee emphasized the strange fact that senior leaders were involved in these breaches, which suggests a serious gap between professional standards and the behavior of executives.

目前，數個組織正尋求追究責任。澳洲與紐西蘭特許會計師協會 (CA ANZ) 正在調查 Andrew Yates 及其他 11 人。與此同時，澳洲證券投資委員會 (ASIC) 正在調查合夥人 Eileen Hoggett 與 Paul Rogers 的角色。委員會強調，高階領導者涉入這些違規行為這一事實令人驚訝，顯示出專業標準與高層行為之間存在嚴重差距。

The Australian accounting industry is now under much stricter supervision following these ethical mistakes at KPMG and the failure of professional oversight bodies.

在 KPMG 出現這些道德錯誤以及專業監管機構失效後，澳洲會計業目前受到更嚴格的監督。