Recap<\/p>\n
What we’ve heard so far:<\/p>\n
Ashurt’s Jane Harvey says they “were never engaged to conduct an investigation” by KPMG.The law firm says it’s up to KPMG to release information being protected by legal privilege.Confidential information from Optus was allegedly shared with the team that was pursuing the audit of Telstra.Former NSW premier Mike Baird, who was on the KPMG board, says the whistleblower claims factored into his decision to leave and there was insufficient urgency and transparency.He says the whistleblower claims were initially presented as a HR matter of a disgruntled staffer.Former head of audit Julian McPherson has apologised to the KPMG whistleblower and KPMG clients.Former KPMG Australia chief executive Andrew Yates says the majority of his bonus, about $1 million, has been withheld, and admits they “didn’t get it right” on the whistleblower.He says the revelation that information from Optus’s audit may have been used to try to win the more lucrative Telstra audit was the moment he knew he had to go.The committee heard the whistleblower was allegedly pressured to leave KPMG with threats to withhold a reference.There are concerns the partnership-based consultancy firms operate in what senators have called a “legal grey area”, which means they lack the oversight of corporations.A KPMG whistleblower’s computer was covertly searched because executives were worried they would leak the company’s own confidential information.The former head of audit went to legal and human resources with the whistleblower allegations rather than the company’s CEO.Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand has told the inquiry the organisation is a private membership body that is powerless to inflict punitive fines.Lendlease chair John Gillam says the company will part ways with KPMG after 68 years, saying the breach of trust is “a very disappointing set of circumstances”.<\/p>\n