{"id":753456,"date":"2026-06-22T19:07:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/753456\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T19:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:07:25","slug":"kpmg-australia-faces-scrutiny-over-misuse-of-optus-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/753456\/","title":{"rendered":"KPMG Australia faces scrutiny over misuse of Optus information"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/KPMG.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n                        The new disclosure was made by KPMG Australia chairman Martin Sheppard at a parliamentary hearing. Credit: MikeDotta\/Shutterstock.com.<\/p>\n<p class=\"drop-cap\">KPMG Australia has admitted that its staff improperly shared confidential Optus information with an internal team pitching for rival Telstra\u2019s audit work, breaching the company\u2019s ethical standards, Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/finance\/australian-lawmakers-grilling-kpmg-suggest-more-regulation-audit-industry-may-be-2026-06-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The disclosure, made by KPMG Australia chairman Martin Sheppard at a parliamentary hearing, confirms earlier whistleblower allegations that the company had previously said were not supported by internal and external reviews.<\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GD-brand.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>            Access deeper industry intelligence<\/p>\n<p>\n            Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.\n        <\/p>\n<p>\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/verdict.co.uk\/globaldata-intelligence-center?utm_source=Media-sites&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=Verdict-Curve-Media-Media-Landing-Page-Banner-IC-Demo&amp;CampaignValue=701Ti00000blv0kIAA&amp;utm_content=RHS\" class=\"gms-find-out-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n                Find out more<\/p>\n<p>            <\/a>\n        <\/p>\n<p>According to the news agency, Sheppard told lawmakers that \u201cThe Optus, Telstra matter emerged \u2060very recently\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The case comes alongside separate allegations that KPMG used confidential Lendlease board papers in bids for major audit mandates with Westpac and property group Dexus.<\/p>\n<p>These Lendlease-related claims have dominated the scandal to date and increased pressure on the company.<\/p>\n<p>Former KPMG Australia CEO Andrew Yates told the hearing that evidence concerning Optus, uncovered by law firm Allens, triggered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalaccountingbulletin.com\/news\/kpmg-australia-ceo-andrew-yates-resigns-amid-whistleblower-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">his resignation last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Lendlease was not informed until May 2025, around a year after the whistleblower first raised concerns internally.<\/p>\n<p>Lendlease chairman John Gillam called KPMG\u2019s conduct a \u201cfundamental breach of trust\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Lendlease has since decided to end its nearly 70-year audit relationship with KPMG.<\/p>\n<p>Yates said he had not informed Optus of the complaint and could not recall when Westpac and Dexus were notified.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers at the hearing indicated that tougher regulation of the Big Four accounting companies may be required.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, KPMG\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalaccountingbulletin.com\/news\/kpmg-drops-ai-report-after-false-case-studies-exposed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">deleted a global report<\/a> on AI after multiple case studies were found to be inaccurate and apparently generated from AI hallucinations.<\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.internationalaccountingbulletin.com\/wp-content\/themes\/goodlife-wp-B2B\/assets\/images\/newsletter-new.svg\" alt=\"Email newsletter icon\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n                    Sign up for our daily news round-up!<br \/>\n                    Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.\n                <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The new disclosure was made by KPMG Australia chairman Martin Sheppard at a parliamentary hearing. Credit: MikeDotta\/Shutterstock.com. KPMG&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":753457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-753456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}