Seymour’s position had begun to look untenable last week after emails related to the affair were made public following a demand from a key Labour Party finance official, Sen Deborah O’Neill. — Bloomberg
SYDNEY: The head of PwC’s Australian arm resigned as the fallout over the firm’s leak of confidential government tax plans intensifies.
“After discussion with the PwC Australia board of partners, Tom Seymour is stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO), effective immediately,” the firm, also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said in a statement.
Kristin Stubbins, leader of PwC Australia’s audit, trust and risk businesses, is taking over as acting CEO. A permanent replacement will be elected by partners “in the coming months”, the firm said.
It was the latest shoe to drop in a crisis that has gripped the firm for months.
The Australian Tax Practitioners Board revealed in January that it had barred PwC’s former international tax chief, Peter Collins, for breaking rules that prohibit the sharing of confidential government plans, in this case, related to programmes for preventing corporate tax avoidance.
Seymour’s position had begun to look untenable last week after emails related to the affair were made public following a demand from a key Labour Party finance official, Sen Deborah O’Neill.
The messages showed that the Australian firm had widely shared the confidential information internally with dozens of members, including as part of an effort to obtain business in Silicon Valley.
Seymour had initially played down the affair, described it as a “perception issue”, and claimed that everyone with knowledge of it had left the firm.
But after the email release, Seymour, a firm partner since 2002 and CEO since 2020, acknowledged that he knew the confidential information was being shared. He didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday, outside of normal Australian business hours.
Stubbins, an 18-year partner, said in a statement that the firm was “committed to learning from our mistakes, listening to our stakeholders and enhancing our culture to build stronger trust and transparency”.
In a separate statement yesterday, PwC’s global network said: “The recent revelations presented a clear violation of our code of conduct and our professional standards. It is unacceptable and goes against our culture and our values.”
The global firm said it was planning to commission an external, independent review of the Australian firm’s governance, culture and accountability. — Reuters
