SYDNEY: Embattled consultancy KPMG Australia on Thursday named Michael Ebeid as its first independent chairman, a move that drew criticism from lawmakers over his connection with the firm and its response to an audit leak scandal.
The appointment comes a week after KPMG said its chairman and two senior partners would leave as part of a governance overhaul to rebuild trust in the firm following allegations that staff misused confidential client information to win audit work. The CEO and audit boss also resigned in May.
"Despite the challenges the firm is facing, my resolve to support its important work is even stronger. I believe KPMG can recover, rebuild and emerge a better firm," Ebeid said in a statement.
He said his mandate was to strengthen independent oversight, make integrity central to everything the firm does, and drive cultural and governance reforms needed to build confidence.
"My first priority is to restore the governance and effectiveness of the board," Ebeid said.
The new chairman said KPMG would also accelerate its CEO appointment process, expecting the board to confirm a new leader before the end of July.
Ebeid, a former boss of public service broadcaster SBS, was first named as an independent adviser to the firm's national board in 2024 and has been on the Asia-Pacific board since 2025. He was one of the current and former employees called to testify before a parliamentary committee hearing held into the scandal last month.
EMAILS SHOW EBEID CRITICISED SENATOR OVER SCANDAL
The audit leak scandal went public in March when Deborah O'Neill, a senator from the ruling Labor Party, used parliamentary privilege to raise the issues a whistleblower, a former senior executive, took to the company in 2024.
They included that staff misused confidential board papers from real estate company Lendlease to support bids for major audit tenders.
Following news of his appointment, the parliamentary committee released internal email correspondence involving Ebeid, saying it offered an insight into his views on the whistleblower's allegations, and that publication was in the public interest.
In the email, sent after O'Neill made the allegations public, Ebeid criticised the senator's actions as "very inappropriate and unfair". He also said many of her statements were "completely false", including the timeline of events detailed by the whistleblower. KPMG has since admitted mishandling the whistleblower's complaint and launched a fourth investigation after three previous probes did not substantiate any wrongdoing.
APPOINTMENT 'DOESN'T PASS ANY ETHICS TEST'
Barbara Pocock, a Greens senator on the committee, said Ebeid's appointment was a "clear conflict of interest". The email correspondence showed "his depth of knowledge and pre-formed views about events within KPMG and its whistleblower's allegations", Pocock said.
"Mr Ebeid's appointment shows the deeply embedded nature of the cultural problems at KPMG, evident in the recent scandals. It risks entrenching the very culture and leadership that need to change," she added.
"This doesn't pass any ethics test."
KPMG did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the senator's statements. Ebeid's appointment comes a day after Australia's centre-left Labor government said it was considering breaking up the Big Four accounting firms in response to repeated scandals in the sector. - Reuters
