Senate committee report accuses PwC of trying to cover up tax leaks scandal

A second interim report by the Senate standing committee on finance and public administration, titled “the cover up worsens the crime”, has accused the firm of withholding information about the conduct of its international partners.

Since then, the Australian firm has been forced to divest its entire government consulting business for just $1, been referred to the federal police and the national anti-corruption commission for investigation, and retrenched hundreds of staff.

The bipartisan committee has acknowledged PwC Australia has overhauled its internal governance structures in recent months, but described the changes as largely “symbolic” and accused the firm of making “no genuine effort to fully investigate and address the issues”.

The report also criticises PwC International for refusing to comply with a request from the Australian parliament to share a copy of an investigation used to contain the tax leaks scandal to Australia.

The firm has claimed legal professional privilege over the report, which cleared international partners of wrongdoing, but insists all relevant information contained in it has been referred to authorities.

The report found PwC Australia’s leadership “consistently failed to take responsibility for the problems within the organisation that led to this situation occurring”.