‘We’re value for money’: KPMG boss hits back over Defence bill
KPMG’s boss has told his troops it was regrettable the consulting giant improperly shared sensitive Defence information, and called on them to “deliver high quality work and value for money” as he rejected overcharging allegations.
In an all-staff email sent last Wednesday, chief executive Andrew Yates said KPMG went through a “robust” procurement process to win a new $46 million contract with the Australian Signals Directorate, and two separate information “breaches” involving Defence information were “regrettable [but] at no time was sensitive material compromised”.
KPMG Australia CEO Andrew Yates at a hearing of the Senate inquiry into consulting in June. Alex Ellinghausen
The ABC’s Four Corners program this month reported allegations that KPMG submitted inflated invoices and billed Defence for hours that were never worked. The firm’s work for Defence over the past decade is valued at $1.8 billion.
KPMG and Defence denied the allegations, which were made by two unnamed whistleblowers.
In his email to partners and staff, Mr Yates said the firm didn’t “always get it right” but publicly acknowledged mistakes, such as its long-running exam cheating scandal and its involvement in the development of a controversial NSW transport entity.
“In contrast, there have been a number of recent assertions where we do not believe we got it wrong,” he wrote.
“Most of these reports relate to the work that we do with Defence. This is important work, and our teams are genuinely passionate about what they are doing. I know we deliver high-quality work and value for money.”
Mr Yates said the firm “strongly” rejected the allegations that Defence was over-billed.
“Defence has publicly confirmed that their investigations into allegations by a
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