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-Kurt Vonnegut
PwC Australia’s profit slumped 17 per cent to $619 million in the year to December 2024, according to the first-ever audited accounts of the local big four firms.
The accounts, published on Friday, show that revenues contracted 6 per cent to $2.17 billion. The firm’s 628 partners, who receive the profits of the firm and pay tax as individuals, earned an average of $767,000 in income, up slightly from the firm’s most recent disclosure.
PwC Australia chief executive Kevin Burrowes says the audited report is a ‘milestone’ for the firm.
The audited calendar year figures show the rate at which the firm has been shrinking since its tax leaks scandal has slowed in the six months since its last unaudited results to June 2024. Partner and staff numbers have also continued to contract in the six months between June and December 2024.
The firm is about a third smaller than before the 2023 scandal – which involved a former partner sharing confidential government information internally – but since this time chief executive Kevin Burrowes has been on a lengthy reform process to improve the way the partnership is governed and operated.
A slowdown in demand for once fast-growing consulting services means PwC’s rivals are also likely to post a second consecutive year of lower revenue when they report for the year to June. PwC has shifted to a calendar year reporting period, as this has long been its formal accounting period when dealing with authorities.
More transparent, better managed’
As a private partnership, the big four have limited reporting requirements and do not have an obligation to publish results nor to have these results audited. Releasing an audited financial report is a key part of PwC’s reform process, said Burrowes.
“The publication of our inaugural annual report, including audited financial statements and a remuneration report, is a major milestone as we become a more transparent and well-managed firm,” he said.
“It is a first for our industry, providing an unprecedented level of detail around the firm’s performance, governance and operations. It is a significant step and one of many we are taking as we strive to become the pre-eminent professional services firm.”
Undergoing a formal audit was a new experience for the big four auditing giant and required significant changes to the firm’s internal processes. The audit was conducted by mid-tier provider Crowe Australasia for $761,000.
The report showed Burrowes earned $3.4 million in the year to December. Rob Silverwood, a former senior partner, was paid $2.6 million. Sue Horlin, the head of audit, made $2.2 million, while Rohit Antao, the head of consulting, earned $1.5 million.
Burrowes, as part of his push to rebuild the firm’s standing in the market, has also reoriented the firm’s advisory offering to match changing client needs towards industry experts over general consulting advice.
“There is particularly strong demand in areas such as private capital, mining and critical minerals, as well as superannuation,” Burrowes said.
The fallout of the tax leaks scandal has led to hundreds of PwC partners and thousands of staff leaving the firm, a crackdown on tax advisers and the prospect of wholesale changes to the way the big four firms are regulated in Australia.
External monitoring to end early
A review of PwC’s governance after the tax scandal found serious deficiencies in the firm’s culture and accountability mechanisms. Under Burrowes’ leadership, the firm agreed to make 47 “commitments to change”. These included appointing independent directors, reforming its governance process and publishing audited accounts.
The federal senators who led parliamentary inquiries that helped expose the firm’s failings criticised the move as a “get out of jail free card” that lacked independence, and the firm had failed to demonstrate substantive reform.
PwC Australia remains under the supervised remediation of PwC International. Multiple inquiries, including by the Australian Federal Police, into the actions of former partners relating to the scandal, remain ongoing.
PwC Australia chief executive Kevin Burrowes says the audited report is a ‘milestone’ for the firm. 
