KPMG boss confirms major job cuts and pay slash amid revenue slide
KPMG Australia has confirmed job cuts and a 13 per cent partner pay reduction, with more roles under review.
DAVID ROSS
August 24, 2026
KPMG Australia partner remuneration will be reduced by 13 per cent, as it confirmed reports it would cull 5 per cent of staff citing a soft outlook that saw a 1 per cent slide.
As revealed in The Australian last week, the audit and consulting firm on Monday announced a raft of job cuts on Monday, with 360 staff and 27 partners to exit.
As revealed in The Australian last week, the audit and consulting firm on Monday announced a raft of job cuts on Monday, with 360 staff and 27 partners to exit.
The firm said these would not be the last, noting it was starting consultation “on a small number of award-based roles”.
At least 80 partners have left KPMG since July 1.
The firm has faced continued pressure since allegations emerged it had engaged in a deliberate breach of audit client confidentiality.
The job cuts are the latest hit to the firm, with a government squeeze on consulting spending also hammering revenues in KPMG’s consulting arm which were down 17 per cent.
KPMG chief executive John Sams said the job cuts had “not been taken lightly, and we know it will have a very real impact on people”.
“With demand for consulting remaining weaker, most of the roles affected will be in our consulting business,” he said.
“Changes to our business and the professional services landscape have also reduced the need for some roles in business services.”
KPMG declined to make Mr Sams available for an interview on Monday.
The firm also said it will combine its mid-market and private deals teams with its deal advisory and infrastructure divisions.
The advisory arm will join KPMG’s consulting operation.
KPMG said this was “not a change in the firm’s commitment to mid-market and private clients”.
Despite the fall in consulting revenue, which dragged down total earnings by the firm to $2.25bn, KPMG’s audit and assurance and tax and legal arms both saw double digit growth up 11 per cent each.
Mr Sams said the results showed “the resilience of our business and, above all, the commitment of our people in a very challenging year”.
Mr Sams was elevated to the CEO role in late July, in the wake of the exit of KPMG’s former boss Andrew Yates.
“Our total revenue was slightly lower than last year, and below our expectations,” Mr Sams said.
“We need to be clear about the outlook. We expect difficult market conditions to continue in FY27 and beyond.”
He said he expected economic growth to remain sluggish until at least 2028, warning this would affect client investment expectations.
“The professional services sector is also changing rapidly as client expectations evolve, AI reshapes the way services are delivered and government spending on consultants remains lower,” Mr Sams said.
“We also recognise the challenges created by our own failings, and the work we must continue to do to rebuild trust.”
KPMG has several internal and external reviews underway into the firm’s audit failures and cultural problems.
Mr Sams said their findings would guide “all necessary action”.
“While these conditions are likely to persist, we remain focused on what we can control,” he said.
“We will continue to monitor performance closely, act when needed and consider carefully how the firm needs to be set up for the future.”
Michelle Sams Assistant Commissioner, Top 100 Program, Adviser Strategy and Staff Experience Australian Taxation Office Michelle is is Assistant Commissioner Top 100 Program, Adviser Strategy and Staff Experience in the Public Groups and International business line at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Michelle has 18 years corporate tax experience. Prior to joining the ATO in 2017 Michelle was a Director in KPMG’s Deal Advisory Tax Team.
KPMG looks internally for salvation
There’s a back to the future vibe to KPMG’s new CEO pick.
Hannah WoottonColumnistFor a firm desperate to move towards the future, KPMG certainly seems wedded to its past. On Tuesday, it granted John Sams the dubious honour of trying to lead it out of its audit leaks scandal.
Sams is a KPMG “lifer” (you qualify after 20-plus years at an employer), joining the firm as a graduate in 2003. He’s been a partner for a decade and on its national executive committee since September. He’s also its chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
John Sams is finally at the top of the KPMG tree. Dominic Lorrimer
It’s quite the resume for someone who is supposed to be leading KPMG into the new world. Which is a fact that hasn’t been lost on politicians, and certainly not on staff either.
There are positives. Internally, Sams is well-liked and respected. He is viewed as competent and a safe pair of hands, and has taken a more open approach to discussing the management of the scandal than other leaders.
But then there’s the fact he’s been involved in managing the current fallout. That’s included accompanying embattled chair-in-waiting Michael Ebeid on a national listening tour of KPMG’s offices this month, which hasn’t gone down particularly well. Ebeid himself is the main issue. Many partners view his appointment as chair as illegitimate, given he has not yet been voted in, and inappropriate, in light of his role overseeing the board’s botched investigations.
But Sams has also raised eyebrows at these meetings for his comments about KPMG’s disastrous decision to claim legal professional privilege over a slew of documents requested by the parliamentary committee investigating the firm’s misconduct.
To recap: KPMG refused to hand over reports by Allensand Ashurst, but still tried to rely on them to dismiss a whistleblower’s allegations of misconduct. Politicians slammed the decision, as did several of the firm’s independent directors and governance experts. It eventually caved, but the attempt played a major role in then-chair Martin Sheppard’s resignation.
It turns out Sams was part of that decision. He told partners as much as he toured the country, as questions about it repeatedly came up given how red hot anger was over that call. He has also pointed out it was the wrong decision in retrospect. But the fact he even backed it is telling.
Some Sydney partners have also been restless about who is calling the shots at the firm, with a sense a small group in Melbourne led by Sams has been doing so.
Then there’s the mechanics of his appointment. Under the firm’s partnership agreement, which governs its operations, only the chairman of its national board can recommend a chief executive for appointment. That role has been empty, however, since Sheppard’s resignation in June.
The board announced Ebeid as its pick to lead it in July, but he won’t be elected until the agreement is modified to allow for an independent chair. Some partners have even been looking at their legal options should a chief executive be appointed outside this process. Unsurprisingly, partners did not rate Ebeid’s performance on the call announcing Sams’ appointment on Tuesday well.
The word “lifer” was thrown around by multiple KPMG staffers this column spoke to, and not as a compliment either. Many questioned why KPMG hadn’t gone for an international partner as the new CEO.
Technically, Sams does come from its global network. His first three years at KPMG were in its UK tax practice. At least according to an earlier version of his LinkedIn profile, which disappeared from the site on Tuesday afternoon right as he was promising transparency would be a focus of his leadership.
Apparently, it’s getting a glow-up. How many ways are there to describe 23 years at one firm?
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