Women get to do the clean up. Then, when it suits, the boys pull the pin, move back in and reassert control. In this case the PwC IL crowd: the international trauma cleaners and PwC reputation protectors, headquartered Elsewhere 
Release the international report on tax leaks: former PwC boss
Former PwC Australia acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins says she is as frustrated as the politicians examining the firm’s tax leaks scandal that its international leaders refuse to release details of the involvement of overseas partners.
In comments that pile further pressure on PwC International to make available the report of its inquiry into the matter, Ms Stubbins told a parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday she had expected “a more comprehensive release” from global beyond a short summary on its website.
Former PwC Australia acting chief executive Kristin Stubbins during the parliamentary committee hearing. Alex Ellinghausen
PwC global published a one-page statement summarising the results of the report, by law firm Linklaters, in September, but has refused to provide a copy of the report to Australian authorities. PwC Australia CEO Kevin Burrowes says global should not have to release the report.
Senators examining the PwC tax leaks have become focused on the extent of international PwC involvement in the scandal – especially after hearing evidence the leaks may involve more than six overseas PwC personnel.
The politicians say PwC global’s refusal to release the report could derail the reform process underway at the Australian firm.
I expected a comprehensive release’
“So I like you, I’m frustrated that [the Linklaters report] has not been released,” Ms Stubbins told a hearing of the joint inquiry in the structure of the big four consulting firms.
“But I don’t know the reasons why. There may be very good reasons why, Senator [Barbara] Pocock, that this has not been released. I just don’t know. I sought to control what I could control in the Australian investigation.”
Earlier, Ms Stubbins said she had been “expecting there to be a more comprehensive release” of the Linklaters report.
In a surprise appearance at the inquiry, which went for 30 minutes longer than scheduled, Ms Stubbins also said PwC Australia’s governance board did not take the tax leaks matter seriously, the firm’s tax division had a lack of respect for confidentiality and was too focused on profit, and described her disappointment at being replaced by international partner Kevin Burrowes.
The PwC tax leaks matter involved former PwC international tax partner Peter Collins sharing secret government information within the firm.
It was then used to develop schemes to sidestep new tax laws he was helping to develop.
‘Brief verbal updates’ on tax matters
Ms Stubbins said the confidentiality breaches occurred between 2013 and 2018, before she joined the executive board in 2020. At the time, senior PwC partner and former tax leader Tom Seymour had been CEO of the Australian Firm.
“[We] were given brief verbal updates on various legacy tax matters that were being dealt with, which were described as largely resolved,” she said.
“When I was appointed acting CEO on the 9th of May 2023, I was completely stunned to learn about the extent of these issues.”
Ms Stubbins was acting head of the local firm during the most difficult period of the tax leaks scandal.
She had the difficult task of pushing senior partners out of the firm and ordered multiple inquiries into the matter, only to be told by the firm’s global leader she was being replaced by an international PwC partner in the top job. She has since retired from the partnership.
‘Brand crisis’
She said PwC global replaced her in the role because of the international “brand crisis” caused by the tax leaks. The move was widely seen as PwC International effectively seizing control of PwC Australia.
“I received a phone call from the global chair, Bob Moritz, saying that he was going to recommend to the Australian board that Kevin Burrowes be appointed as CEO ... I don’t recall that there was a clear reason,” Ms Stubbins said.
“I think my perception was that Kevin was very well known, very well respected with the international firm and very experienced.”
She added: “I did want to continue. I wanted to own the outcomes of what had happened. And I felt that I could leave the Australian firm, I guess I wouldn’t say surprised, I was very disappointed.“
PwC prioritised profit over purpose, says its former interim chief executive
PwC Australia’s former interim boss, Kristin Stubbins, has told a parliamentary inquiry she was disgusted by colleagues who hid the seriousness of tax leaks from others at the firm.
Ms Stubbins, who took the top job at a time of crisis, said several partners had shown a “flagrant disregard for confidentiality”.
“I’m also very upset that the seriousness of these issues was kept hidden from the broader partnership for so many years,” she told the inquiry on Tuesday.
This comes in the wake of months of damage for PwC after it was revealed former head of international tax Peter Collins repeatedly shared confidential government briefings with others in the firm in a bid to front-run new tax laws. This saw the Australian Taxation Office take aim at the firm, triggering years of legal fights over access to documents showing PwC’s misuse of confidential information. Ms Stubbins, who was handed the interim CEO role in May, said she remained “deeply upset” at the actions of several members of the firm who misused confidential information. “That points to the uncomfortable truth that despite PwC Australia doing many good things in recent years, there were underlying cultural issues of which most of us were unaware,” she said.
Ms Stubbins appeared before the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services more than two months after departing the firm.
The former head of assurance said she was “completely stunned” about the tax scandal, noting there were no discussions around confidentiality breaches when she joined PwC’s board in 2020.
Ms Stubbins said the tax scandal was a demonstration of “where profit was prioritised over purpose”. “I’ve had to accept that. Others at PwC have had to accept that,” she said.
Ms Stubbins said many of the partners involved in the tax scandal breaches showed a “flagrant disregard for confidentiality,” and were not acting as professionals. “As someone who takes their profession very seriously it’s extremely upsetting,” she said. The remarks before the parliamentary committee were the first time Ms Stubbins has spoken publicly since departing PwC in December.
PwC faced exclusion from new government work after revelations of the tax scandal, with the audit and consulting giant forced to sell its public services consulting arm in a $1 deal with Allegro Funds.
Ms Stubbins said PwC global chair Bob Moritz called her in mid 2023 to tell her she would be replaced by Singapore-based partner Kevin Burrowes.
She told the inquiry she had wanted to stay on as PwC CEO and had been “very disappointed” by Mr Moritz’s move.
When he arrived in Australia, Mr Burrowes took charge of PwC’s response. He has told parliament the firm has withheld key documents concerning investigations into the scandal from him. This includes a key report from law firm Linklaters.
PwC ultimately published a short statement on the Linklaters review, noting “no evidence that any PwC personnel outside of Australia used confidential information from PwC Australia for commercial gain”.
The review found six staff “should have raised questions as to whether the information was confidential” but those who received information from Australia did not know it was confidential.
This is at odds of the position of the ATO and the Tax Practitioners Board.
Ms Stubbins said she was frustrated by PwC’s move, noting she had expected PwC to publish a “more comprehensive release” into the Linklater’s review, but there had been a thorough investigation.
“There may be very good reasons this has not been released … I just don’t know,” she said.
A PwC spokesman referred to previous statements from the international arm of the firm, noting the six staff in question should not be identified as they had not been found to “ have engaged in wrongdoing”.
“PwC Australia continues to co-operate fully with regulators and has not withheld … names of any individuals outside of Australia who received confidential Treasury information,” he said.
“This same evidence was shared with PwCL in connection with its investigation.”
