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Thursday, August 01, 2024

John M Green - Ex-Macquarie exec named PwC Australia’s first independent chairman

 

Ex-Macquarieexec named PwC Australia’s first independent chairman

Edmund Tadros Professional services editor

Aug 1, 2024 

PwC Australia has become the first big four consulting firm to appoint an independent chairman: former Macquarie Group executive director and thriller writer John M. Green is set to take up the role as part of its reform following the tax leaks scandal.



New PwC Australia chairman John M. Green.  Panterapress Author John Green


The firm has also appointed boutique law firm Webb Henderson, supported by former NSW Supreme Court chief justice Tom Bathurst, KC, as an independent monitor to check its progress on improving governance and operations.

Company director Lisa Chung will join Mr Green on the firm’s governance board as an independent non-executive member. The firm is continuing a search for a third independent member for this board.

The firm’s existing chairman, PwC partner Justin Carroll, said Mr Green and Ms Chung would hold the firm’s management to account and deliver improved oversight over its operation.

“Together, John and Lisa bring enhanced levels of independent thought and governance experience to our governance board, facilitating more robust challenge and oversight of our firm,” Mr Carroll said.

Despite these moves, the firm is still not covered by the Corporations Act because it is a partnership. So while Mr Green will be independent of the partnership, the director duties within the act are not enforceable by the corporate regulator.

In the same way, PwC’s promise to apply ASX corporate governance principles to its operations are unenforceable by the regulator.

ASIC chairman Joe Longo has said the regulator can only police a “sliver” of services provided by the big four accounting firms because they operate in a grey legal area where they are neither “true partnerships” nor covered by federal corporate laws.

Chairman, author

Mr Green, a former investment banker and executive director at Macquarie Group, holds a number of other positions, including being a director of financial services company Challenger Group and the chairman of the UOW (University of Wollongong) Global Enterprises, the company that operates the overseas campuses of the university.

He has also written four thrillers and is chairman of Pantera Press, an independent book publisher he co-founded.

Ms Chung is a former partner at Blake Dawson (now Ashurst) and Maddocks and the chairman of charity Australian Unity. She also holds a number of positions including being a director at property developer AVJennings and architects Warren and Mahoney.

The move to appoint independent directors is part of a raft of changes recommended in a review of PwC’s governance and culture by former Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski.

PwC commissioned Dr Switkowski and separate legal reports in response to revelations in The Australian Financial Review about its tax leaks scandal. The matter involved a former partner, Peter Collins, sharing confidential tax information with PwC personnel. The firm’s tax advisers then developed structures to help clients sidestep tax laws the firm was helping Treasury develop.

PwC Australia CEO Kevin Burrowes said appointing the independent directors will ensure the firm is “bringing the best of our multidisciplinary model to our clients and creating a working environment for our people to thrive in”.

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Edmund Tadros leads our coverage of the professional services sector. He is based in our Sydney newsroom. Connect with Edmund on Twitter. Email Edmund at edmundtadros@afr.com.au




John and Jenny Green - New sponsor steps in to fill Fairfax void


Meet John Green  


Jenny Green’s sculptures are typically abstract and usually influenced by the figure. While the media she uses (steel, bronze and resin) may be industrial, her sculptures are light and airy. Her intent to capture an instant or a feeling is reflected in the tension between space and material. She uses lines, curves, shapes and colour to explore movement and emotion. The results are lyrical yet industrial, ‘drawings in space’.

Jenny Green Sculptor