A senate committee is calling on PWC to disclose the names and positions of people involved in the consultancy firm's tax leak scandal. The inquiry was launched after the firm leaked sensitive Australian government information to corporations.
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00:00We have 12 recommendations in this report that was just tabled in Parliament.
00:07The top one, as you mentioned there, is that it's calling on PwC itself and it's very specifically
00:13targets PwC in the first recommendation, calling on the consultancy firm to release all the
00:19names of the people involved in its controversial tax leak scandal, which was indeed the big
00:24revelation that prompted this inquiry.
00:28It's saying that it wants PwC to be open and honest with the Australian people and
00:33global community about what happened when confidential government secrets were used
00:38to help multinational clients.
00:40The other 12 recommendations include a legal review into framework and the structure of
00:45partnerships which is believed would help with more accountability and for firms to
00:49being more liable for repercussions when indeed things happen.
00:54The report also recommends clauses be inserted into government contracts around public interest
01:00and that there should be biannual publishing of the consultancy firms being used by the
01:05Australian government and the cash that's being spent on these firms.
01:10As for whether any of these recommendations will be implemented, well, the Deputy Chair
01:15of this inquiry, Deborah O'Neill, has emphasised that Labor has actually already made changes
01:21in the wake of the focus on the big four consultancy firms, but she's said the recommendations
01:26around partnerships are worth considering.
01:29It's also worth noting that the Greens have tacked on their own report for this inquiry
01:34where its Senator Barbara Pocock says that they would like PwC banned from all government
01:40contracts until ongoing investigations into the consultancy firms are all wrapped up.
01:46OK, so what is PwC saying about it all?
01:49Well, I've actually just received a statement from BwC where they essentially say that they're
01:55considering this report.
01:57It is worth noting that it commissioned its own report into the tax leak scandal which
02:02was headed up by a former Telstra boss.
02:05That was released in September and that review found that there was a poor culture in governments
02:10at PwC that contributed to integrity failures.
02:13We do know that several key players at the firm have since left in the wake of the scandal.
02:19We do know that several key players at the firm have since left in the wake of the scandal.