"The firm is committed to learning from its mistakes." Translation: PwC is adjusting the boundary of what it thinks it can get away with.

No wonder the ATO had trouble prosecuting multi-nationals for tax avoidance and all thanks to PWC's legal team.

There must be jail terms and financial penalties for these guys for justice sake!!!

Beyond comprehension when 'white collar' goes unpunished and children as young as 10 are getting incarcerated for running a muck and petty theft.

This confirms in my mind that governments in Australia, at all three levels, reliance on external consultants instead of using or building in-house expertise is both flawed and a waste of money. My experience is that consultants only provide advice that is either regurgitated nonsense or tailored to what they think executives want to hear, and is neither quality nor impartial advice. I have heard of at least one case in NSW where the same consultant company provided to the State government advice that Local Government consolidation was practical and to the local Government association advice that Local Government consolidation was not practical…go figure!

This is just the tip of the iceberg, Government over use of consulting firms STINKS!

5:51 THERE HAS TO BE CONSEQUENCES. A resignation is not enough. All the staff involved at PWC should be charged and hopefully convicted with Tax Fraud be unable to hold executive or board level positions in Australia again. Australia should coordinate with it’s trading partners to extended the sanctions in their countries too. Any company that used this information aka “intelligence” from PWC to avoid tax in Australia should be charged as well.

Consulting firms are executive bonus schemes with extra steps.

private companies doing dodgy stuff. Shocking, absolutely shocking. But I am SURE they wont get away with it!!

Watch absolutely nothing happen to them whilst the Government feigns dissatisfaction. Corruption, tax avoidance, conflicts of interest are all a business as usual topic for our Government and the Australian Corporate sector.

My question is: what about other firms? Thousands of residents are relying on our local council to make a decision that affects us all with information from another “independent” consulting company. If PWC has done this and gotten away with it for over 10 years - that we know of - what is everyone else getting away with? We are already are struggling to trust our council on this issue. What now?

Resignations? They need to arrest the executives and ban the company forever.

What surprises me most is how naive people are who are responsible for governance of Australian tax law. Legislate and bankrupt this company immediately.

How are we not talking about jail time here? Financial crimes, especially against the government need to be punished on same level as murder. These greedy people know exactly what they are doing and it's ruining society

That's far from the only problem, a bigger one is the belief that personal and corporate greed is 'normal and acceptable'.

Just ban PWC in Australia for 20 years!

Back in the day leaking confidential government data was met with criminal charges and punished accordingly. Sometimes with capital punishment. Will these accountants see a day in prison?

When you have a system built on greed, is it really so surprising that the worst of humanity works its way to the top? Perhaps it's not just time for PWC to review their ethics and culture but for Australia as a whole to reassess just what the private sector is for? At the end of the day the private sector is about profit and nothing else. By default, the only types of people who will be successful in this environment are the worst of us. By choosing to put our nation in the hands of such people suggests that perhaps we are the problem. Perhaps it is time to reconsider what should be in the private sector's hands and what should remain in the hands of the government elected by the people?

PwC and their like are employed by their government to monitor the ATO, they are the ones who write the laws the ATO must adhere to and are there to ensure they are followed. The ATO is an organization that is transparent and adhere to strict assurance and governance behind every decision. Not PwC, they get free access to any decisions and consult on what influenced those decisions to ensure their stakeholders (international companies) are not being influenced negatively. Still remember all the politicians grilling some people in the ATO in a public hearing about the ATOs role in the Jobseeker scandals. They grilled them knowing that the ATO is not allowed to defend itself. Both the ATO and the politicians know it was groups like PwC and lobbyist from the big companies are the ones that made Job keeper specifically so it can be exploited. The ATO wasn't allowed to have any say, they were just forced to hold the bag. I mean come on, I read the specifics of those policies. Why would you write into the law that the employee isn't allowed to know if the company is claiming it on their behalf. Company can get them nominate and then decide not to claim for them, it's up the the company to pay them and tell them they are being paid. Because its the companies records the ATO is muzzled isn't allowed to discuss it with the employees. As much as I'm happy the news are finally acknowledging these super dodgy firms.. There currently an ATO whistle blower that leaked information, not personal profit, and that guy is facing jail time. This PwC guy who leaked privileged information specifically for profit. What did he get? His license to practice as a tax agent was revoked for 1 year. This is what is going to happen now. PwC will review their practices. They will then provide a document to say they have assessed these practices and addressed the concerns raised. They will then charge the government for this consultation so it will be paid out of your tax dollars. PwC will then continue on doing all things dodgy. Nothing will change.

It will be just like the bank enquiry. Shocking revelations, a mild slap on the wrist and then business as usual. The ties between government and corporate business just get stronger every year.

I think there should be massive fines for PwC and serious jail time for Collins. If i recall once, you sign the office secrets act you're up serious of jail time, 7 years imprisonment.

How are these criminals not in jail serving life sentences!?

"I was astounded that a firm of this significance would be involved in something as ... sleazy as this." Everyone in the United States: First time, huh? Now if Australia does something like ship the leadership of PwC off into the outback to die horribly, that would be a notable step forward to dealing with widespread corruption.

KPMG in Dubai just had a $220m judgement against them for poor auditing! That's a lot of money.

"The integrity of consulting services." Now there's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one. Anyway, if the US is getting away with it, why not do it down here?

Don't waste the time and resources to investigate - fine them, confiscate their profits as the proceeds of crime and charge anyone named in the existing emails. Send a message and profit.

So many scandals involving PWC. So many government contracts without tender under LNP. I really hope Labor will hold them into account, but not holding my breath.

This happens every few decades to the big consulting & accounting firms. There are supposed to be "fences" within the firms to segregate information from different clients. Anybody remember Enron?

People need to be put in jail, but they won’t because the wealthy in both parties won’t demand prosecutions of their friends and future employers. Two standards of justice. One for the rich one for joe citizen.

Criminal behaviour should be dealt with properly… this is stealing under a given privilege of trust

Further prrof that an impartial, robust and responsible public service is vital.

Capitalism is socialism for the rich, so that's perfectly normal.

'Joe Hockey just worked on tax laws but little did he know his buddy was perfectly informed on how to circumvent them' L M A O.

They also need to look at how it happens in Local Government too, I lost my job due to external consultants carrying out a project to review processes,we were then replaced by the company who carried out the review. You have to question how the checks and balances are carried out on these especially where there is recognition that some of these consultants are growing rapidly in government locations, and doing no better job than those qualified and experienced people who understand government restrictions and have the community at heart they replace, and not company profits.

Is anyone really surprised? and will anyone be surprised when this comes to nothing. Corporates are never brought to account in Australia.

Wow so crazy almost like when you outsource the public service to private entities it goes badly! Who'd a thunk it!

CLASS ACTION: As a CITIZEN, I would like to join a class action against PWC and any other corporations involved in this scandal, to recoup any loss in tax plus interest and sundries, that would have otherwise been owed to the Government and the peoples of Australia.

Jail for this criminal behaviour

So no one in Australia knew how these companies work…?! Firms like Accenture, Cognizant, PWC, Deloitte and KPMG do things like this as part of their business model. E.g., the US Government had a multi-million lawsuit going on against Accenture for ages for similar stuff. The reason governments including the Australian Government end up using such consultancy firms is that most Aussies don’t have what it takes to be high quality public servants. Most public services pay highly skilled permanent staff the same as their lowly skilled school leavers. No points for guessing where smart people go to for decent pay. Plus, these consultancy firms bribe high ranking politicians with some pretty cool stuff. I can’t believe this is a surprise to anyone…

Great work. We need to stop the obscene flow of wealth out of Australia.

Why has nobody been charged yet?

Oh wow what a surprise the public sector has been undermined and we have consultant companies running the country. I wonder which side of government wanted that?

Gov uses these consultants to get the answers they want....

So... where is the mention of legal action against PWC members?

Government will commission a consultant's report to fix this problem...

This is what the big four do! They set up the tax laws and then advise their corporate clients on how to get around them! Same in the UK. They would know of course!

I think the bigger question is why ANYONE thought using a private company was a good idea, more neoliberal rubbish.

How is this not criminal behaviour, both corporate and personal? Existential consequences for any company involved as this should be the consequences; deregistered in Australia and personal criminal liability. Might smarten these fools up and encourage integrity everywhere.

What's the penalty for breaking a confidentiality agreement, a slap on the wrist? If we don't see imprisonments over this the government has been rendered impotent.

So true they cannot stop and review all contacts, the government and senior public servants would come to a screeching halt. Over and excessive outsourcing has to be addressed.😡

We mere mortals go to jail, these tossers get a different job and time off with pay. Australia has created an us and them mentality with corporate and political bodies having different laws and consequences than the rest of us. The millions wasted on red tape and inquiries is criminal.

Federal, State & Local Government need to cancel contracts with PWC. PWC look after their shareholders and bottom line. Not the intetest of the Public.

i truly believe tax avoidance on this scale should be treated as treason against the Commonwealth. rip the guts out of PwC too, reclaim what was rightfully ours out of their assets and holdings

6:44 Isn’t there some questions about the integrity of the former Telstra CEO?

My partner works for PWC in another country and is a person of high integrity. She would be shocked at these findings, and deeply disappointed. She is so stressed out from work she hasn't had the time or heart to read up on it, and I haven't had the heart to tell her. What a monumental betrayal of trust. PWC is committed to learning from these mistakes, eh? A 90 year-old company that audits the largest financial institutions in the land should not need any instruction in corporate integrity. Sickening.

why were these public services outsourced to these consultants in the first place? why was public services scrapped in favour of these expensive consultation services

You dont have to be too smart to realise that if you hire a company that acts for both sides of the coin that there will always be a huge incentive for a conflict of interest! What are our politicians thinking?

The previous Government should be accountable 😊

My surprised face: 😐 Some of the most toxic folks ive ever known worked for these "big 4"

Literally there is nothing shocking about this. The real lie here is that you wanted a company not to work for its bottom line. PWC consults on reducing expenses and maximizing profits. Also arent these policie for tax public?

That's neo-liberalism folks.

This is serious unethical behaviour with some elements of criminality, but Peter-John Collins only receives a 2-year ban!!! Considering PWC and its partners made money out of this breach of trust by the senior partner in PWC, the 2-year ban is just a slap on the wrist. It appears there was clear intent by Peter-John Collins as he allegedly shared this confidential tax information with his 53 partners in a scheme of generating more revenue for themselves. While these companies may have benefited from the insider information knowingly or unknowingly this may get all those companies involved (clients of PWC) into trouble with their boards and shareholders. These companies may have used this information to avoid paying more taxes if they have not evaded Australian tax laws as it is not clear in the report. These are the very same accountants or professionals who teach us about “the agency theory, which posits that those who are tasked with running the organizations should do so in the best interest of the organization and not in their self-interests”. The accountants, at least some of them, do not practice what they preach, unfortunately. Because of alleged agency practices, PWC may suffer reputational damage with the potential fines being imposed on them and loss of future revenue. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the influence and lobbying by accounting firms on matters, they are supposed to be neutral on. The whole system must be overhauled as numerous conflicts of interest exist between the regulators and accountants making it prone to breaches like in this reported case. You cannot be a player and a referee in a game. Because accounting as a discipline is not static, the development of accounting should consider these scandals which bring the accounting profession into disrepute. ESG reporting is another area that needs to be thoroughly re-examined if we are serious about the environmental impact of reporting companies to avoid greenwashing practices.

Ban the PWC from future government contracts and prosecute the offenders and use them as an example by throwing the book at them.

What I find disturbing is people are shocked at PWC's actions as these are the SOP's of such companies.

And will anyone be held criminally liable . ????

Hopefully they are the first case before NACC.

So does the government still use PWC for any future tenders?

I cant believe this is happening in pwc australia.

F'ing do something Labor!

That is unbelievable....has PWC responded?

i feel like this story is being supressed

And how many pollies and officials hire these forms as consultants to then receive a seat on their board or a senior consultant position when they ‘retire’? HOW MANY?

I don’t know why people are surprised. There were no Chinese wall in investment banks, the same for consultation firms.

_Facepalm._ Helen Keller could have seen this coming. This is the price of outsourcing functions of government that ought to have remained internal to the Australian Public Service. By its very nature, a commercial enterprise _cannot_ provide impartial advice to government, and there will always be concerns about conflicts of interest and confidentiality. Its a shame there is no real recourse against the ministers/cabinets that started this privatisation-outsourcing rot.

There is one PWC employee Rana Kar who has lots of complaints against him on breaches of ethics, unprofessional and unethical behavior with people and dishonesty. He has recently insulted universities and premium institutes professors. There are reports about him that he got punished in previous jobs in IBM and TCS.

Why isnt the Ethics Committee of the ACA investigating this? And on another note perhaps PWC's ESG score card should be down rated. Wheres the S or the G in this type of alleged behaviour?

Unbelievable...

Inb4 they consult a consulting firm on what to do about the corruption of consulting firms

Outsourcing such services should be discontinued

I've worked in tech since 1995. Many clients with large implementation projects employ these large accounting firms to run their IT projects, but inevitably they are not the best implementers so tech companies are brought in. It usually leads to acrimony between PwC and us because the client sees that the tech guys can do it without the accounting firm. The accounting firms are the slickest salesmen on earth - they'll sell ice to Eskimos and the Eskimos will happily hand over baskets of money?! Never understood this mindset of clients when they hire accounting/management consultants for anything other than accounting.

And yet all governments continue to outsource millions of dollars of work to consultants - all of them, not just PWC Outsourcing responsibility for what should be government work at taxpayers expense is now the default model.

Mariana Mazzucato had nice videos on government contracts and consulting!

Why are they still operating in Australia on government contracts

stop out sourcing government contracts to overseas company's, the directors the board of PWC need to be jailed for fraud against Australian tax payers, 10 years jail minimum

by watching these KZfaq videos, I'm able to sharpen my skills on lying to the public, tax avoidance, deception, and getting away with white collar crimes

What do you expect? Why would anyone be even remotely surprised? They are a large corporation, acting as all large (even medium and small) corporations do.. profit first, foremost and above all else. As long as the share holders are happy, the executive get big bonuses.. then everything is an option and able to be used. Greed trumps everything I'm just surprised it's come to light.

Disgusting. Nothing but robbers and thieves. But it's ok to steal from citizen worker, right? Disgusting.

Why is a private company involved in government policy to begin with? That's pure insanity! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 0:08 Mate how do you think the firm got to that size to begin with? By respecting laws and ethics😂?

Can we as Australian citizens sue PWC

Is anyone really surprised? Any time profit is put before the interests and well being of Australians, the people loose. This should be the alarm which causes the government of Australia to nationalise all public infrastructure and resources, and end all public/private contracts.

And you thought it would be any different? They also have a fiduciary duty to their clients.

And yet in Toronto they are going after KPMG

No doubt the double dipping was SOP and those not falling into line would be gone from PwC. All for the benefit of the shareholders which in turn drives up exec bonuses which in turn leads to more demand for profits which in turn is for the benefit of shareholder....of course corruption is inevitable with this model. Unlucky insofar as they were caught.

It's more than just PWC Australia.

Kick consultants out of government work.

How much has PwC donated to both Labor and LNP over the years. They use consultants so when one their hair brain ideas goes pear-shaped or doesn't get the outcome the Govt says it would've, it can say it wasn't their fault/idea.

Has this been successfully purged? I cant seem to find anything about this aside from about 6 ten minute headline videos

How is it possible for a responsible government to work with a consulting firm that is also working for its tax policy targets?!? My opinion is that a government should build internal competency and experience, with clear NDA to avoid people quitting to give information to big companies (or any), and should be as solid as these companies are.

As a country we are a joke.

Sue Pwc to recover damages, end them like Arthur Anderson