The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is reviewing 551 allegations of potential audit malpractice spanning ‘Big Four’ accountancy practices.
According to a Reuters report, ASIC chair Sarah Court stated in a hearing that each matter will be evaluated individually before the authority decides whether to initiate formal investigations.
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The broad assessment comes as the four companies – KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte and EY – face sustained scrutiny over misconduct.
ASIC enforcement and compliance executive director Chris Savundra was quoted by the news agency telling a parliamentary committee: “It is around 551 complaints at this stage, noting that our work is at an early stage and we will follow the trail.
“So in response to that material, we will then issue notices for further information, so that number might grow.”
ASIC’s examination of complaints-handling across the accountancy sector began in July 2023, compelling the companies to surrender internal documentation.
KPMG faces the most immediate regulatory and political pressure following whistleblower claims that the practice shared confidential corporate records with prospective commercial clients to secure audit tenders.
In response, the regulator is looking into suspected misconduct by KPMG audit partners, potential breaches of whistleblower protections during the handling of the initial complaint and whether misleading filings were previously submitted to authorities.
Court noted that ASIC’s initial inquiries into KPMG were met with “resistance” and assertions of legal privilege.
While KPMG initially dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated, the company has since confirmed that staff members improperly used internal material.
The fallout resulted in the departures of KPMG’s CEO, chairman and head of audit since the allegations emerged in March.
The ASIC scrutiny follows a separate scandal three years ago, when PwC was found to have leveraged confidential government tax policy details to win business.
Those 2023 disclosures prompted parliamentary inquiries and recommendations to eliminate regulatory gaps, although the majority remain unimplemented, Reuters added.
