KPMG on Thursday announced the departure of its global general counsel, who attracted scrutiny for her handling of whistleblower allegations that rocked the accounting firm in Australia. Anne Collins, a Sydney-based lawyer who had been general counsel since 2016, left the role this week as part of a wider executive reshuffle, according to an update on the firm’s website. KPMG International’s new chief executive Gary Wingrove formally took the helm on Thursday.
A person familiar with internal communications said Wingrove told senior partners that Collins’s departure had been long planned to coincide with the retirement of outgoing chief executive Bill Thomas. Wingrove and Collins had both been hauled before an Australian parliamentary committee investigating KPMG partners’ use of confidential client information to win audit business in the country.
The whistleblower who first raised the claims in 2024 was not taken sufficiently seriously by the Australian leadership, the firm admitted. The FT reported in June that the whistleblower had also contacted KPMG’s global leadership, including Collins and Thomas, and had been told they would not open a formal investigation.
Collins has been replaced by London-based Susan Walsh, previously deputy global general counsel. The Big Four firm has been in turmoil for months after allegations that some of its most senior audit partners used confidential client documents to pitch for additional business, leading to client losses and job cuts.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing