PwC’s “overly collegial culture” allowed it to overlook unethical behaviour

Embattled consultancy firm PwC developed a “whatever it takes” approach to business where poor behaviour was tolerated, a scathing report has found.

A review into the company by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski found excessive power was conferred on PwC’s chief executive and there was a lack of independence and outside voices within the governing body.

The report was commissioned after a tax advice scandal, where partners at the firm shared confidential tax information from the Treasury department to boost business for PwC in the private sector.

Switkowski said there were multiple shortcomings in the company arising from poor practices that went unreported for years.

“The aggressive growth agenda overshadowed and occurred at the expense of the firm’s values and purpose,” the report said.

“The focus on ‘whatever it takes’ seems, at times, to have contributed to integrity failures — some partners did the wrong thing while others failed to do the right thing by minimising the significance of questionable behaviours.”

The report said an overly collegial culture within PwC amplified the power of the chief executive and created blind spots within the company, making it too willing to overlook unethical behaviour.

“The emphasis on growth coupled with high levels of trust and reluctance to challenge created blind spots. It may also have contributed to a willingness of partners to tolerate poor behaviours of ‘rainmakers’,” he said.

“PwC Australia has, at important times, been too slow to respond to mistakes and, as a result, found itself at the mercy of public narratives on trust.”

The report outlined 23 recommendations for reform, including a restructuring of the board of partners to ensure independence, changing how the chief executive is appointed, and improving risk management.

PwC has accepted the findings and agreed to implement the recommendations.

Chief executive Kevin Burrowes said the company took full accountability for the situation and was committed to change.

“These investigations reveal shortcomings that should not have been possible at a firm like ours,” he said.

“It is clear that we did not meet our own expectations – much less those of our stakeholders – and that there was a failure of leadership, both by individuals and as a firm.”

The Switkowski review also found that PwC did not have constructive dissent within the company, exhibiting a culture where good news was communicated but bad news was held back.

Greens senator Barbara Pocock said more probes were needed into PwC at arm’s length from the consultancy firm.

“We really need to see action, much more than words, at this point in the PwC story,” she said.

Labor senator Deb O’Neil also called for a more thorough investigation.

“It only covers the period from 2023 through to its date of release and this problem goes way back beyond that,” she told ABC TV.

Earlier on Wednesday, the finance department said it was investigating whether PwC’s spin-off company Scyne Advisory would be eligible for government contracts.

PwC divested its government consultancy business after the tax advice scandal for $1 to Allegro Funds, leading to the creation of Scyne.

The department’s deputy secretary Andrew Jaggers said work was ongoing to determine if Scyne had no involvement with partners or officials in PwC involved in the tax advice scandal.

This article was first published by AAP.