The Defence Department has revealed it has 54 contracts price greater than $223m with embattled consultancy agency PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The agency, which has ordered 9 senior companions on depart and is topic to an Australian Federal Police investigation, has turn out to be embroiled after a former senior tax marketing consultant leaked confidential data obtained as a part of his authorities contract to purchasers and companions.
In an open letter on Monday, the company’s appearing chief govt apologised on the corporate’s behalf for the leak.
The 9 companions ordered on depart embrace members of PwC’s govt and governance boards.
Last week, Treasury referred former PwC govt Peter Collins to the AFP, with an investigation since launched into the allegations he shared confidential authorities details about adjustments to tax legal guidelines with companions, purchasers and workers that will be affected by them.
AFP says it could widen its investigation if it suspects different companions or workers are implicated.
PwC, like different consultancy companies Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG, are routinely employed by the federal government for contracts, however the scandal has raised questions on the way forward for such agreements.
The revelation about how a lot cash Defence is spending with simply PwC got here as division officers got here earlier than senate estimates.
Associate secretary Matt Yannopoulos stated not one of the 9 companions stood down had completed any work regarding Defence.
“We have identified all of the active contracts with PwC and attained assurance from them most recently again yesterday to the secretary from the CEO, and to myself from the Defence lead partner, that over the last 10 years of work the PricewaterhouseCoopers has done for Defence, none of the individuals named have ever done any work for Defence,” Mr Yannopoulos stated.
Defence secretary Greg Moriarty stated the division was working by the problems in a “methodical way”.
Meanwhile, within the economics laws committee, it’s been revealed that Treasury has a $985,000 contract for the consultancy agency to be the inner auditors.
The committee was informed that PwC had been employed to audit the division “for some time”.
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy stated the division had “no cause for concern” with the supply of the contract however conceded there was a problem about broader public notion of the corporate.
“The broader comment about the procurement of these services, and our ongoing procurement, is a matter we’ll consider carefully across the course of this contract, which is up at the end of this year,” he stated.
Mr Kennedy stated Treasury would “carefully” think about whether or not to resume the contract on the finish of the 12 months however didn’t wish to threat “financial consequences” by cancelling it earlier.
None of the 9 companions have been concerned within the contract, Treasury officers stated,
“We’re going to very carefully consider our future procurement arrangements as they come up, but we’re going to act in line with the advice provided to us from the Finance Department,” Mr Kennedy stated.
When pressed as as to if the federal government would think about scrapping its contracts with PwC, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher stated whereas the matter at hand was “outrageous”, there was no “breach of procurement”.
“I know people would like us to go around cancelling existing contracts, that’s not available without significant financial risks,” she stated.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
