KPMG speak-up culture ‘not a uniform experience’, CEO admits

While the head of KPMG Australia said that he has experienced a speak-up culture at the firm since he worked at a junior level, he conceded that this was “not a uniform experience”.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on HR Leader’s sister brand, Accounting Times.

Incumbent KPMG chief executive John Sams told the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services at the KPMG ethics and accountability public hearing on 14 August that he experienced a speak-up culture during his time at the firm since he was a junior.

However, reflecting on the whistleblower’s allegations aired by Senator Deborah O’Neill, he admitted that this was not a “uniform experience”.

“I do believe that I’ve experienced a speak-up culture in my career at KPMG,” Sams said.

“I can remember being the most junior person in the room and feeling like I had a voice, and I can remember being the most senior person in the room and feeling that everyone else in the room had a voice, and I know that because they told me lots of things.”

At the hearing, the firm’s former chief executive, Andrew Yates, told the committee that during his tenure, he had brought up the speak-up culture, but it did not work “in this instance”.

“I felt that I was building a culture that focused on all the things that I would talk about. Speak-up [culture], ethical [responsibility],” Yates said.

Despite this, Senator Tania Lawrence said: “We clearly do not have a speak-up culture within KPMG, bar the whistleblower.”

Regarding his experience with speak-up culture, Sams said: “Clearly, that’s not a uniform experience, and clearly we have absolutely failed the whistleblower in this case.”

Additionally, O’Neill, speaking on ethical obligations of partners and executives, said: “It is just part of what you do when you get to the top of the food chain.”

In a 29 May statement, Yates said: “I have been committed to a speak-up culture in our firm. It is clear that in this case, we have let ourselves down, and I take accountability.”

Evidence released by Allens

During the hearing, former KPMG chief operations officer Eileen Hoggett said she did not remember printing and putting the Lendlease documents in her locker; however, she conceded responsibility for the contents in her locker.

“I don’t actually recall printing those documents and storing them in my locker,” Hoggett told the committee.

Despite this, it was clear that Hoggett was aware of the papers.

The parliamentary joint committee last Wednesday (19 August) released an email as part of Allens’ evidence for its Project Magenta final investigations report, revealing that Hoggett sent an email to her personal assistant on 3 May 2023 with the next steps regarding these documents.

“I think we confidentially [sic] allow [redacted] to look at the printed version [of the Lendlease papers] in my locker when he is back in Sydney. He needs to do it sensitively without letting too many people know (smiley face emoji),” the email said.

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