PwC has offloaded its embattled government consultancy arm, but questions remain around the firm’s conflict of interest.
The under-fire organisation has agreed to the $1 sale to private equity firm Allegro Funds to pave the way for the transfer of 1750 employees to the new buyer in the wake of its tax scandal.
A new specialist government consultancy, Scyne Advisory, will be created when the sale is completed by the end of August, with plans to commit more than $100 million through the transition phase.
Scyne says an independent board of directors will “rigorously” set governance standards, with former Federal Court judge Andrew Greenwood to join as a non-executive director.
It theoretically marks PwC’s exit from all government advisory work, but Macquarie University professor of accounting and corporate governance James Guthrie said the plan to "ring-fence" those activities did not solve the problem.
"To move it into a corporation or to move it into a different organisational form does not solve the main issue, which is the conflict of interest,” he told AAP.
“Public sector experts and politicians remain sceptical about the firm's claim this marks a new direction … the new entity will have to rely upon PwC Australia systems and processes and pay a substantial fee for these.”
PwC has sacked 12 individuals since it was accused of abusing its trusted role as an adviser when staff leaked information about proposed federal government tax changes to clients.
Former CEO Tom Seymour was shown the door on Monday.
PwC’s acting CEO Kristin Stubbins was pleased the deal was done and said it gave clarity to government clients.
“We’re confident that Allegro, the PwC partners moving to the new business, and the staff joining them will create an excellent business, committed exclusively to the public sector, with a strong governance framework in place,” she said.
But Labor senator Deborah O’Neill was “incredibly sceptical” the change in name would lead to a change in culture.
“They've actually decided to put a judge in charge now - that gives you a bit of a sense of how far PwC has strayed from probity, and management of the standards that are fundamental to being an assurance industry,” she told Sky News.
Greens senator Barbara Pocock lashed PwC for its focus on protecting financial interests, and suggested the new name and structure was a case of “nothing to see here”.
“By letting current PwC partners move into Scyne Advisory conducting the same business, there’s no evidence the root cause of the problem has been addressed,” Senator Pocock told AAP.
“There’s no guarantee PwC partners and staff won’t be taking poor culture with them, including failure to deal with conflicts of interest and ripping off the public purse.”
In the short term, Scyne will be led by teams from PwC’s various government consultation practices, ahead of the appointment of a permanent chief executive.
“We are backing the leaders of Scyne Advisory and their vision to drive real change in the public service advisory sector," Allegro co-founder Adrian Loader said in a statement.
