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Paul Osborne

PwC extends donation ban as Greens fire up over firm

Consultancy giant PwC will not be donating to bodies used to indirectly channel election funding. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Consultancy giant PwC has extended its ban on donating to political parties to include bodies used to indirectly channel election funding.

The company announced on Monday it would no longer directly donate to political parties.

The decision covered contributions reportable to the Australian Electoral Commission as political donations, including in-kind support such as catering, services and office space.

The initial decision did not include a ban on paying for memberships to organisations such as the Liberal Party's Australian Business Network and the Federal Labor Business Forum.

But a spokesman confirmed to AAP on Thursday that the company had decided to cancel its subscriptions to the forums.

Many companies, including PwC's competitors, use the forums for networking and engagement.

The Greens have called for all of the "big four" consulting firms to stop making cash donations to parties.

PwC acting chief Kristin Stubbins told partners earlier this week that although the firm always took the utmost care to ensure political donations did not create any real or perceived conflicts of interest, doing away with political donations was "the best way of ensuring the highest standards of governance".

PwC's new CEO Kevin Burrowes is set to arrive in Sydney next week.

The company has offloaded its embattled government consultancy arm, but investigations continue into the leaking to clients of sensitive information about proposed federal government tax changes.

Greens senator Barbara Pocock said the new company, Scyne Advisory, should not have access to new government contracts.

She has written to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher seeking assurances about the company's interactions with the government. 

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