KPMG

KPMG's national chairman Martin Sheppard is stepping down to make way for an independent chair, and audit partners Eileen Hoggett and Paul Rogers are leaving the firm.

Under pressure from parliamentary committee members, KPMG said late Friday it would waive privilege and hand over investigation reports from Allens and Ashurst, after initially resisting orders for documents.

Facing the hotseat over KPMG's treatment of a whisteblower, the accounting giant's former CEO Andrew Yates told a parliamentary committee hearing on Friday he took accountability and was not a "bad apple".

A senator has criticised KPMG for claiming a commitment to transparency while also maintaining legal professional privilege over advice from Allens and Ashurst into the alleged misuse of confidential information.

ASIC’s chair says the corporate cop is investigating individuals at KPMG for alleged misuse of confidential information belonging to Lendlease and Optus to win new work, but says it is hamstrung by current law from undertaking a broader probe. 

A shareholder class action against water treatment firm Phoslock wants the company to hand over reports by KPMG and FTI Consulting, arguing the material is not protected by legal professional privilege because it wasn't produced for the dominant purpose of providing legal advice.

Lendlease chair John Gillam has said the company's board was “deeply discontented” with KPMG’s alleged misuse of its confidential information but was stuck with the accounting firm until the end of the financial year. 

Law firm Allens has told a parliamentary committee that a court should weigh in on whether parliament's powers to compel information overrode KPMG's legal privilege, as the auditor resists orders to produce documents.

Building giant Lendlease has told besieged auditor KPMG it expects to be compensated for the cost of dealing with the fallout of the accounting giant's misuse of its confidential data.

The Law Council says asserting legal professional privilege is not "inherently scandalous", ahead of a parliamentary hearing on KPMG's sharing ofclient information, at which law firms Allens and Ashurst are expected to stay mum.