Instagram gossip page leaks KPMG’s plans to offshore 200 EA roles

KPMG Australia plans to offshore three-quarters of its 260 executive assistant roles to the Philippines in a bid to position itself for “growth and competitiveness” amid a challenging market for big four consultancies.

On Tuesday night (3 February), KPMG’s plan to make 200 Australian roles redundant was leaked to corporate gossip Instagram page titled The Aussie Corporate. The page published a screenshot of a KPMG slide deck detailing the firm’s apparent plans for a “reduction in onshore leadership support,” with 65 roles to remain on-shore.

Addressing the rumours, a KPMG spokesperson said the firm was “moving away from the practice of doing everything in-house,” and had proposed a different resourcing model to provide support services. They added that consultation regarding the changes was ongoing.

KPMG planned to take a “phased approach” to the executive assistant redundancies, with 100 roles to be impacted in April, and a further 100 in May or June. Only the firm’s state chairs would fully retain their domestic executive assistants under the proposal.

Shrinking government demand for consulting services following the PwC tax leaks scandal has squeezed the margins of large consulting firms. In the 2025 financial year, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC saw revenue growth decline in their Australian firms.

Of the big four consulting firms, Deloitte Australia saw the biggest revenue fall in 2024–25 (8.3 per cent), followed by PwC (5.9 per cent), KPMG (4 per cent) and EY (2.7 per cent).

Job search website Indeed indicated that the average executive assistant salary at KPMG Australia was approximately $86,000 per year. As such, KPMG could save $17 million in annual wage costs through the 200 redundancies.

Administrative “virtual assistants” from the Philippines could be hired on salaries as low as $995 (US$700) per month, business process outsourcing firm Smart Outsourcing Solution estimated. This rounded up to approximately $12,000 per year.

As previously reported by Accounting Times, KPMG cut 200 senior staff in mid-2024 in a “major overhaul” that saved the firm $80 million. The firm also cut 200 roles in February 2023, mostly in its consulting arm.

Regarding the planned executive assistant redundancies, a KPMG spokesperson said the move was part of the firm’s plan to build its competitiveness and resilience.

"We are continually reviewing the way we work to build a scalable, modern, resilient business that positions us for growth and competitiveness,” the spokesperson said.

“Consultation with our people remains ongoing. We are committed to approaching the consultation period with empathy, respect and transparency for our people.”