KPMG Australia tight-lipped on reported 400 job cuts

Yesterday (Monday 2 November), The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that KPMG’s ongoing ban on bidding for federal government contracts has pushed the embattled big four firm to cut up to 400 more roles.

AFR reported that two sources, close to the firm and unauthorised to speak about internal matters, said that the cuts are called the “reset”, having the broadest impacts in the consulting and the internal-facing business services divisions.

“KPMG Australia is preparing to axe up to 400 staff by the end of November as fallout continues from its document misuse scandal and an extended ban on bidding for new federal contracts, lifting total redundancies to 9 per cent of the firm’s workforce,” AFR said, noting that such a move would lift the total number of redundancies to 800.

Accounting Times understands that no decision has been made by the firm yet about future potential reductions in headcount.

Such reported potential redundancies follow the firm’s consulting division suffering a 16.9 per cent year-on-year drop in revenue.

“The firm is now seeking to sublease two or three floors of office space in its Canberra office, while many staff within the team and beyond are quietly sounding out alternative employment but waiting to see if they get a redundancy payment on the way out,” AFR said.

Further, late last month, the Department of Finance released its Independent Review of KPMG Australia, which determined that KPMG failed to respond appropriately to the whistleblower’s concerns and that the firm’s policies, reporting channels and oversight structures did not operate effectively in practice to provide the necessary support, risk identification, or ensure timely decision-making.

The big four firm has also had breakdowns in audit tenders with numerous clients, including Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in early October, Insurance Australia Group (IAG) in late September, and Macquarie Bank in late August.

ANZ determined that KPMG Australia would cease to provide its external audit services after a 57-year relationship, and said that the firm would also not be eligible to bid in the tender process, given the firm’s long tenure.

IAG also ended its 26-year partnership with KPMG Australia, to cease engagement for its audit services on the grounds of a long tenure.

While these two companies severed this relationship with the firm on the basis of a long tenure, after consideration, Macquarie Bank determined that the firm did not meet its audit criteria, with it opting to award PwC the tender instead.

“The Boards currently hold concerns in respect of KPMG Australia and its audit practice in two of the key criteria considered in the audit tender completed in late 2025, namely capacity to deliver the audit given several key members of the proposed KPMG Australia audit team have departed; and culture, including a culture that transparently discloses issues,” the bank’s board said in a statement in late August.

This all follows CA ANZ’s determination, in early October, that there were no deficiencies within KPMG’s systems and processes in its review of the firm undertaken from July to October 2026.