KPMG Australia scandal widens after it confirms Optus data was also misused

SYDNEY: KPMG Australia staff shared sensitive information about telecom firm Optus with another internal team bidding for an audit contract for its rival Telstra in a breach of ethics, the firm’s chairman told a parliamentary hearing on Friday.

The admission confirms whistleblower allegations that KPMG earlier said were unsubstantiated in previous internal and external investigations.

In the second major scandal to hit a Big Four accounting firm in Australia since 2023, KPMG ‌has been under fire ⁠after the whistleblower ⁠alleged it misused confidential board papers from real estate company Lendlease to support bids for major audit tenders for Westpac, a large bank, and Dexus , a property firm.