New KPMG chair slagged off Labor senator in email
The chairman of KPMG Australia has apologized for writing an email disparaging Labor senator Deborah O’Neill.
Michael Ebeid, whom the under-fire consultancy giant appointed to the role on Thursday, was forced to apologize hours after the email was published by a parliamentary committee examining allegations of misconduct against the firm.
In March, Senator O’Neill used parliamentary privilege to publish whistleblower allegations that KPMG partners had accessed confidential information of KPMG client Lendlease to obtain and win lucrative audit contracts.
“I assume that Senator O’Neil (sic) made no attempt to contact KPMG before speaking in the Senate on such a sensitive issue, which in itself would be very inappropriate and unfair to him,” said an email sent by Mr. Ebeid to KPMG executives the day after the senator’s speech.
“As we well know, many of the statements he made, including the timeline of events, are completely false, and that he raised all of these whistleblower issues (sic) before going through the HR process to exit the company, making it falsely appear as retaliation.”
The committee, chaired by Senator O’Neill, released the email because it provided “an insight into Mr. Ebeid’s conduct regarding the whistleblower’s allegations of serious misconduct and mismanagement.”
In a statement responding to the disclosure of the email, Mr Ebeid said he respected the work of the committee and Senator O’Neill.
“When I sent that email in March 2026 regarding the information I was given, I was not aware of all the facts,” he said.
“Based on what I know now and the information provided to me since then, I would not have written that email, and I regret that I did.”
The firm said Mr Ebeid’s appointment was the first major management step in KPMG’s action plan to address integrity issues, strengthen accountability and rebuild trust.
“I agreed to take on this role because I believe in and respect KPMG,” Mr. Ebeid said in a statement announcing his appointment.
“Despite the challenges the firm faces, my commitment to supporting its important work is even stronger. I believe KPMG can recover, rebuild, and emerge a better firm.”
Greens senator Barbara Pocock said Mr Ebeid’s letter showed a lack of respect for whistleblowers and parliament and raised questions about how seriously KPMG took ethics and integrity issues.
“This is not a fresh start for KPMG like it’s trying to be,” he said.
“Mr Ebeid is part of the culture and leadership team at KPMG where things have gone seriously wrong.”
As independent chairman, Mr Ebeid will take a leading role in the next steps of KPMG’s action plan, including the renewal of the board and the appointment of the chief executive following the resignation of Andrew Yates.
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