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PwC has published its first ethics compliance report card in response to a November order from the tax wrist-slapper to lift its act after former partner Peter Collins was found to have leaked confidential government information to clients.
A PwC spokesperson said the firm had published the report to “enhance the firm’s transparency and culture”, a sorely needed move after the past couple of months.
Over 1000 PwC employees have sat an ethics test as part of the firms mandated compliance training.Credit: John Shakespeare
Under the directive from the Tax Practitioners Board, the professional services firm has also introduced sparkling new compliance rules which include banning client-facing staff from working confidentially on tax policy.
PwC is now required to train its staff regularly on ethical conduct to avoid potential conflicts of interest after it became clear they were failing to do exactly that. They also need to keep a list of those who’ve signed confidentiality agreements and report on its compliance with those measures.
It will also have to produce a report of its compliance efforts every six months. The first of these compliance reports shows about 1300 partners and staff have completed a seven question quiz.
Some would argue tipping-off clients on looming government policy changes ahead of their introduction has never passed the pub test and shouldn’t require an employee quiz to say so … but we digress.
PwC’s compliance training includes a helpful flow chart on confidentiality.Credit: Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Unsurprisingly, the answer to whether breaching the Tax Practitioners Board code of professional conduct could result in reputational risk, termination of the firm’s tax agent registration or potential fines was all of the above. Time will tell if the actual ramifications for PwC follow suit.
Given the big four accounting firm is the subject of separate investigations by the TPB, the Australian Federal Police and multiple parliamentary inquiries over the extent of its ethics breaches, chair Justin Carroll and freshly parachuted-in chief executive Kevin Burrowes may want to study up on behalf of the company.
FOXTEL DOUBLE-DIPPING, AGAIN
We brought you news in March that Foxtel was in hot water after overstating its audience numbers for key sports by up to 40 per cent.
Now, it’s happened again. Oztam – the company that tracks TV ratings – has been caught once more double counting the footy numbers for different brands of the Foxtel Group.
This time it’s much more marginal (we’re told single digits) but if you’ve been watching footy on Kayo, there’s a good chance Oztam was counting it for Foxtel too. The stuff-up triggered a behind-the-scenes war of words.
The fault, we’re told by those in the Foxtel camp, lies with Oztam which has been slow to adapt to the online world, where streaming reigns supreme.
On the other side, Oztam’s crew suggest Foxtel was slow to give the ratings company exactly what it needs to do the job properly. It takes two to tango. The truth may lie somewhere in between.
The ordeal is a throw-back to Succession, where fictional character Alexander Skarsgard’s fabricated user base in India was fixed with a strategy of “throw PR people at it”. Perhaps it’s time Oztam and Foxtel took a leaf out of the Swede’s book to get the story straight.
Alexander Skarsgard in Succession.Credit: Foxtel/HBO
ATLASSIAN SHARE SALE
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has not felt the need to tell his fellow investors how his split from wife Annie Cannon-Brookes will affect his shares.
But it is interesting to note the country’s second-richest man and co-founder, Scott Farquhar, went through with a pre-announced sell-down of their stake in the business this week.
A quick perusal of the original May announcement shows Cannon-Brookes can afford to lose some shares without giving up that much voting power. This is because he and Farquhar have an iron grip on the voting shares in Atlassian and plan to keep it that way.
Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. Credit: Natalie Boog
Even the stock they sell gets converted to ordinary shares, which means they don’t have the super votes attached. So MCB could potentially hand over half of his stake to Annie as ordinary shares while still retaining majority control with Farquhar.
The Atlassian bosses have been upfront about their plans to sell a dollop of their stake in the business with about $US345 million of their Atlassian Nasdaq-listed shareholdings to be offloaded over the next year. All up, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar will reduce their hold from nearly 41 per cent to just over 39 per cent, while their voting power shrinks by just 0.8 per cent to 86.6 per cent.
Things could not be more different for fellow billionaire Andrew Forrest who announced this month he was to separate from wife Nicola Forrest.
The Forrests confirmed the end of their 31-year-long marriage after more than $1.1 billion in Fortescue shares were moved to Nicola’s wholly owned company, Coaxial Ventures, last month. Nicola now also owns half of Tattarang, the pair’s flagship private company, making her the country’s second-richest woman behind Gina Rinehart.
IDENTITY POLICE
The Victorian First Peoples’ Assembly 2.0 is tipped to appoint Ngarra Murray as its next co-chair at its first meeting in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Murray is aligned with firebrand senator Lidia Thorpe, who has reportedly been on a mission to build a powerbase in the assembly.
Ngarra Murray is among those who have queried the Labor candidate’s heritage.Credit: Jillian Mundy
A trip back in time shows Murray has an unfiltered approach to social media – growing a reputation for policing Indigenous identity.
Among other forays, in one post from October, Murray took aim at Labor’s Richmond candidate and Yorta Yorta woman Lauren O’Dwyer. “WTAF !! Yorta Yorta Labor Candidate. Whose mob?” she posted.
The hopeful politician later said such questions were hurtful.
“I know who I am, and I’m proud of who I am,” O’Dwyer told The Age at the time. “I’ve never misrepresented or over-represented my heritage. I’ll always be learning.”
Murray launched an unsuccessful bid to remove Geraldine Atkinson as co-chair and director for the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria in late 2020. This was one year into the inaugural representative body’s first term.
Assembly member Tracey Evans – also public in challenging O’Dwyer’s identity – is tipped to be another favourite for co-chair.
With strong opinions aplenty, CBD looks forward to seeing where the new leadership will go.
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