PwC CEO’s secret $1.2m payment sparks fresh ethics concerns
Kevin Burrowes has been accused of “serving two masters” and concealing the lucrative salary he receives from PwC International.
PwC Australia CEO Kevin Burrowes faced blistering criticism during a joint committee hearing on Friday for concealing a $1.2 million annual payment from the firm's international parent for almost a year, deceiving his own colleagues and Parliament.
The revelation and Burrowes’ failure to acknowledge it reignited concerns about PwC’s governance protocols and the sincerity of efforts to rebuild trust in the wake of the tax leaks scandal, members of the bipartisan corporations and financial services committee agreed.
Labor senator and committee chair Deborah O'Neill said Burrowes was “serving two masters” by accepting payment from PwC International, which is supervising the Australian arm in a remediation process.
“Your decision to accept pay from two masters is replete with conflict of interest,” she said, drawing parallels between Burrowes and Peter-John Collins, the former PwC partner at the heart of the tax leaks.
The undisclosed $1.2 million salary from PwC International came on top of Burrowes’ $2.8 million salary from PwC Australia.
PwC International has previously come under question for its opaque conduct after it used its management powers to seize control of its Australian arm at the height of the scandal in June 2023, parachuting in Burrowes to replace then-interim CEO Kristin Stubbins.
It has also been accused of “thumbing its nose at Parliament” by withholding a key report by law firm Linklaters on international partners’ involvement in the tax scandal.
Burrowes claimed he could not access the Linklaters report despite being paid by the international entity.
“I don’t believe it’s pertinent to what we’re trying to do in Australia,” he said.
He added that there was no conflict between his dual roles, the firm had made “huge progress” with its governance protocols and had been “extraordinarily transparent” with Parliament.
Chief risk and ethics officer Jan McCahey, who only found out about the payment last month while preparing for the committee hearing, said the work Burrowes was doing for PwC International and Australia was “very aligned”.
“There's a potential for conflict, I guess, but being in the midst of it, I’d say it’s very much an alliance of interests,” she said.
But Liberal MP and deputy chair Alex Hawke said that even if there was no conflict, the firm had once again failed to be transparent with the committee.
“Why are we having such a terrible time in getting transparency in this matter if you're restructuring your firm completely top to bottom?"
“The volume of transparency doesn't impress me. You can be transparent about 99.9 per cent of things that are mundane.”
O’Neill called PwC and Burrowes’ conduct was no different than its past actions.
“How can you serve the two masters and not reveal that to your own colleagues here and Australian partners who are supposed to be leading in a reform process that you describe as a commitment to change?"
“It seems like more of the same to me.”
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