KPMG chairman’s departure is just one of a thousand cuts

June 23, 2026 — 2:55pm

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There’s a familiar cadence to the path of the KPMG scandal involving the firm’s misuse of confidential client information to help with recruiting new clients.

Tuesday’s announcement of the departure of KPMG chairman Martin Sheppard and two senior partners fits neatly into the sequence of this kind of scandal.

History shows that the way these events – most recently the disaster at PwC – unfold amounts to death by a thousand cuts, but that the firm’s initial response is to the optics and to pretend it’s a cure.

Once several sub-optimal attempts have been made to deal with the problem, the firm ultimately takes the nuclear path of admissions and accountability. But this takes time and inflicts more pain.

There’s no rule book for workplace investigations. So, how do we know they’re fair?

So why doesn’t a firm like KPMG cut to........

© The Age