KPMG banks $24m in government contracts despite audit scandal

KPMG has won $24 million in new Australian federal contracts since March 2026, even as the firm faces a widening audit scandal that has triggered senior resignations, an ASIC investigation and a parliamentary hearing next week.

The Australian reported on Friday that the new contracts add to about $653 million in active agreements between KPMG and the federal government. The figures sharpen the political and commercial stakes around a controversy that has already damaged the firm’s leadership and raised questions about how governments award work to contractors under scrutiny.

The scandal centres on whistleblower claims that confidential audit materials from clients were misused in work tied to winning new business. KPMG management later acknowledged that it had not handled the whistleblower concerns appropriately, but the firm has not publicly accepted wrongdoing on the substance of the allegations.

Contracts keep flowing

The latest contract tally shows that the fallout has not yet stopped government work from reaching the firm. According to The Australian, KPMG has secured the new federal contracts since March, despite the controversy and the regulatory pressure building around its audit practices.

That continued flow of public money has become a flashpoint for critics who say governments should not keep awarding work to firms under active investigation. Greens senator Barbara Pocock has criticised the continued contracting and called for further work with KPMG to be paused pending the outcome of investigations.

Leadership fallout

The scandal has already cost KPMG senior figures. The Guardian reported on June 10 that chief executive Andrew Yates and national audit head Julian McPherson had resigned amid the controversy.

The Australian also reported that Yates resigned, while chair Martin Sheppard remained in place. The leadership changes have not resolved the wider questions surrounding how the firm responded to the whistleblower complaint or how much confidence clients still have in its audit work.

Regulatory and parliamentary pressure

ASIC is investigating several KPMG partners over the alleged audit misconduct, according to The Australian. That formal probe adds a regulatory layer to a story that has quickly moved from an internal governance dispute to a broader test of audit accountability.

A parliamentary hearing into KPMG’s audit breaches is scheduled for June 19. The hearing is likely to be the next major public checkpoint in the case and could bring fresh scrutiny of the firm’s internal controls, its handling of the whistleblower concerns and the government’s continued reliance on it.

Public money at stake

The size of the government relationship is central to the story. The Australian’s reporting puts KPMG’s active federal agreements at about $653 million, a figure that underscores how much public work remains tied to the firm while the scandal continues.

The Guardian reported that federal contracts worth about $650 million were potentially at risk amid government reviews. The firm also lost a $10 million annual audit contract with Lendlease, adding to signs that the scandal is already carrying commercial consequences beyond the federal government.

Broader sector fallout

The KPMG case is unfolding in the shadow of the PwC tax-leaks scandal, which has already pushed Australia’s consulting and accounting sector into a wider reckoning over conflicts of interest, audit independence and professional accountability.

That broader context matters because the KPMG case is not only about one firm’s conduct. It also raises a familiar policy question: how much work should governments continue to award to large advisory firms while they are under investigation for conduct that goes to the heart of trust in the profession.

The next developments will likely come from the June 19 hearing, any further findings from ASIC and whether government agencies decide to review or retender more KPMG work. For now, the firm remains in the unusual position of winning fresh public contracts while its audit conduct is under intense scrutiny.