Deloitte has recruited KPMG Australia’s national turnaround and restructuring leader, Tim Mableson, alongside partners James Dampney and Peter Gothard and several colleagues, as the embattled accounting firm continues to lose senior personnel.
The departures, first reported by the Australian Financial Review on 10 November, transfer a group of experienced insolvency and restructuring specialists to one of KPMG’s biggest competitors.
The three partners previously worked at Ferrier Hodgson, the Australian insolvency and restructuring firm whose business KPMG acquired in 2019.
Adelaide-based Mableson spent 23 years at Ferrier Hodgson before joining KPMG, where he worked for more than seven years. His appointments have included acting as administrator of McWilliam’s Wines and engineering group York Civil.
Gothard and Dampney also built their careers at Ferrier Hodgson before moving to KPMG following the acquisition.
Their departure represents the loss of experienced practitioners in a specialist market where professional relationships, insolvency appointments and technical expertise are commercially important.
More senior partners depart
The restructuring team’s move is the latest in a series of senior departures at KPMG Australia.
According to the AFR, chief executive John Sams also informed partners that Naomi Mitchell, national managing partner of the firm’s mid-market and private business, would leave alongside Peter Bentley, the division’s chief operating and technology officer.
In an internal communication reported by the newspaper, Sams said the two executives had been approaching other partners about joining a new business.
Brett Mitchell will assume the national managing partner role on an acting basis.
The latest departures follow the exit of Dennis Krallis, the senior partner responsible for implementing KPMG’s response to its governance and integrity failures. Krallis is leaving to join private equity-backed competitor Synergy.
Senior consulting partner Evan Rawstron also departed in July after leading KPMG’s government, healthcare and infrastructure consulting business.
The departures add to the leadership turnover that followed KPMG’s confidential-information scandal, which erupted publicly in March 2026.
The controversy exposed the misuse of confidential client information during audit tender processes and serious shortcomings in how the firm investigated and responded to whistleblower allegations.
KPMG subsequently replaced its chief executive and chairman and announced sweeping governance changes. John Sams became chief executive in July, taking responsibility for stabilising the business and rebuilding confidence among clients, employees and regulators.
Job cuts and mounting commercial pressure
The latest departures come as KPMG prepares another round of workforce reductions.
The firm is planning to eliminate up to 400 additional positions by the end of November, primarily in consulting and internal business services.
The proposed cuts follow Project Vector, KPMG’s earlier restructuring programme, which affected 27 partners and approximately 360 employees.
If implemented in full, the two rounds would affect nearly 800 partners and employees, equivalent to approximately 9% of KPMG Australia’s workforce.
Sams has also announced a new executive leadership team as the firm seeks to manage the continuing commercial and reputational fallout.
KPMG’s difficulties extend beyond workforce reductions.
The Australian government has extended restrictions on new KPMG contracts until 28 February 2027, following an independent review that identified serious weaknesses in the firm’s governance, ethical culture and treatment of whistleblowers.
The Department of Finance has directed Commonwealth entities not to enter into new contracts with KPMG for procurement processes closing before 1 March 2027, subject to specified exceptions.
The firm has also lost significant audit business.
In August, Macquarie Group abandoned plans to appoint KPMG as its future auditor, explicitly citing concerns about the firm’s culture and its capacity to deliver the audit following departures from the proposed engagement team.
The decision illustrated how KPMG’s internal problems had begun translating into lost commercial opportunities.
A competitive gain for Deloitte
For Deloitte, recruiting an established group of restructuring specialists offers an opportunity to expand its capabilities without assembling a new team from scratch.
The departing partners bring extensive experience managing corporate insolvencies and turnarounds, alongside longstanding relationships in Australia’s restructuring market.
For KPMG, the loss adds to the challenges confronting a firm already reducing costs, rebuilding its leadership and attempting to restore confidence following months of damaging disclosures.
KPMG’s problems are no longer confined to reputational damage, regulatory scrutiny or lost revenue. The continuing departure of experienced specialists raises questions about its ability to retain the talent and expertise needed to rebuild the business.
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This is part of Big4News’ continuing coverage of the KPMG Australia Audit Leak Scandal.
About the author: Claudine Cassar is the founder and editor of Big4News, covering audit, consulting, regulation and governance across Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG.