Macquarie Group has abandoned plans to appoint KPMG as its future auditor, delivering one of the most tangible commercial consequences yet from the crisis engulfing KPMG Australia.
In a statement released Wednesday, Macquarie said the boards of Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank had determined to “no longer recommend the appointment of KPMG as auditor” at the group’s 2027 annual general meeting. Incumbent auditor PwC will instead be retained.
Macquarie completed its audit tender in late 2025 and planned for KPMG to succeed PwC following an 18-month transition, subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder approval at the 2027 AGM. KPMG would have audited Macquarie for the financial year beginning 1 April 2027.
But Macquarie said continued scrutiny of KPMG Australia’s audit practice — including information exposed by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services — prompted it to make formal enquiries of the firm.
Those enquiries have now produced a striking assessment.
Macquarie said its boards have concerns about KPMG Australia in two of the key criteria used to select an auditor: its capacity to deliver the audit following the departure of several members of the proposed Macquarie audit team, and — in a stunning rebuke of the Big Four firm — its culture.
The Boards currently hold concerns in respect of KPMG Australia and its audit practice in two of the key criteria considered in the audit tender completed in late 2025, namely capacity to deliver the audit given several key members of the proposed KPMG Australia audit team have departed; and culture, including a culture that transparently discloses issues.
The decision follows months of fallout from KPMG Australia’s confidentiality and whistleblower scandal. Big4News reported earlier this month that Macquarie chairman Glenn Stevens had said it was conceivable Macquarie could reconsider the appointment while seeking assurances that confidential information from other audit clients had not been used in KPMG’s pursuit of the Macquarie mandate.
At the time, that left open the possibility that KPMG could satisfy Macquarie’s concerns. Wednesday’s announcement closes that door.
The financial stakes are substantial. The Australian Financial Review described the Macquarie relationship as worth about A$95 million annually when PwC’s work for Macquarie-managed funds is included. Macquarie’s own FY2026 accounts show PwC received A$69.3 million for audit, audit-related and other services provided to the group, plus A$24.6 million for audit services provided to Macquarie-managed funds — approximately A$93.9 million in total.
KPMG Australia chief executive John Sams acknowledged the significance of the loss, saying Macquarie’s decision was “a clear reminder that the consequences of our past failings are real.” He said rebuilding trust would require sustained action, transparency and time.
For PwC, the decision amounts to an unexpected reprieve. The firm has audited Macquarie since 1993 and had been preparing to relinquish the mandate to KPMG. Macquarie said it has now reconfirmed PwC’s ability to deliver the global audit and that its next comprehensive review of its audit firm is due by 2031.
For KPMG, the consequences are harder to dismiss as reputational damage alone. It has now lost a major audit mandate that it had already won — and the client has publicly cited KPMG’s culture as one of the reasons why.
This is part of Big4News’ continuing coverage of the KPMG Australia Audit Leak Scandal.
KPMG Australia Audit Leaks Scandal
The KPMG Australia scandal that erupted publicly in March 2026 represents one of the most significant integrity crises to hit the Big Four in Australia since the PwC tax leaks affair. At its core are allegations—first raised internally by a whistleblower in 2024 and later amplified through parliamentary privilege—that senior partners misused highly conf…