Egregious is an almighty strong word. It means scandalous or heinous, monstrous and unspeakable and hideous. Unforgivable and atrocious. Unpardonable even.
And that’s how a parliamentary committee has described the behaviour of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a scandal that should be the impetus for a corporate cultural revolution.
We cannot allow this to be a Canberra story, involving a single big misdemeanour by a single big firm.
Richard Colbeck, the Liberal Senate parliamentary committee chair, is absolutely correct in calling for other jurisdictions to examine the extent of PwC’s behaviour.
“PwC doesn’t seem to understand that it’s their responsibility to deal with this to provide appropriate information to the Australian community and Australian authorities,’’ he said.
They needed to “come clean’’ and be accountable to both the Australian and international communities, he said.
He’s spot on – and PwC’s tardiness here is unbelievable. And until it shows the same accountability we demand of other publicly funded institutions, it should feel the wrath of us all.
Its registration as a tax agent should be cancelled.
It should not be allowed to provide consultancy contracts to any government – state or federal.
And it should feel the full force of every available investigative and prosecutorial tool in a bid to unravel the full extent of a scandal that hurts us all.
Trust betrayed
Just consider the accountability and transparency measures we demand of others, after a rolling litany of disappointments that have eaten away at our trust in those that can influence our lives.
Our big banks have let us down, through ruthless profit-seeking and an implausible lack of empathy.
Our churches, and many of those institutions set up to protect children, have proved to be havens for predators; sparking a royal commission that tore at the heart of beliefs held by many.
Governments have paid the price for secret wheeling and dealing, and independent investigations have demanded root-and-branch overhauls to ensure accountability. The best current example there is surely the evidence that has spilled out of the Robodebt inquiry.
Even in sport, we’ve been let down over and over, but the Australian cricket captain being stood down for cheating probably tops the list.
But when these big scandals break, and authorities are looking for a way forward, it is almost always the case that PwC, or firms that offer the same services, are brought in to get us back on track.
Their power, as evidenced by the reach of PwC in each of our states, federally and overseas, is wide and deep and long.
And that’s why this scandal, which includes revelations a former partner in the firm shared information taken from confidential Treasury briefings, should not start and stop with this specific case.
PwC needs to be held accountable, publicly. It needs to feel the force of all governments, who now have a duty to look at its dealings and determine whether it is a fit business partner.
And the need to do that is only emphasised by what is, at best, a reluctance by PwC to assist authorities in determining how widespread this scandal might be.
The interim committee report makes two recommendations: That PwC co-operate fully with investigations into the scandal, and that it publish further details about those involved in the matter.
Both are simple requests, and any deviation or delay in either is just further evidence of the need to hold a royal commission into the culture of a company that has been paid millions and millions and millions of taxpayers’ funds; ironically to provide more efficient, accountable and transparent government.
It just doesn’t add up.
