PwC scandal: Firm ‘devoid of an ethical backbone’, senator says

“While these emails did not contain breaches of confidentiality, they do demonstrate evidence of the cultural problem at the time,” he said, confirming he was one of the partners who had received the tax information.

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Seymour’s future at PwC, and that of other staff involved in the program to market the confidential information to clients, is based on the argument that they did not become aware of its confidential nature until regulators investigated last year.

On Monday evening, Tracey Kennair, the chair of PwC’s board of partners, said it was agreed Seymour’s resignation as CEO was in the best interests of the firm and stakeholders as PwC attempted to rebuild trust.

An “independent review previously announced, in addition to the changes already made, will help us meet this objective,” she said.

In March, Seymour referred to the scandal as a “perception issue” and said there were no findings that other staff were involved, other than Peter Collins, who received a two-year professional ban from the Tax Practitioners Board. Last week, he said any partners directly involved with the leak had left the firm.

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On Friday, Seymour announced the independent review of the matter, and said he was one of the current partners who was a recipient of these emails.

The fallout continued ahead of the federal budget on Tuesday. PwC’s sponsorship of a $5000-a-head post-budget dinner was withdrawn.

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