KPMG Australia’s executive chairman has apologised for an email he wrote disparaging Labor senator Deborah O’Neill.
Michael Ebeid, who the under-fire consulting giant appointed to the role on Thursday, was forced to apologise hours later after the email was released by a parliamentary committee examining allegations of misconduct levelled at the firm.
In March, Senator O’Neill used parliamentary privilege to air whistleblower allegations that KPMG partners had accessed confidential information from Lendlease, a KPMG client, to pitch for and win lucrative audit contracts.
“I assume Senator O’Neil (sic) made no attempt to contact KPMG before speaking in the Senate on such a sensitive issue, which in itself would be very inappropriate and unfair of her,” said an email sent by Mr Ebeid to KPMG directors the day after the senator’s speech.
“As we know well, many of the statements she makes are completely false including the timeline of events and that he had raises (sic) all these whistleblower issues before he entered the HR process to exit the firm, which falsely makes it look like retaliation.”
The committee, which is chaired by Senator O’Neill, released the email because it provided “an insight into Mr Ebeid’s position regarding the whistleblower’s allegations of serious misconduct and governance failures”.
In a statement responding to the email revelation, Mr Ebeid said he respected the work of the committee and Senator O’Neill.
“At the time I sent that email in March 2026, with the information I had been given, I was not aware of the full range of facts,” he said.
“From what I now know and the information I have been provided since that time, I would not have written that email and am sorry for sending it.”
Mr Ebeid’s appointment was the first major governance step in an action plan KPMG was taking to address integrity issues, strengthen accountability and rebuild trust, the firm said.
“I have agreed to take on this role because I believe in and respect KPMG,” Mr Ebeid said in a statement announcing his appointment.
“Despite the challenges the firm is facing, my resolve to support its important work is even stronger. I believe KPMG can recover, rebuild and emerge a better firm.”
Greens senator Barbara Pocock said Mr Ebeid’s letter showed his lack of respect for whistleblowers and parliament and raised questions about how seriously KPMG took its ethics and integrity issues.
“This is not the fresh start for KPMG that it attempts to be,” she said.
“Mr Ebeid is a part of the culture and leadership team where things have gone seriously wrong in KPMG.”
As independent chairman, Mr Ebeid will take a leading role in the next steps of KPMG’s action plan, including overseeing a board refresh and the appointment of a chief executive, following the resignation of Andrew Yates.
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