Consulting giant KPMG has been accused by whistleblowers of wasting public money, submitting inflated invoices and billing the Department of Defence for hours never worked.
abc.net.au/news/kpmg-consultants-overcharging-defence-four-corners/102644518Consulting giant KPMG has been accused by two whistleblowers of repeatedly ripping off taxpayers while contracted by the Department of Defence — submitting inflated invoices and billing the federal government for hours never worked.They say the government was charged for work never done and jobs not needed
"It's about getting very, very close to government, finding out what's going on using the contacts, and then growing the business," Senator O'Neill said. The whistleblower said while they worked for Defence, repeated financial errors favouring KPMG were discovered and the firm agreed to cut its fees. That prompted the whistleblower to audit KPMG's earlier invoices.
The whistleblower said part of the problem was the influence that the KPMG consultants — most of them former Defence Force members — had over their former colleagues. "KPMG was simply happy, in my view, to propose these new works, get them signed off, and reap the financial benefits," he said. According to figures compiled by Four Corners, over the past five years, KPMG hired almost 100 people who previously worked at Defence.To avoid senior Defence staff using inside knowledge when they join the private sector, a "cooling-off" period is often agreed to.
They are meant to fill gaps in specialist knowledge and work on urgent projects but they are increasingly doing jobs traditionally carried out by public servants.
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