KPMG India asks tax partner and his team to quit
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Nov 09, 2017, 12.47 AM IST
KPMG India has sought resignations from a Kolkata-based tax partner and members of his team after it was discovered that he was trying to manipulate the outcome of a dispute with the tax department, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The partner and his team of six executives were asked to put in their papers about a fortnight ago.
“An internal investigation was started after a complaint by a client. During the investigation, it was revealed that the partner and his team were manipulating a draft order,” said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
According to another person in the know, the partner was recently hired from a smaller firm for the Kolkata practice. ET has withheld the name of the partner, his team members and the exact department he worked in.
This comes on the heels of corporate governance-related issues in KPMG USA and KPMG South Africa. In September this year, KPMG cleared out its South African leadership after damning findings from an internal investigation into the work done for businessmen friends of President Jacob Zuma, Reuters reported on September 17. In KPMG USA, six employees were sacked in April this year for ethics breach on audit warnings. Replying to a detailed mail from ET, KPMG India said: “KPMG does not comment on staff departures or reasons thereof.”
According to the CEO of another firm, the decision to sack the whole team was “quite harsh.” “What the partner and his team were caught doing is quite routine in tax circles, and to sack someone is a bit harsh. What is strange is that the client complained to KPMG when the partner was actually working on his behalf,” he added.
For KPMG India, the last 12 months have been pretty eventful. In October last year, Deloitte India poached 20 partners and about 300 executives from KPMG India. Soon after, the then KPMG India head Richard Rekhy retired.
Following his superannuation, KPMG nominated Arun Kumar, an Obama administration member and an old global hand in the professional service major, to the chief executive role. In July this year, KPMG also acquired the mergers and acquisition practice of a boutique firm. As part of the deal, 10 partners and about 100 executives joined KPMG a couple of months ago
The partner and his team of six executives were asked to put in their papers about a fortnight ago.
“An internal investigation was started after a complaint by a client. During the investigation, it was revealed that the partner and his team were manipulating a draft order,” said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
According to another person in the know, the partner was recently hired from a smaller firm for the Kolkata practice. ET has withheld the name of the partner, his team members and the exact department he worked in.
This comes on the heels of corporate governance-related issues in KPMG USA and KPMG South Africa. In September this year, KPMG cleared out its South African leadership after damning findings from an internal investigation into the work done for businessmen friends of President Jacob Zuma, Reuters reported on September 17. In KPMG USA, six employees were sacked in April this year for ethics breach on audit warnings. Replying to a detailed mail from ET, KPMG India said: “KPMG does not comment on staff departures or reasons thereof.”
According to the CEO of another firm, the decision to sack the whole team was “quite harsh.” “What the partner and his team were caught doing is quite routine in tax circles, and to sack someone is a bit harsh. What is strange is that the client complained to KPMG when the partner was actually working on his behalf,” he added.
For KPMG India, the last 12 months have been pretty eventful. In October last year, Deloitte India poached 20 partners and about 300 executives from KPMG India. Soon after, the then KPMG India head Richard Rekhy retired.
Following his superannuation, KPMG nominated Arun Kumar, an Obama administration member and an old global hand in the professional service major, to the chief executive role. In July this year, KPMG also acquired the mergers and acquisition practice of a boutique firm. As part of the deal, 10 partners and about 100 executives joined KPMG a couple of months ago
