PwC report shows morale is low and so is the pay packets of women

PwC Australia’s new chief has revealed in its latest transparency report that staff turnover is down but so is morale, and women partners are still paid less than their male counterparts.

PwC’s shocking tax leak scandal and subsequent loss of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of state and federal government work is having an impact on morale, the firm’s yearly Transparency Report shows.

Chief executive Kevin Burrowes, who was flown in from Singapore to take the lead when former CEO Tom Seymour was forced to step aside after being ­directly implicated in the scandal, said the report showed “significant action” was taken across key areas of focus.

“This year has been an extraordinarily challenging one for all of us at PwC Australia,” Mr Burrowes said. “We are deeply sorry for the failings that allowed unacceptable behaviours to go unchecked for so long, yet, we are equally as committed to taking the actions required to rebuild trust.”

The largely secret workings of consulting firms exploded into the public consciousness earlier this year after it was revealed a partner at PwC had taken confidential ­information – given to it by the federal government so it could help advise on its so-called Google Tax – and used that information to pitch to clients on how to minimise their tax obligations.

The confidential information was widely shared within the firm, with no one questioning the ethics of such actions.

In this context, the Transparency Report’s findings on misconduct could be considered a positive. The summary of metrics revealed a 39 per cent rise in serious misconduct matters being raised, with 72 per cent of them upheld.

Of these, 71 per cent related to bullying and harassment, 23 per cent involved sexual harassment and 6 per cent involved data breaches. The matters resulted in 34 per cent leaving the firm.

PwC still has a way to go on gender issues, with only 34 per cent of its partners being female and those suffering an 18.5 per cent pay gap compared to male partners, which was up 1.5 per cent on the previous year.

Employee turnover dropped 3 per cent during the year but staff were less happy to be at PwC, with engagement dropping 5 per cent to 76 per cent, and bonuses down 37 per cent to $47m.

Under the headline Global Mojo, the report said “our people told us they wanted to connect with leaders more often; and while their sense of pride in working at the firm had been impacted, they still enjoyed their work and would recommend PwC Australia as a place to work and grow a career”.

PwC’s global commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions was also highlighted in the report, with the firm’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions dropping 92 per cent from its base year of 2019.

The firm has a global “carbon cap” on air travel, and plans to halve its business travel emissions by 2030 and remove the remaining emissions through carbon offset programs.

Originally published as PwC report shows morale is low and so is the pay packets of women