Former PwC Australia CEO Kristin Stubbins to leave firm after strategic plan release

PwC Australia’s former acting CEO Kristin Stubbins has said she will resign from the firm in January in the wake of a highly volatile year at the firm.

The former boss of PwC Australia, who was tapped to run the firm after the bombshell exit of the former chief executive, has announced she will leave the firm in January despite earlier signals she would hold a leadership position in the troubled audit and consulting giant.

In a note on LinkedIn on Monday, Kristin Stubbins said she would be retiring from PwC at the end of January next year “and move on to the next phase of my career”.

Ms Stubbins revealed she was leaving the firm after setting up a transformation program for PwC, with the firm now preparing to launch a strategic plan at the end of November.

“Watch this space,” she said, noting she was looking for “new challenges, commitments and outcomes to come”.

“The last six months have been very challenging but I am proud I had the courage to make the decisions that needed to be made including holding people accountable for their actions, protecting people who needed protection, deciding to sell the government consulting business to protect jobs and embarking on the Dr Switkowski review to help PwC Australia understand how it needs to change,” Ms Stubbins said.

“I am confident that the new management leadership team is totally committed to making these changes and that PwC Australia will go forward now with a focus on becoming the leading professional services firm in the next few years.”

Ms Stubbins was tapped to step in as CEO of PwC in May after Tom Seymour, who ran the firm from 2020, announced he would resign in the wake of the publication of a trove of emails revealing the spreading of confidential government tax briefings within the firm.

Mr Seymour’s sudden exit saw Ms Stubbins thrust into the top job after running PwC’s assurance practice.

Ms Stubbins took on the running of PwC in the wake of Mr Seymour’s exit, which saw her plunged into managing the furore surrounding the firm.

Mr Seymour had attempted to hold on to his position with the firm after it was revealed PwC’s former head of international tax Peter Collins had shared confidential government briefings with colleagues in the firm.

Mr Collins had been consulting with Treasury ahead of new tax laws set to be introduced in Australia in 2016.

Prior to becoming CEO Mr Seymour ran the tax practice.

Ms Stubbins was replaced in the top job in June by Singapore-based PwC partner Kevin Burrowes who was picked by the firm’s global leadership to rescue the flagging brand in Australia.

This move saw Mr Burrowes, who touched down in Australia in July after securing a visa, take on the running of the firm and Ms Stubbins’ transition to an advisory role around ethics, culture, and controls in what PwC insiders said amounted to a change management role.

In an note to staff on Monday Mr Burrowes said Ms Stubbins would work “to ensure a seamless transition of the workstream” before leaving PwC.

Ms Stubbins exit comes as speculation mounts about the next moves of PwC in the wake of the delivery of several reviews into the firm. This includes the report into PwC’s culture and governance prepared by corporate veteran Ziggy Switkowski.

In addition, PwC has commissioned law firms King and Wood Mallesons, Linklaters, and Allens to prepare reviews into the firm.

PwC has exited a number of partners and staff from the firm in the wake of the tax scandal.

This saw PwC, under Ms Stubbins, sign off on moves to strip several former partners of retirement benefits amid allegations they had been connected to the tax scandal.

Ms Stubbins will retire from PwC with all the benefits of the firm’s retirement scheme.