Deloitte reveals highest list of ethics breaches in 2024 review

Its new speak up culture is working, says Deloitte after it removed 24 people and disciplined the highest number of staff for ethical breaches in three years.

Deloitte Australia removed 24 staff from the firm for breaches of its ethics code last year.

Deloitte Australia booted 24 people from the firm last year as it disciplined the highest number of staff for breaches of its code of ethics in three years, according to new data.

In its annual report published on Wednesday, Deloitte revealed almost 144 staff were found to have breached its code of ethics in the 2024 financial year, more than the 121 in 2023 and 78 in 2022.

This is despite the slump in staff numbers at Deloitte from their peak of 13,758 in 2023 to 13,077 in 2024.

The latest figures showed Deloitte staff also raised more concerns against others than previous years, with 206 matters investigated and closed out in the year.

This was 1.6 matters per 100 employees, greater than the 1.2 in 2022.

Deloitte said the lift in complaints “gives us confidence that people are more comfortable speaking up”.

The firm has also rolled out integrity workshops to more than 880 partners and launched mandatory ethics training across the firm.

Deloitte said the top three areas of concern raised by staff related to respect and fair treatment, violations of internal policies and bullying and harassment.

This included incidents of unprofessional language and tone, rude or intimidating or belittling behaviour, or inappropriate comments and poor leadership directed towards staff.

Deloitte also said staff were concerned about violations of firm policies around integrity and professional behaviour, confidentiality, or information security breaches.

Of the 144 substantiated complaints in 2023 Deloitte punted 24 staff from the firm.

A further 93 received reprimands, while another 27 were directed for counselling and training.

However, this was a lower rate of staff exits compared to 2023, which saw Deloitte remove 28 from the firm for breaches of company policy.

Previous year’s reports have called out Deloitte’s handling of sexual harassment and discrimination complaints, but the firm’s latest report did not detail the issue.

Deloitte’s 2023 data showed 22 staff were reported over sexual harassment issues, with eight removed from the firm as a result.

The disclosures form part of Deloitte’s attempts to provide transparency into the often otherwise opaque world of partnerships.

Greens Senator Barbara Pocock, in her dissenting report to a Senate inquiry, called for partnerships to be subject to legislated transparency and reporting requirements “as apply to corporations under the Corporations Act”.

She also called for “an Independent Regulator for the consulting industry, with an enforceable professional code of conduct, national standards, investigation powers and penalties for breaches”.