Deloitte CEO Adam Powick experienced the distinct displeasure earlier this year of admitting to his investment in a multimillion-dollar fraud, one that was allegedly organised by a senior partner at his own firm.
His very brief account of the matter was released in a statement in February, but since that time there’s been nary a peep uttered at all, and you best believe it’s a subject of some sensitivity to the CEO. He really doesn’t like talking about it.
Plainly, that’s why Deloitte engaged in substantial prevaricating over whether to keep Powick away from a Senate inquiry that’s taking evidence on the PwC fugazi, but which is also conducting a dip test on other consultancies and whether they, too, have been behaving themselves. PwC remains at the spiritual centre of the questions but that might change come Monday when Deloitte’s brass are put in front of the Kliegs.
As Margin Call understands it, there was serious thought invested in holding back Powick and sending out the firm’s chair, Tom Imbesi, and the chief risk officer, Sneza Pelusi, in order to appease the committee and convince pitbull senators such as Barbara Pocock and Deb O’Neill that the company was, indeed, treating the inquiry with due seriousness.
Unhelpful questions about Powick’s inconvenience with the fraud matter would have been managed by them at a level too far removed to provide any real detail, thus shielding the CEO from any further magnification of the embarrassment.
Risky strategy, too. If Powick didn’t appear he’d have been quickly named as the only CEO who didn’t front up to the inquiry, and let’s not forget the committee’s eagerness to trumpet coercive measures it can use to summon individuals. Deloitte’s crisis team (who were busy on Friday prepping for the hearing) were presented with a simple calculus: push out Powick for a gruelling two hours on Monday, insulated by three of the firm’s leaders, or hold him back and risk having him called up for a solo hearing.
Evidently they’ve all made their decision, with Powick now very much down to attend the hearing amid a very real expectation that he’ll be quizzed on the fraud and other matters of trust and integrity.
Powick’s limited version thus far is that he provided his own funds to Deloitte’s Amberjit Endow for an investment in India. But he said: “At no stage have I ever encouraged or invited anyone to be part of this investment.” No doubt the committee will want to know more.
Endow, meanwhile, has denied all wrongdoing and is proving more difficult to track than the elusive Keyser Soze. Deloitte declined to provide an on record comment.
All out for union chief
Quite a number of big shots turned out for the farewell of Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton on Thursday night at Sydney’s Doltone House (the one in the burbs, not the Hyde Park venue).
Walton helmed the AWU for seven years, so it was a must for a few Labor powerhouses to see him off. Treasurer Jim Chalmers was a certainty given his documented admiration of Walton, as was NSW Premier Chris Minns, a longstanding ally, ACTU president Sally McManus and former premier Morris Iemma, dubbed the “Labor Photios” now that his consultancy, Iemma Patterson Premier Advisory, is said to be doing a healthy trade.
Singled out for a special mention during Walton’s speech was Rugby League Player Association CEO Clint Newton, who was seemingly off duty from his skirmishing with the NRL and knocking about instead that night with Walton’s predecessor and KPMG partner Paul Howes, BlueScope CEO Mark Vassella, AustralianSuper chair Don Russell, and the impressively moustachioed Ian Silk, chairman of Crown Melbourne.
Turns out Walton is helping the RLPA with its negotiations and big-upped its efforts to the crowd. The RLPA is currently at an impasse with the NRL over collective bargaining agreements and most recently vowed to boycott media engagements in response. “I’m helping the RLPA,” Walton said. “What the NRL is trying to do is squash their voices and deunionise the players.”
Voting hoo-ha
This one’s in the weeds, but it’s amusing. There’s a great hoo-ha in Sydney’s cultured wing of the Liberal Party where everyone is behaving preposterously over a curious voting error – or perhaps, as alleged it’s slightly worse than just that.
The incident occurred on May 18 in the seat of Wentworth where an AGM was run by the Federal Electoral Committee. Margin Call reported on the result at the time – it’s the one where barrister Peter King staged a ousting of sitting president Sally Betts by a convincing margin.
That same day the FEC took nominations to vote in a male delegate to Liberal State Council, resulting in one Ray Whitten elected unopposed. No controversy in that. But somehow, inexplicably, an entirely different person named Bruce Jackson ended up listed in the AGM’s paperwork, and that’s what ended up being sent to head office for recording. It didn’t help that Jackson is a conservative allied to King, either.
Stranger still is that when State Council met at a later date, Jackson, channelling a Chauncey Gardiner character, turned up anyway and allegedly tried to vote on a matter. Nevermind that Whitten was there, too, as the rightful delegate, and that of course led to additional confusion.
Wentworth officials say it was all a minor snafu that was corrected immediately. Still, they were stumped as to why Jackson appeared at State Council regardless, bearing in mind that he never stood for the delegate position in the first place. Also bear in mind that State Council meetings are as boring and energy-sapping as a four-hour stopover in a regional airport, so why anyone would bother to attend unnecessarily is just mind-boggling.
Paddington branch president Alexander Andruska wrote to NSW Liberal state director Chris Stone alleging the AGM report had been falsified and “inaccurately reflects the business conducted during the meeting”. That’s a serious charge and would require the meeting to be reconvened. Because who knows what else wasn’t recorded correctly?
“There’s precedent in Wentworth and elsewhere of the party requiring branches to reconvene over trivial matters,” said one insider. “This matter is nontrivial. The precedents would suggest that, yes, it’s required.”
Stone didn’t respond to Andruska, nor to Margin Call’s inquiry about the matter, but officials say the meeting shouldn’t be invalidated over the error. Hopefully this is the last we’ll hear of it.
The Cat’s lair gets a visit from the corporate cop
The Byron Bay home of media entrepreneur Antony Catalano was raided by ASIC investigators last week, allegedly in relation to trading in asset manager Magellan.
The Price is right for Rinehart
Gina Rinehart praised the Coalition’s Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, urged the ADF to shift to Darwin and chastised unacclimatised city folk, in a recorded address to the Institute of Public Affairs.