PwC’s global chair Bob Moritz will jet into town this weekend, touching down following the publication of the Switkowski report to begin to repair the damage already caused to the firm.
That document, set to lift the lid on the firm’s accountability and governance, is scheduled to drop on Wednesday, more than a month after former NBN Co chair Ziggy Switkowski provided it to a tiny sample of people. Margin Call hears that as few as five trusted individuals were given a copy.
Late on Tuesday the work was already under way to fortify everyone for the findings to come. The leadership team, executive board and the managing partners all received a briefing on the contents of Switkowski’s report, with the remaining partners to be given some sort of courtesy rundown, the dregs, at 10am.
As reported over the weekend, the timing of the report’s release coincides with the ginormous distraction of Qantas chair Richard Goyder and CEO Vanessa Hudson appearing before a Senate inquiry in Canberra, all but assuring muted coverage of PwC.
All part of the damage control, it would seem. The report will be published, the fallout will waft, and Moritz, whose leadership on this issue has been in flight mode for years, will manifest in Sydney and Melbourne for phase two of PwC’s clean-up operation – a charm offensive targeting the firm’s dearest clients. You can expect that all assurances will be given that PwC is hale as ever and no longer the sink of infamy it’s become during the calendar year.
Margin Call happened upon one invitation to a roundtable lunch with Moritz in Melbourne next Tuesday. “Bob is visiting Australia to meet and hear from our clients and stakeholders,” it says, adding that the lunch will take place following the publication of the Switkowski report to “discuss the review and our response to it”.
“We would also like to tell you more about the steps we have taken and will continue to take to improve our governance and culture while taking any questions you have.”
Any questions, eh? Well, one might ask the following: if the use of confidential Australian government information was literally codenamed Project North America, and Moritz was US chairman at the time, does it not follow that the buck, or part of that buck, kind of stops with him?
Or perhaps someone might consider the clients who benefited so richly from Project North America – Facebook and Google, among others – yet it would seem only the Australian partners are in line to be thrown under the bus. So, how’s that?
It’s a well-worn play for any multinational to ring-fence a scandal to the jurisdiction where it unfolded, and that would appear to be what Moritz and a FIFO hit squad of PwC toecutters – looking at you, Diana Weiss – are said to have been attempting to achieve for months from their eyrie in Barangaroo. Weiss herself has been busy mocking up her own report, separate to that of Switkowski, which is said to level a finger of blame at everyone but global head office.
An odd strategy, too, considering that anyone dumped upon over the course of this week might end up before that Senate inquiry examining the use of consultants. It’s slated to hold hearings again next month, where witnesses will be giving evidence under the glorious protection of parliamentary privilege – which means they can say whatever they like.
Parting shot
Gill McLachlan is busy receiving the obligatory farewell lap of Melbourne before he steps down as the AFL’s chief executive this weekend. But it’s not all gifts and confetti. On Tuesday he appeared in front of Melbourne’s Carbine Club for a grand final luncheon with about 900 people, hosted by Eddie McGuire. During a Q&A session, McLachlan was asked by his brother, broadcaster Hamish McLachlan, whether there were any regrets harboured during his decade as the CEO.
The sporting chief began his reply but one elderly fellow in the audience thought it wasn’t much chop, cutting him off and launching into a critique of the AFL’s backing of a voice to parliament. “You didn’t get the voice over the line,” came the remark across the room, heavy on the sarcasm.
The context here is that the AFL announced in May that it would support a voice to parliament, as did the NRL, with each of their grand finals taking place a mere fortnight out from the historic referendum.
That said, the AFL ruled earlier this month that it wouldn’t run Yes campaign advertisements during Saturday’s game.
Margin Call was told a very awkward silence followed the exchange, which left McLachlan a bit lost for words on a response. “Oh, yes,” he replied eventually, referring to the regrets, “some social issues”.
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