PwC Australia CEO Burrowes to stay in charge until 2026

The man drafted in by the accounting and advisory giant to salvage the Australian arm following its tax scandal has announced he intends to stay on to implement structural reform.

PwC Australia has extended the leadership term of chief executive Kevin Burrowes until 2026 as the professional services continues to rebuild from its damaging tax leaks saga.

The move to extend Mr Burrowes term for a further two years comes as he and the new leadership team continue to implement structure changes to culture, governance and accountability at the firm.

Mr Burrowes was installed into the role last July by the global arm of PwC and the move around his extension is seen after former chief executive Tom Seymour resigned in response to leak of confidential Treasury information on tax policy — which subsequently sparked multiple inquiries into the government’s use of consultants.

The decision to keep Mr Burrowes on comes as PwC Australia announced that it has appointed its cloud and digital lead Rohit Antao from Monday as its new consulting leader, replacing David McKeering who is retiring from the firm.

Mr Burrowes, who earlier this month revealed he paid $2.8m per annum, said there was still more work to be done as he and his leadership team embed and implement the changes to how PwC operates following the scandal.

Kevin Burrowes will stay in charge for another two years: Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

“The change we are pursuing won’t happen overnight. It requires hard work and commitment to ensure the cultural shifts and structural changes are embedded for the long term,” he said.

“I am steadfast when it comes to seeing these changes through, in their entirety. Recently, I reiterated my commitment to my hardworking partners, confirming that I intend to remain with the firm until 2026 to ensure our Action Plan is fully implemented.”

Mr Burrowes said he was proud of the changes achieved so far, and looked forward to working with each and every one of its partners and people to enhance the firm’s culture, governance and accountability.

He first joined PwC in 1986 in London and stayed with the firm until 2002 when he became the head of financial services consulting at IBM and later head of finance EMEA at Credit Suisse. Mr Burrowes returned to PwC as a partner in 2009 and from July 2020 to 2023 was the global clients and industries leader at its Singapore arm.

The Australian revealed earlier this month that PwC and its former management, including Tom Seymour and Luke Sayers, could face a class action from aggrieved former partners who have seen their distribution payments evaporate last year after the audit and consulting giant came under siege following the scandal.

Meanwhile, Mr Antato has become the boss of PwC’s consulting arm at a time the firm has become purely corporate and private sector service provider after it was effectively forced to sell its government business for $1 last year to Allegro Funds, who spun it out as Scyne Advisory following the taxation scandal.

Mr Antato joined PwC in 2005 and spent 16 years with the US firm in the Silicon Valley before joining the Australian firm in 2021. Mr Burrowes said that he had a wealth of experience key as PwC turns focus to its private and corporate sector clients.

“I am confident Rohit is the right person to spearhead this change and help us to realise our vision of becoming the leading professional services firm, built on the highest ethical standards with integrity at our core,” he said.

Originally published as PwC Australia CEO Burrowes to stay in charge until 2026