Scyne Advisory to cut consultants, sources say 10 per cent of staff on the line
PwC’s former government consulting shop is cutting costs and staff as the days of ‘a reliable generalist consulting adviser are coming to an end’, according to its chief.
Private equity-owned consulting firm Scyne Advisory will slash more than 10 per cent of staff in a major cost-cutting drive as work in the professional services sector dries up.
Staff at the consulting firm which advises government and not-for-profits were told about the move on Thursday afternoon, with insiders warning as many as 150 people could go in the shake-out. Other sources said 70 jobs were expected to go this week. Scyne madestaff cuts last year.
Owned by private equity player Allegro Funds, Scyne aims to pare back to three operations largely focused around technology.
Scyne chief executive John Ball, who joined the firm five months ago, said the cuts were an unwelcome response to the broader downturn.
Mr Ball said the world had changed since Scyne was assembled in 2023from the wreckage of PwC Australia’sformer government consulting business.
“That notion of the reliable generalist consulting adviser, it feels like those days are coming to an end,” he said.
The cuts were focused on particular parts of the business exposed to generalist management advisory contracts, rather than technical expertise.
He stressed the firm still had 60 open roles in other parts of the business and had just welcomed 58 graduates. It was hard to say if the business would face further job losses.
“I don’t think we’re going to be a tech software house but tech will be a very important part of what we do,” Mr Ball said.
“The commercial reality of anymore (cuts) is you can never say never, but certainly this is our plan, this is the stated direction.”
Scyne was amputated from PwC in mid-2023 as the firm was black-listed from new government contracts after revelations the audit and consulting giant had hushed up repeated misuse of confidential government tax information.
PwC’s former head of international tax Peter Collins shared confidential tax briefings with others in the firm, which PwC then used to create tax strategies for clients.
Scyne was sold by PwC in a $1 deal to Allegro Funds, but the firm has since struggled.
Mr Ball was judging Scyne’s success by “the simple things” including whether it remained cash flow positive.
In mid-2024, Scyne slashed almost 90 roles across the business, including 10 managing directors.
Other firms have reduced headcount, too.
“The redundancies are hard and challenging and the organisation and leadership team is absolutely focused on doing it in the most humane way possible and making sure we have the empathy and compassion as we reshape the business,” Mr Ball said.
However, Scyne has improved its position relative to other firms, handed a bill of good health from the Department of Finance in December over its work to satisfy the government in the wake of the PwC scandal.
Finance told Scyne it had concluded the firm had “implemented appropriate ethics, accountability and governance arrangements to support contracting with the Commonwealth and has taken steps to embed its frameworks and ethical decision-making practices into its operations”.
Originally published as Scyne Advisory to cut consultants, sources say 10 per cent of staff on the line
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