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ANZ has ended KPMG's nearly six-decade run as its auditor by putting the $29.3 million contract out to tender, with KPMG barred from bidding. The bank cited the length of the relationship and its transformation agenda, not the whistleblower scandal engulfing the firm.
ANZ has dropped KPMG after almost 60 years as its auditor, putting the $29.3 million contract out to tender. The bank's board decided to open up the audit contract, and KPMG will not be eligible to participate in the tender.
A spokesman said ANZ's external audit service has been provided by KPMG since 1969. He attributed the decision to the length of time KPMG had worked with the bank, and did not mention the whistleblower scandal that has engulfed the consulting firm. This is a fresh blow to KPMG, which continues to contend with the fallout from its whistleblower scandal.
KPMG Whistleblower Fallout Mounts
An anonymous whistleblower warned the firm of a raft of serious allegations, including that senior partners had misused confidential information to win work. The whistleblower was given short shrift until Senator Deborah O'Neill went public with the allegations in March. The scandal has led to numerous repercussions for KPMG, and the fallout continues to mount. The length of ANZ's relationship with KPMG, and its predecessor firm Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co, is decades longer than recommended by a parliamentary committee.
It also far outstrips the Australian Institute of Company Directors' suggestion that auditors should be reviewed every five years. KPMG has changed the partner overseeing the work numerous times over that period. There is no legal requirement for a company to rotate auditors, and the firm has sometimes detected issues. The Australian Financial Review reported in November 2025 that ANZ was considering putting its audit contract out for tender, months before the whistleblower allegations became public.
The tender decision escalated on Friday when ANZ made its announcement. The spokesman said the tender process would be done by the end of April 2027, with the new auditor in place by the 2029 financial year. KPMG will not be eligible to participate in the tender. The board considered this timing of the tender process to be appropriate given the significant transformation agenda under way and the planned integration of Suncorp Bank, the spokesman said.
ANZ Changes and Audit Tender
The bank is pressing ahead with major changes. Auditing underpins trust in Australia's financial sector. Companies must have faith that they can disclose their most sensitive information to their audit firm for the process to work. KPMG was contacted for comment.
The firm has not yet responded publicly to ANZ's decision, which marks another marker of the growing fallout from the scandal.
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brisbanetimes:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
ANZ KPMG Auditor Contract Whistleblower Scandal Suncorp Bank Audit Tender Suncorp Bank Integration
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