Accountants are there to ensure compliance or is that to avoid compliance to rules so complex compliance is nigh on impossible ? Their clients happily spend money to avoid spending money on rules constructed by accountants and are willing to spend whatever it takes to increase their bottom line. JobKeeper was a perfect storm where in Australia the government and the accounting industry aligned in the a process of corporate welfare sold as an essential for the Nation.

So much so disguised foxes are employed to watch the foxes in the henhouse. Why does ATO bother to train investigators, who when let go by the ATO like thousands were when Tony Abbott was PM so easily find jobs in the tax minimization industry?

Last month a regulatory body from the US censured and fined KPMG Australia over professional standards. The findings raise a pressing question: how widespread is this poor culture within the accounting industry? On September 13, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) of the US made an order that (1) censures KPMG Australia; (2) fines KPMG Australia $450,000; and (3) requires KPMG Australia to undertake remedial actions. The board’s website explains that its mission is to oversee audits of public companies in order to protect investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. This body investigates and, if necessary, disciplines registered public accounting firms and their associated persons for violations of specified laws, rules, or professional standards. So why do investors in public companies need protection from KPMG Australia? What ghastly behaviour has attracted the ire of the Americans?

Source: Bad apples or bad orchard? KPMG Australia fails ethics test – Michael West Media