KPMG is losing the Crown Resorts audit. Crown is putting the work out to tender, The Australian reported on Wednesday evening, and a KPMG spokesman told the paper the firm found out last month that it would lose the contract.
Crown told The Australian it had been "satisfied" with KPMG's performance and "is considering a change of external auditor in the normal cyclical course of business".
What we heard first
Someone told our Inside Track on Wednesday, before the report, that KPMG had "lost Crown Resorts audit effective immediately". Neither Crown nor KPMG has said when the change takes effect.
How KPMG got the work
Crown told the ASX in February 2020 that it would run a competitive tender for a new auditor "having regard to feedback from proxy advisers and shareholders". Its board then approved KPMG as auditor from the financial year beginning 1 July 2020, replacing Ernst & Young.
KPMG's report on Crown's 2021 accounts said "a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the Group's ability to continue as a going concern", Reuters reported in September 2021.
The other audit KPMG lost
Macquarie Group will drop KPMG as its auditor, the ABC reported on 1 September. KPMG had won that audit in 2025 and had not started the work, which the ABC put at between $700 million and $1 billion over 10 years. It stays with PwC.
What it means for people at KPMG
KPMG's job cuts so far have been mostly outside audit. Its first round in August was about 5% of its workforce, mostly in Consulting and Business Services. The up to 400 more reported this month were to "mainly affect consulting and internal business services". Crown and Macquarie are audit clients. KPMG has not said whether losing them changes the size of its audit teams.
What we don't know
We don't know when KPMG's work for Crown ends or which firms are in the tender. We don't know whether any roles at KPMG are affected.
The tip that started this story is on our Inside Track. If something in this story is wrong, tell us through our corrections form.
