Inquiry into recent allegations of and responses to misconduct in the Australian operations of the major accounting, audit, and consultancy firms (including but not exclusive to the ‘Big Four’), via a detailed investigation and analysis of regulatory, technical, and legal settings, and broader cultural factors, including:

1. the global and national firm structures, including:
   1. the legal basis for partnership, corporate, hybrid, and other structures;
   2. issues arising from cross border structures and operations; and
   3. the impact of such structures on confidence in the advisory and audit assurance market for regulatory supervision and accountability to public and corporate sector clients;

       

2. The extent to which governance obligations applying to a professional services firm may vary depending on the structure adopted, such as a partnership, a company, a trust, or other structure. Consideration of any gaps and international best practice in areas such as:
   1. entity reporting and transparency;
   2. executive accountability and remuneration;
   3. fit and proper person requirements;
   4. the structure of contracts and the fiduciary responsibility to public and corporate sector clients;
   5. prevailing cultural practices;
   6. consumer and client protection;
   7. duties of care;
   8. management of conflicts of interest; and
   9. access to whistle-blower protections.

       

3. Mechanisms available to governments, government departments, statutory authorities, professional standards bodies, regulators, and non-government clients to monitor and sanction misconduct and poor performance, including any gaps and overlaps across service and entity types for:
   1. accountability frameworks for governance obligations;
   2. coverage of disciplinary bodies;
   3. self-reporting policies and practice;
   4. whistle-blower policies and established pathways to report;
   5. interaction with and self-referral to regulatory bodies;
   6. interaction between regulatory bodies; and
   7. competition in the audit market; and

    

4. any other related matters.