KPMG not to be trusted.

Don’t let the one star be confusing. It should be zero stars.

Promise and peril: The KPMG Apology Paradox

Dec 2014 to Jan 2016 - KPMG South Africa takes a brief for R23 million that results in harming civil servants - primarily 4 persons and an investigative unit. The 4 are not afforded a hearing and the “report” is littered with falsities and heavily qualified to serve no purpose.

Jan 2016 - Jun 2017 - Public pressure mounts, clients start deserting KPMG South Africa with their reputation tarnished.

Jun 2017 to Sept 2017 - KPMG comes to South Africa for an “internal review”. They refuse to hear people. They issue a public apology to South Africa, and conclusions, findings and legal opinions are withdrawn. The full fee is paid back.

September 2017 - KPMG South Africa publicly apologises to South Africa, saying “sorry will never be enough” but refuse to apologise to the people by name again. 8 partners “leave” KPMG South Africa and they donate R47 million to charity. It later turns out those that left were paid to leave.

Oct 2017 - KPMG South Africa appears before Parliament admitting “the work isn’t perfect” without saying what is and what not.

Jun 2018 - a professional auditing panel finds: “When a professional copies and pastes conclusions as if they are their own, that’s dishonesty and unprofessional” and “There is prima facie evidence of non-compliance with the code on the part of certain members [of KPMG].”

Dec 2018 - a Commission of Inquiry finds: “The reputation of SARS was severely damaged by the allegations made in the KPMG report” and “The leadership of SARS was undermined to such an extent that it became difficult for the organisation to function effectively.”

Aug 2020 - KPMG South Africa publicly admits causing harm to people, that they were traumatised and undertook to “contribute towards reparations”. They never do so.

Jan 2022 - a Commission of Inquiry into state capture and *******ion finds: “The integrity and effectiveness of SARS have been compromised by political interference and discredited reports that sought to dismantle its leadership” and “The KPMG report was part of a calculated effort to weaken SARS, leading to a loss of skilled personnel and a decline in tax compliance.”

KPMG stakes their entire integrity on the thoroughness of their own secret internal “review” which is never made public.

2015 - 2025: KPMG International and KPMG South Africa are challenged on the content of the secret internal “review” and report by one person. They consistently refuse to take it up. If the person is right, it’ll undo the entire spin put to the public, and their reputation will be totally ruined. They’ve painted themselves into a corner.

It has happened before: Companies conduct “reviews”, issue “apologies”, but later scrutiny show these to be totally inadequate.

BP - 2010 Volkswagen - 2015 Wells Fargo - 2016 United Airlines - 2017 Equifax - 2017 Facebook/Meta - 2018 Boeing - 2019 Johnson & Johnson - 2019 Nestlé - 2021

It will happen again.

Totally insincere and dishonest. Not to be trusted.