PwC Australia to sell government business for A$1

By Yassmine Elbehnaihy On Jun 26, 2023

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Allegro Funds to sell its government practice for A$1 on Sunday.

The sale comes after an executive from Singapore came to lead PwC’s local firm through the fallout from a national scandal in January, which revolves around a former PwC tax partner.

The PwC tax partner had been advising the federal government on laws to prevent corporate tax avoidance and shared confidential information with colleagues who used it to pitch multinational companies.

PwC has faced backlash from government clients, and amid the backlash, it announced the agreement. PwC and Allegro are aiming for a binding agreement within a month.

Allegro would be setting up the new firm as a corporation not a partnership, and ownership would be split between Allegro and former PwC partners.

The divestment represented 20 percent of revenue for fiscal 2023; the firm made two billion dollars in revenue last financial year, PwC said.

“We have taken this step because it is the right thing to do for our public sector clients and to protect the jobs of the c.1,750 talented people in our government business,” said Justin Carroll, PwC Australia Board Chair.

The deal is an attempt to insulate PwC’s government consulting business and rebuild trust with the departments and agencies that froze the firm out of new work.