Accounting firm PwC is no longer the Department of Finance’s auditor for a whole of government property services program, a question on notice published last week has revealed.
The accounting behemoth was the audit firm used by the department for the Whole of Australian Government Property Service Coordinated Procurement Arrangements from November 2019 to the expiry of the firm’s contract with the department on June 30 last year.
Bellchambers Barrett has been engaged to provide audit services under the arrangement since November last year. The firm was chosen from the management advisory services panel.
This changing of the guard took place during a period when PwC as a firm fell out of favour following the revelations that a former tax partner, Peter Collins, and the firm’s tax division had used confidential information related to tax policy inappropriately.
PwC has been replaced by the government-only consulting play Scyne Advisory on the management advisory services panel following the break up of the consulting division from the main firm.
The answer given by the Department of Finance says that the audits are used to review parts of the property services arrangements.
“These audits provide Finance with an independent review of various aspects of the Arrangements, which include key performance indicators, entity Property Operating Expenses, Commonwealth property data and other ad hoc audits,” the response from Finance to a question on notice from senator Deborah O’Neill says.
Finance’s answer to O’Neill also states that the department managed to score a range of savings under the arrangements, totalling $496.4 million.
The larger portion of the savings related to the leasing arrangements with the department managing to save $302.5 over a four-year period to the 2021-22 financial year with the balance of $193.9 million being savings in facilities management over a five-year period.
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