PWC fall-out – TPC deregisters Seymour

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has sought to drive home the gravity of action it has taken against former Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) Australia senior executive, Thomas Seymour, in terminating his tax agent registration and prohibiting him from reapplying for four years.

In what represents part of the wash-up from the PWC scandal, the TPB said that following an investigation it had found Seymour breached the Tax Agent Services Act as “he failed to act with integrity and also failed to have in place adequate arrangements to manage conflicts of interest that arose in relation to activities undertaken by partners and employees within PwC’s Tax and Legal Services division”.

The key findings of the TPB included:

• Mr Seymour failed to act with integrity by reason that he failed to recognise, or otherwise permitted, a business culture to develop and operate within the Tax and Legal Services division at PwC while he was the Managing Partner which resulted in the practice of sharing confidential information, or ‘intelligence’, being widespread within the division despite regular and repeated references from PwC partners to the information being ‘confidential’ and that it should not be disclosed, suggesting a broad cultural acceptance for this type of behaviour and conduct.

• Mr Seymour failed to have in place adequate arrangements to manage conflicts of interest in circumstances where information obtained by PwC partners engaged in confidential Treasury consultations was shared amongst other PwC partners and employees, both within Australia and overseas, for the purpose of assisting PwC to position itself ahead of its competitors, advance its position in the market and to expand its client base.

The statement said that In deciding to terminate the registration of Seymour, the TPB highlighted that his conduct had caused damage to the reputation of the tax profession and a loss of confidence in the integrity of the broader tax system.

“In making the decision to prohibit Mr Seymour from applying for registration as a tax agent for a period of 4 years, the TPB specifically noted the senior position held by Mr Seymour in the tax profession and the need to deter other persons in similarly senior positions from engaging in conduct that fails to discharge their leadership duties,” the TPB statement said.

Commenting on the decision, TPB Chair Peter de Cure said the investigation into Thomas Seymour uncovered a business culture of sharing of confidential information, often referred to as ‘intelligence’, within PwC that was widespread within the Tax and Legal Services division.

“Despite frequent reminders in internal emails that this information was ‘confidential’ and should not be further disclosed, the practice persisted. This points to a deeply embedded culture within PwC that routinely disregarded formal confidentiality obligations,” said