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TPB takes decisive action on former Managing Partner of PwC's Tax and Legal Services division

Tax Practitioners Board

The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) terminated the tax agent registration of Thomas Seymour following an investigation into his conduct as a senior leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia. The TPB has also prohibited Mr Seymour from applying for registration as a tax agent for a period of 4 years.

The TPB’s investigation revealed that Mr Seymour was notified that PwC personnel who reported to him (including Peter-John Collins, a former PwC partner whose registration as a tax agent was previously terminated by the TPB) would be engaged in confidential consultation with Treasury during the period 2013 to 2017.  At this time, Mr Seymour was a senior leader of PwC Australia who had responsibility for the supervision of the firm’s senior partners and overall responsibility for the culture, policies and procedures of PwC’s Tax and Legal Services division.

Following the investigation, the TPB found that Mr Seymour breached the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 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.

 

In deciding to terminate the registration of Mr 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.

TPB Chair Peter de Cure AM stated, ‘Our 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.

Alarmingly, Mr Seymour who was in a privileged position allowed this culture to persist.  Mr Seymour’s conduct has fallen short of the standards that the community would expect from a person in the profession. I want to assure the public the TPB is committed to upholding the highest standards of professional conduct in Australia’s tax profession and will continue to take strong action in cases of serious misconduct.’

The reasons for decision can be found on the TPB Register.

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About the Tax Practitioners Board 

The TPB regulates tax practitioners in order to protect consumers and ensure the integrity of the profession and the tax system. The TPB aims to assure the community that tax practitioners meet appropriate standards of professional and ethical conduct. Follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.