KPMG South Africa unveils new leadership team to restore confidence

10 November 2017 Consultancy.co.za

KPMG South Africa has unveiled the new leadership team which it has put in place to restore public trust in the firm following the media massacre it has received on the back of its role in the Eskom, Gupta and Trillian scandal.

“I am pleased to announce a strong and experienced team of KPMG partners to lead the firm. This is day one for the new KPMG, a KPMG where public interest will share an equally important role with enhanced governance, quality and ethics. We understand that the immediate road ahead will be challenging, but I believe the individuals in this team have the necessary skill, experience, passion and energy to lead KPMG to, once again, be a standard setter in the profession”, said Nhlamu Dlomu, KPMG’s CEO for South Africa.

Dlomu herself has over 17 years’ experience in management consulting and management roles gained mainly in organisational development and human resources, a background that will provide much needed expertise to navigate the firm back to stable ground. The Eskom case has led to a wave of criticism from politicians and the media, which spurred many companies in the country to review and even break their ties with KPMG. McKinsey & Company, which alongside the Big Four firm played a role as an advisor to players charged with corruption and bribery, is currently facing similar hardship, with two of its large banking clients, Standard Bank and Barclays Africa, deciding to terminate their contracts with the consultancy. Both KPMG and McKinsey have since the outbreak of the scandal admitted that their work was, despite the absence of intention, in violation of their professional standards, and have pledged to regain the trust of their clientele and the public.

Nhlamu Dlomu, Gary Pickering, Granville Smith, Joubert Botha, Makagotso Letsitsi, Nosisa Fubu, Sipho Malaba, Andrew Cranston & Brian Stephens

At KPMG, Dlomu will be supported by an executive team comprising eight other members. Gary Pickering, an experienced Audit Partner has been named head of Audit, Granville Smith leads the firm’s Advisory practice and Joubert Botha, currently the Chief Operating Officer for Tax, serves as interim leader for that part of KPMG’s business. Makgotso Letsitsi, previously Head of Advisory, succeeds Dlomu as Head of People.

Sipho Malaba continues her role in the executive team responsible for KPMG’s largest business unit, Financial Services Audit. In addition, Malaba will lead the firm’s strategic projects, while Modise Maseng leads the firm’s Public Sector arm. Nosisa Fubu, who has been with the accounting and consulting firm since 2008, serves as Head of Markets.

As part of KPMG’s global support to its local South African firm, KPMG International have appointed two highly senior global executives who will oversee the transition on the ground. The move follows a similar strategy it applied in the Netherlands two years ago, after the firm in the country faced a similar loss in confidence following a string of accounting scandals. Andrew Cranston, the former COO of KPMG International and CEO of KPMG in Russia, has been appointed as the interim Chief Operating Officer. Brian Stephens, a South African who is a former partner of KPMG’s US member firm, has been named Chief Risk Officer, a newly created role that reflects “KPMG South Africa’s plans to improve governance and risk management”, explained Dlomu.

In the summer of next year KPMG's South African outfit will move into a new office, located in a R220 million development, situated in the prosperous Umhlanga region near Durban.