KPMG high-flyer sues over her whistleblower scandal sacking

Sacked KPMG executive Eileen Hoggett is suing the firm after she was expelled with the loss of all financial entitlements for allegedly keeping sensitive board documents in her locker.

The NSW Supreme Court confirmed that a summons has been lodged in her name against a KPMG entity with the first hearing scheduled for September 23.

Hoggett has said previously that she copped a hefty financial penalty from being expelled from the firm, which has been thrown into turmoil by damaging allegations aired by a whistleblower.

She was expelled from the firm in July after new evidence emerged to support a whistleblower’s allegation that sensitive Lendlease board documents had been kept in a locker in KPMG’s Sydney office.

The board documents were used to win business with other clients, and it was Hoggett’s locker. New CEO John Sams sacked her immediately over the issue, after Hoggett had previously denied the documents were in the locker.

“I was provided with a copy of an email dated back from one May 2023, three weeks ago, that would convey that I had a copy of Lendlease documents that were in my locker,” she told a public hearing into the whistleblower scandal last month.

“I think we confidentially allow him to look at the printed version in my locker when he is back in Sydney. He needs to do it sensitively without letting too many people know,” she said in an email that concluded with a smiley emoji.

Hoggett told a parliamentary hearing last month she was still trying to ascertain the reason for her unprecedented sacking, and attested to the financial cost.

“I don’t get my accrued annual leave. I don’t get the retirement payment, which I contributed to as a partner for 21 years, and I did not get paid for the last month up until to the date of my expulsion. So (it’s a) significant financial penalty,” she said.