iscover ASIC bans man at centre of PwC scandal for 8 years
RegulationFormer partner Peter-John Collins is forbidden from providing financial services in addition to TPB deregistration.
ASIC has banned the man at the centre of the PwC tax secrets scandal, Peter-John Collins of Sandringham, Victoria, from providing financial services or controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business for eight years.
It said Mr Collins was an authorised representative of Australian financial services licensee PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities from March 2004 to July 2006, and again from December 2013 to October 2022.
ASIC found that as a partner at PwC Mr Collins disclosed confidential information he obtained in his roles as a tax adviser to the Treasury and the BoT, and so was not a fit and proper person to provide financial services. It was in the public interest to prevent him from working in the financial services industry, it said.
A two-year ban and deregistration of Mr Collins by the TPB in January for the same offence of sharing Treasury planning about multinational tax was the trigger for months of parliamentary inquiries and a backlash against PwC and the wider consulting sector.
PwC has since spun off its consulting division and pledged greater accountability and wide-ranging reforms in the wake of the recent Switkowski report on its culture.
For the duration of the ASIC ban, Mr Collins is forbidden from providing financial services, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business, or performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business.
The ban is recorded on ASIC’s banned and disqualified register and Mr Collins has the right to apply to the AAT for a review of the decision.
Philip King
Philip King is editor of Accountants Daily and SMSF Adviser, the leading sources of news, insight, and educational content for professionals in the accounting and SMSF sectors.
Philip joined the titles in March 2022 and brings extensive experience from a variety of roles at The Australian national broadsheet daily, most recently as motoring editor. His background also takes in spells on diverse consumer and trade magazines.
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