A leading consultancy firm at the centre of an audit leak scandal has defended its ethics and culture while being grilled by a Senate committee.
Some 13 KPMG executives, past and present, were grilled by the powerful federal panel with oversight of the corporate regulator in Canberra on Friday.
The committee took no prisoners as it questioned timelines, procedures, documents and the firm's level of regret over events that erupted into public consciousness on May 29.
It was left to Greens senator Barbara Pocock to underscore the inquiry's importance when she asked why the public should trust consultancies, given an earlier scandal involving PwC.
"The big four accountancy firms are strong and big companies ... that create careers for young people," KPMG's former chief executive Andrew Yates said.
