KPMG Australia Plans to Offshore 200 Executive Assistant Roles to Philippines

KPMG Australia moved to offshore around 200 of its 260 executive assistant roles to the Philippines, a restructuring that would cut roughly three-quarters of its local EA workforce and generate an estimated AU$17 million in annual wage savings before outsourcing costs.

The plan, which surfaced after an internal slide deck was leaked to a corporate gossip Instagram page and business site The Aussie Corporate, calls for a phased approach: 100 roles to be eliminated in April and another 100 in May or June. Around 60 EAs are expected to remain in Australia, retained primarily to support state chairs and national managing partners. Under the proposal, only state chairs would fully retain Australian-based executive assistants.

The offshore staff will be supplied through an external outsourcing provider, with the work handled by employees physically located in the Philippines and working Australian hours. According to one report, the outsourcing company itself is headquartered in India. The offshore team would take on calendar management, travel bookings and email triage, with supervisors overseas reporting back regularly to the Australian firm.

The salary differential driving the decision is stark. Executive assistants at KPMG Australia earn an average of roughly AU$87,000 per year. Comparable virtual assistant services in the Philippines are advertised at around AU$10,000 annually, with business process outsourcing firm Smart Outsourcing Solution estimating administrative staff could be hired for as little as AU$995 per month. The Aussie Corporate framed the projected AU$17 million saving as roughly 3.5% of KPMG's almost AU$500 million partner income pool for 2024-25.

A KPMG spokeswoman said the decision remained subject to staff consultation and was being handled with "empathy, respect and transparency for our people." She added: "We are continually reviewing the way we work to build a scalable, modern, resilient business that positions us for growth and competitiveness." Affected employees have been offered redeployment options or redundancy packages that include retraining and transition support.

The offshoring plan lands against a difficult financial backdrop. KPMG Australia's revenue fell 4% to AU$2.13 billion in 2024-25, with advisory income dropping nearly 20% to AU$749 million. The firm had already reduced its headcount by approximately 600 employees, about 7% of its workforce, in the prior year, with total Australian headcount now below 9,000. Earlier cuts included 200 senior staff removed in a mid-2024 overhaul that saved the firm AU$80 million, and a further 200 roles cut in February 2023, mostly in consulting. All four major consulting firms posted revenue declines in Australia in 2024-25, with Deloitte falling 8.3%, PwC 5.9%, KPMG 4% and EY 2.7%, a contraction partly attributed to shrinking government consulting demand following the PwC tax leaks scandal.

CEO Andrew Yates has pointed to technology investment as part of the firm's path forward, including AU$80 million spent on developing new tools for clients and staff. EA roles nationally have themselves been contracting, having fallen by more than 20% over the past decade as automation absorbed routine administrative work, according to data cited in KPMG's own communications.

Nicole Gorton of recruitment firm Robert Half, speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, noted that offshoring works for repetitive tasks but poses real challenges for strategic, high-stakes roles requiring local expertise. Whether KPMG's remaining 60 onshore EAs can absorb that distinction in practice will be among the harder questions the firm faces as consultation concludes.