In a week when the prime minister delivered a masterclass in how to drag out a bad news cycle by failing to apologise to Japan’s Sanae Takaichi over going along with a crude melon joke, a similarly bad playbook is being followed by lawyers, accountants and executives fronting Friday’s parliamentary inquiry into KPMG’s audit leak scandal.As The Australian Financial Review’s Edmund Tadros and Hannah Wootton have reported, the scandal began when a whistleblower (and a former KPMG executive) claimed KPMG partners misused confidential Lendlease board papers to pitch for Westpac and Dexus audit contracts, and used internal Optus information to help its bid for Telstra’s audit.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles