KPMG partner fined A$10,000 for using AI tools to cheat in test about AI
New Delhi, Feb 16, 2026
KPMG Australia fined a partner A$10,000 after 28 staff were caught using AI tools to cheat in internal training exams, prompting tighter monitoring and fresh scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers
A partner at KPMG Australia has been fined A$10,000 for using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to complete an internal training course about AI, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported.
The unnamed partner completed an AI training course in July, which required participants to download a reference manual as part of the programme. However, the partner breached company policy by uploading the document to an AI tool to answer an exam question, the report added.
KPMG said that a total of 28 employees, including the partner, used AI tools to cheat in internal training exams during this financial year. The other 27 cases pertain to employees at the manager level or below.
KPMG Australia CEO Andrew Yates told the publication that the audit giant is struggling with the use of AI in internal training and testing. "It’s a very hard thing to get on top of given how quickly society has embraced it," he said.
KPMG said it has deployed tools to monitor AI-related cheating cases in training and will report the total number while announcing its annual results.
"As soon as we introduced monitoring for AI in internal testing in 2024, we found instances of people using AI outside our policy. We followed with a significant firm-wide education campaign and have continued to introduce new technologies to block access to AI during testing," Yates added.
How the cheating was detected
The issue came into light after an Australian Greens senator, Barbara Pocock, asked about a “misdemeanour” at the consultancy during an inquiry last week, reported the Financial Times.
The audit firms, according to the current Australian regulation, are not obliged to disclose such misconduct to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the country's corporate regulator. The onus is on individual partners to self-report to professional trade bodies. Accoridng to the AFR report, KPMG maintained that it voluntarily informed ASIC as part of its ongoing discussions with the regulator.
However, in response to queries from Pocock, the regulator said KPMG had not filed a report with ASIC regarding the instances of auditors using AI to cheat before some cases were mentioned in an AFR report in December 2025.
Following this, the ASIC contacted KPMG, after which the consultancy voluntarily provided the regulator with the new information, the report added.
Calling for a tighter reporting mechanism, Pocock said that this is an example of unethical behaviour being carried out by the big consultancy firms.
"Self-reporting unethical behaviour – what a joke. The current reporting regime isn’t just inadequate, it’s a joke. We need greater transparency and stronger reporting mechanisms," Pocock said.
This is not the first time a Big Four firm has been caught engaging in unethical use of AI. According to the Financial Times, all four major accounting firms have faced fines in recent years over cheating scandals across multiple countries. The most recent example occurred when Deloitte Australia submitted a report to its client, the Australian government, with numerous errors. The firm later agreed to partially refund the fee after acknowledging that AI had been used in preparing the A$440,000 report.
[The Business Standard]
