CPA Australia cut four more positions yesterday in what it says will be the last in its rolling redundancy program underway since June, which has claimed up to 12 per cent of the body’s 600-plus staff.

The four, including two from the policy and advocacy team, complete CPA Australia’s restructuring it said today, although it declined to confirm how many staff had gone in the clear-out.

“This week’s team changes complete the design of our new operating structure. As we go into the new year, our focus will be on embedding this new model to deliver the best outcomes for our staff and members,” CPA Australia said.

“We acknowledge this has been a challenging time for some CPA Australia staff and will continue to work with our teams to ensure a smooth transition to the new operating model.”

“We also want to recognise the work and contribution of colleagues who are not continuing with CPA Australia due to role changes, and wish them well for the future.”

However, sources told Accountants Daily that the cuts had removed people doing “good jobs” and were gutting the services that mattered most to members.

“They have lost another 30 years of deep policy expertise,” one said in response to yesterday’s cull.

Another said the clear-out had claimed “some fantastic people” who were the “backbone of the organisation”.

They said staff had been kept in the dark about the redundancies, only learning someone had gone when their emails bounced.

Another said: “Staff have repeatedly asked for information and they have fallen back on privacy concerns.”

A board update this week from recently elected president and chair Dale Pinto said he was committed to “providing leadership characterised by transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness” and he would be working “cohesively as a team” with the board, CEO and managment.
The current CEO, Andrew Hunter announced his resignation in July and will leave early next year, and Mr Pinto said the board had engaged executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to “conduct an extensive search process to appoint the next CEO” as a priority.

Insiders claim Mr Hunter’s term as CEO has been characterised by a “ruthless” leadership style that has resulted in high turnover among the executive team, and morale at the body had suffered from a “lack of transparency” or clear vision.

“The culture is toxic – nobody trusts anybody,” said one. “Nobody knows what’s going on at the executive level because it changes all the time and they see this revolving door of execs coming in and out.”

There had been at least nine forced executive departures under Mr Hunter, including several hand-picked by him, and they had departed with separation payouts and subject to gag orders.

Payouts ranged from $106,000 to $247,000, according to CPA Australia annual reports. Add in their leave and long-service entitlements and exits under the leadership of Mr Hunter have cost members almost $2m since mid-2018.

That number excludes the cost of exiting four of the “old guard” associated with disgraced former CEO Alex Malley, who departed in April-July 2018 and were paid out a combined total exceeding $600,000.

Add in the payout to interim CEO Adam Awty of $843,446 when Mr Hunter took up the role, plus the $4.9 million that was Mr Malley’s exit package, and the body has shelled out more than $8 million for terminations over five years.

CPA Australia has posted losses in excess of $40 million over the past two years and anticipates another $3-5 million loss in the next set of accounts before breaking even in 2024, according to the board update.

It said the key Member Management and Finance project had gone live in July and closed “with a cost overrun of less than 0.01 per cent”.

Staff are now contemplating next Thursday’s Christmas party with mixed feelings and will await with interest news of the annual executives bonuses for the year, due next month.