How are we working with clients?

From offering insight on improving biscuits to walking the streets with law enforcement, PwC has worked with a broad spectrum of Australian organisations. Below are just a few of the ways we’ve added value for our clients and, ultimately, their consumers and stakeholders.

Australian Red Cross
PwC’s work to assist the Australian Red Cross through capacity-building engagements since 2006 meant the organisation knew where to turn when it needed assistance helping the Victorian bushfire victims get back on their feet.


We listened to the Red Cross’s needs and were able to act quickly and effectively with a team that developed a stand-alone collection application used by telephone volunteers to collect funds. The data generated in this application was integrated into existing receipting system, enabling the organisation to process the unprecedented volume of transactions more quickly and efficiently. The application collected over $4.7 million from 23,000 donors. An additional PwC team was seconded for three months to assist with the set-up and operation of the Victorian Government's Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Authority.

This professional support was supplemented by an immediate staff appeal by PwC CEO Mark Johnson. In just two weeks, 69 per cent of our people contributed a total of $648,638 (including firm matching of $250,000). In Melbourne, 180 PwC people donated blood and 230 volunteered to provide assistance. Three offices were filled with blankets, clothing, toys, non-perishable goods and toiletries, including some 400 suits, shirts, ties and shoes.

Campbell Arnott’s
When brought in to prepare the Campbell Arnott’s audit, the PwC team realised it was in a position to deliver much more than a standard financial review. During the engagement, team members began using their understanding of the client’s business to internally discuss and document observations about Campbell Arnott’s products, process and culture.


As the project came to a close, the team members compiled their thoughts into a formal Senior Management Report and submitted it with the audit. Campbell Arnott’s CEO Mark Alexander called PwC Partner David Kelly soon after, commenting that he found the contribution added value well beyond the numbers, by providing outstanding insights and product innovation suggestions. Alexander proceeded to follow up a number of the highlighted items with his senior leadership team.

Infrastructure Australia
With the challenge of investing in infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the Australian economy, the new peak infrastructure body Infrastructure Australia was set up to guide investment from the Commonwealth Government’s Building Australia Fund.

In light of Infrastructure Australia’s focus on economic evidence to inform its decisions, PwC was engaged to provide expert advice. This involved the secondment of a PwC director to assist with an audit of the condition and capacity of the nation’s existing infrastructure, the design of the organisation’s investment prioritisation methodology, and the review of submissions from state and territory governments.

In addition, a number of PwC economic specialists provided technical cost benefit advice to ensure the Infrastructure Australia Council had sound evidence upon which to base crucial investment decisions. Backed by such evidence, the council was able to identify the best options, maximising the impact of public investment in Australia’s economic, environmental and social goals.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
PwC focused on delivering a robust, value-driven and business-relevant statutory audit to the Commonwealth Bank. The core team built on the traditional technical strength of the audit by embedding a variety of relevant specialists into the team. Industrial psychologists and forensic and risk management specialists worked side by side with the accountants throughout the engagement.

This diverse team aimed to constantly ‘lift the bar’ on delivering service excellence in all aspects of its work. As a result, the bank received a thorough and wide-reaching audit that delivered global insight, empathy without compromise and objectivity to support the board and management teams in their ongoing mission to enhance value for shareholders.
Victoria Police
Putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes for Victoria Police literally meant touring the streets of Melbourne after hours to observe police operations in action. In response to an increase in public disorder and related crime in Melbourne, Victoria Police initiated a special operation ‘SafeStreets’ to combat the problem. PwC began working closely with Victoria Police to evaluate the effectiveness of Melbourne’s CBD SafeStreets Taskforce, which involved assessing the impacts of an increased street presence and quantifying the costs and benefits of such an approach.

The team – made up of specialists from PwC’s economics, project management, risk and actuarial service areas – also assisted the Victorian Government in considering ways to address the multifaceted public order problem through a range of programs and regulatory and policy changes.

The final outcome has been a thorough assessment of what policing strategies work, as well as a forward-looking strategy that provides a sustainable approach to managing public order on Victoria's streets for years to come.
Australia Post
When Australia Post wanted to pursue a payroll exemption for owner-drivers in Tasmania, the organisation drew on a long-standing relationship with PwC to find a solution. The Melbourne Employment Taxes team combined a strong reputation, technical expertise and existing knowledge of the client's structure and objectives to carefully manage negotiations with the State Revenue Office. The complex argument required a dedicated and thorough approach from the team, as there was no precedent for how the Tasmanian payroll tax law would apply to Australia Post's arrangements.

On behalf of the client, the team obtained a favourable private ruling supporting the exemption in the last half of FY09. This resulted in a significant payroll tax refund for the 2004–07 tax periods, providing Australia Post with more capital to invest in providing high-quality mail and parcel services to all Australians.
China Shenhua Energy Company Limited
When we learnt that China Shenhua Energy Company Limited (CSEC), the world’s largest publicly listed coal company, was undertaking its first overseas investment in the developed world in Australia, we put ourselves in the client's shoes to understand and respect the Chinese cultural way of doing business. A team representing the breadth of PwC's expertise was quickly pulled together to produce a strong proposal that addressed CSEC’s needs.

The company was impressed with the level of work put into the proposal, as well as our focus on finding solutions to meet all its needs as individuals and as a company. Our tax reputation in the market, our way of doing business and the availability of senior PwC partners to meet with the client on very short notice, led to our appointment as their Australian business adviser. One of the highlights for the client was the presentation in Mandarin by the key partner, with the client commenting it was the 'most authentic Chinese speech given by an English-speaking person' they had ever heard.