Deloitte’s answers to Senator Andrew Bragg have revealed Cbus jumped the gun when issuing a statement on 19 November, declaring that the independent reviewer – which at the time was conducting a review of the fund at the direction of APRA – had deemed all Cbus directors “fit and proper”.
Asked “Did Cbus consult with Deloitte prior to releasing this statement”, Deloitte responded with a simple “No”.
The super fund hastily deleted the statement – which by then had been reported by InvestorDaily – amending it to omit any mention of Deloitte.
The original statement read: “All existing and new directors on the Cbus board have satisfied a ‘fit and proper persons test’ as part of an ongoing independent review being conducted by Deloitte at the direction of APRA.”
However, the revised release on 20 November removed any mention of Deloitte, instead stating that the fund had conducted a “fit and proper persons test” before confirming the appointment of three directors nominated by the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union.
Asked by Bragg whether Deloitte had advised Cbus on the deletion of the statement, the professional services firm said: “No, we did not advise Cbus to delete the statement.
“We did contact Cbus following the release of their media statement expressing our concerns as our report was still in final draft stage and had not been released as a final report.”
Deloitte eventually released its report in December, which, despite finding the directors did in fact meet the fit and proper criteria, deemed improvements necessary to enhance transparency and rigour in assessing board skills and collective expertise.
The professional services firm issued eight key recommendations to help Cbus refine its fit and proper arrangements, including revising the board skills assessment to prioritise practical experience, adding more nuanced rating options, and offering clearer guidance on required expertise.
It also urged the fund to adopt a “standing declaration” for member affiliations – union or employer – to boost transparency while maintaining governance consistency.
Deloitte also identified areas for improvement in governance processes and documentation, particularly regarding compliance with best financial interests duty (BFID).
Namely, the professional services firm said: “It is clear in our review that Cbus has failings in the design and operation of its BFID arrangements.
“It is our assessment that lack of consistency, appropriate process, appropriate governance, and necessary rigour, are all areas for improvement and currently lacking for the determination as to whether expenditure decisions have been made in the best financial interests of members.”
Responding to the review at the time, Cbus accepted in principle all 26 recommendations made by Deloitte.
“Cbus will now work with Deloitte, as required by the licence conditions to develop an action plan to address each of the recommendations in the review to be approved by APRA,” the fund said at the time.
In its questions on notice, Deloitte also disclosed that in the months since December, Cbus has developed an action plan, which has received approval from APRA.
