Australian financial advisory firm AMP Ltd <AMP.AX> said on Thursday it had appointed inclusion and diversity consultancy Symmetra to undertake a workplace conduct review after the company was hit by a corporate scandal.
Australian companies are rushing to review their codes of conduct and have made the issue a priority after incidents of misconduct recently came to light at AMP and QBE Insurance Group <QBE.AX>.
Symmetra's review will objectively assess conduct at the workplace, and make recommendations on policies, leadership, governance and behaviours, AMP said in a statement.
AMP was forced to demote the head of its fund management unit, Boe Pahari, in August over comments he made to a female colleague in 2017 which breached the company's code of conduct. Its chairman David Murray also resigned in the fallout as the board had supported Pahari's promotion despite knowing about the conduct issues.
Pahari has said he "deeply" regrets "the events in 2017" and Murray said he stepped down to take accountability for the board's decision in response to investor concerns.
Last week, QBE Insurance Group Ltd said its Chief Executive Patrick Regan would leave the company following an investigation that found he had fallen short of its ethics and conduct standards. Regan has not publicly commented on the matter.
Sydney-based AMP also said Symmetra will help implement and embed the recommended changes from the review to build a "more respectful and inclusive workplace".
(Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
