Britain's head of xo KPMG will retire while the accounting giant censors the abusive comments he allegedly made at a meeting on Monday.Bill Michael reportedly told the advisor to "Stop wailing" about the impact of the epidemic and its shutdown on people's lives and stop. "Playing the victim card"He later apologized, saying the comments did not reflect his beliefs.

But KPMG said an "independent investigation" had begun.Mr. Michael has decided to leave his office as chairman while an investigation is underway," the spokeswoman said.We take this matter very seriously and will not comment further while the investigation is ongoing.According to the Financial Times, which first reported the matter, about 500 KPMG officials attended a virtual meeting on Feb. 8.

Following Mr Michael's alleged comments, officials were reportedly complaining about the app used to post comments anonymously during the meeting.Some said they were disappointed by Mr Michael's advice that officials had to stop complaining and work harder, FT reported.Others have been accused of being angry that he gave up worrying about potential employee bonus cuts, wages and pensions.Mr Michael's comments were particularly poor after a staff poll at the start of the meeting showed that many consultants were struggling to cope at the time. There was an epidemic, FT said.

On Tuesday, Mr. Michael said: “I'm sorry for the words I used that didn't reflect what I believed in, and I apologized to my colleagues.Maintaining the well-being of our people and creating a culture in which everyone can grow is of great importance to me and at the heart of everything we do as a company.Michael, who was hospitalized with COVID-19 last year, chaired an exciting time at KPMG.

The company faced scrutiny over the 2018 investigation of Carillion, a government contractor with under £ 1 billion in debt, and calls made by some of its employees over a working culture that is. venom Last week, the company's UK business revealed Michael received £ 1.7 million in 2020, down from £ 1.98 million in 2019.Sales this year were down 4 percent to £ 2.3 billion as the company's customers cut costs amid the outbreak.