Company caught using AI to cheat on AI test, faces massive fine

Since July, KPMG has identified 28 employees who used AI to cheat on company exams. This included a certified auditor who used an AI tool to help answer questions by uploading exam preparation materials.

This situation has led the company to improve how it identifies AI-generated content and pledge to report any misuse of AI in its yearly reports, raising the standard for openness in the industry.

In July, a KPMG partner finished required training on artificial intelligence. However, they violated company rules in August by uploading a study guide to an AI platform to help them answer a test question. KPMG’s internal systems detected this activity.

KPMG tightens AI monitoring after internal probe

One partner has come forward to Chartered Accountants ANZ, and they are currently looking into the situation. The other 27 cases involve employees at the manager level or lower, and each could face a significant fine of $10,000.

According to KPMG Australia CEO Andrew Yates, these events highlight the wider difficulties companies are experiencing as they increasingly use artificial intelligence.

We, like many companies, are trying to figure out how to best use AI for training and evaluating our employees. It’s challenging because AI is being adopted so rapidly by everyone, as Yates explained to The Australian Financial Review.

When we started tracking AI use during internal testing in 2024, we quickly discovered some employees were using it in ways that didn’t follow our rules. We responded with a company-wide training program and have been adding new tools to prevent unauthorized AI access during testing.

KPMG announced it will now share details of any cheating involving artificial intelligence in its yearly reports. The firm will also make sure employees report any wrongdoing themselves. This decision is expected to encourage other accounting firms to be more open about similar issues.

Currently, accounting firms aren’t required to report wrongdoing, like cheating on exams, to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission unless official disciplinary action has been taken. KPMG has stated they chose to inform the regulator about this issue during their conversations with them.

In February, a group of lawyers received a $12,000 fine after a federal judge determined they had used AI to create false information in documents submitted to court.

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2026-02-17 00:18