Ministry of Economic Affairs examines independence of consultants – economy

The Federal Ministry of Economics is apparently considering tightening its rules when issuing state guarantees. A report from the magazine Capital According to the Ministry of Robert Habeck (Greens) announced that in the future they would like to ensure more precisely that advice is provided independently. The background to the plans is this Dual role that the consulting firm PwC partly has in relation to the granting of guarantees. PwC has been a federal representative for many years and advises the state on the issue of state loan default guarantees.

In at least one case, however, the company simultaneously advised a company that received such state aid, specifically the insolvent KaDeWe Group. Until now, the ministry had always pointed out that it would ensure that conflicts of interest were ruled out. Apparently they still want to sharpen things up. However, that will probably take time. The current contract with PwC was only concluded again in 2022 and is valid until 2028. In addition, PwC has and has had other contracts through which it can… Federal Government advised who should receive state aid – including within the framework of the economic stabilization fund, investment guarantees and the energy price cap.