Deloitte’s eventual apology: With damage control, timing is everything
After more than a week of damaging headlines, Deloitte Australia has issued a media statement about the $440,000 AI report debacle. As Sally Branson explains, the apology ticks some of the right boxes on paper, but the timing raises serious questions about their response capabilities.
Deloitte used tax-payer money to provide AI slop
For a firm that advises others on managing reputation risks, taking over a week to respond publicly while the story gained momentum feels remarkably tone-deaf. Even with the initially slow news uptake, crisis communications 101 tells us that silence creates a vacuum that others will fill, usually not in your favour.
As I wrote last week, this scandal managed to hit Australia’s three biggest nerve points simultaneously: taxpayer dollars, AI distrust, and our cultural hatred of bludgers. The $440,000 price tag for what appears to be unchecked AI-generated content validated every fear Australians have about both artificial intelligence and expensive consultants taking taxpayers for a ride.
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The partial refund somehow made everything worse, creating the impression of corporate damage control rather than genuine accountability. When organisations invest in external consultants, they’re making a deliberate decision to supplement their skills base with specialist advice and expertise. That investment only makes sense if they’re getting a quality product that represents genuine expertise, not sophisticated copy-and-paste work.
