Nhlamulo Dlomu's appointment a year ago as chief executive of KPMG SA, the country's third-largest accounting firm, was first met with scepticism. Her legacy, as she left the helm of the South African unit this week, will be one of a well-meaning executive unfortunately handed a poisoned chalice. Dlomu, a black female executive with "people skills" and head of human resources at the South African branch, had no accounting qualifications. This was used by critics against her from her first day in office to question her ability to steer the embattled firm. At the time of Dlomu assuming the hot seat, nine senior executives at KPMG SA had been fired, amid a fallout over work done for the controversial Gupta family by the accounting firm for 14 years, between 2002 and 2016. The parent company, KPMG International, then moved quickly to remove the "black sheep", the former chief executive Trevor Hoole. Dlomu had ahead of her the unenviable triple task of winning back lost market confidence...
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