Global head of PwC’s legal services arm Tony O’Malley and the Big Four accounting firm’s Australian general counsel Meredith Beattie will shortly leave the firm.

The pair had already announced their intention to retire some time in the next 12 months, but will bring their departures forward, according to an email to the firm’s staff from Kevin Burrowes, who is taking over as chief executive in the wake of the firm’s tax advice crisis.