KPMG partners have voted for interim chair Bina Mehta to take on the role for a full three-year term, as the Big Four auditor looks to rebuild from a series of hits to its reputation.

Mehta took over as the role on a temporary basis after former chair and senior partner Bill Michael resigned on 12 February. The firm said it would probe comments he made in a virtual town hall meeting on 8 February, where he described unconscious bias as “complete crap” and told staff not to moan about working life during the pandemic.