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The Full Audit

A special series, in four parts.

The Queue

It promised to disrupt accounting, which accountants are paid not to do. There was a bell, a PlayStation, and $57,000 a day in losses, weekends included. The chairman lent $38 million and took ticket one. On Thursday the clients were told nothing was changing. On Friday, the administrators. A dollar down. Please wait to be called.

“Much of what’s now known about Retinue comes from Ryan Tan’s reporting.”The Firm, read by 32,000 accountants

“A riveting accounting deep dive.”Harvest Accounting, Xero Partner of the Year, Singapore 2025

Illustration for TPG's Game of Phones: a crow carries a telephone handset tagged 'Re: the customer'. Delivered to the wrong house.
TPG Telecom

TPG's Game of Phones

The back channels of Sydney’s upper echelons, open for one afternoon.

Ryan Tan|08 Nov, 2026

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Ten Cents: a garage sale box of TPG shares at 10c each, tagged originally promised, late 1990s, and John Linton quoted buying at ten cents in 2008
The Exetel Files

Ten Cents

The only consulting fee in Australian history the consultant paid for.

Ryan Tan|06 Nov, 2026

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Sketch: a mobile tower beside a parking meter labelled Air, per 15 years, on an ACMA post and flagged Renewal due, with a licence slip on the ground marked expires 31.12.2029
TPG Telecom

Borrowed Air

Nothing left to sell. $2.1 billion due. Naturally, a bigger dividend.

Ryan Tan|04 Nov, 2026

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Illustration for Fair Incentive, Unaudited’s analysis of Moose Mobile and Swoop customer reviews on ProductReview, Trustpilot and Google
Swoop Holdings

Fair Incentive

Award winning customer support, please hold.

Ryan Tan|01 Nov, 2026

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Sketch of Exetel's Sri Lankan company under its new Superloop name, previously known as Exetel Communications
Superloop

Mondays and Wednesdays

Three times the pay, once. Now fruit and nuts, twice a week.

Ryan Tan|29 Oct, 2026

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Illustration for A Dollar Down: Retinue's client email of 13 February 2025, 'No action is needed on your part', beside a calendar marked administration and a $1 coin
Retinue

A Dollar Down

Drive away today. Administrators tomorrow. Instalments until 2028.

Ryan Tan|28 Oct, 2026

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The Observable Price
Lawpath

The Observable Price

Lawpath built a single source of truth. ASIC has the other one.

Ryan Tan|26 Oct, 2026

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Illustration for Page 20, Read: four years of Superloop annual report page 20s, one paragraph present in FY23 and gone since
Superloop

Page 20, Read

Staff score: nil. Bonus: 133%. Next year’s grant: triple. Bingo.

Ryan Tan|23 Oct, 2026

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Sketch: two microphones with name cards reading Karl and Kyle, each tagged Paid for by somebody else
The Full Audit

Exit Interview

Two hosts kept the microphone. Somebody else paid for it.

Ryan Tan|19 Oct, 2026

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Sketch for Pawning the Silver: a cable drum and a mobile tower tagged sold, beside a pawn ticket stamped nothing
TPG Telecom

Pawning the Silver

Sold as a challenger in 2020. Run since like a pawnshop.

Ryan Tan|16 Oct, 2026

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Illustration for Restraint: tags for Employsure ($180m pleaded), Peninsula (the buyer), Retinue (liquidated) and Still listed (NSW Supreme Court) on a red rope
Accounting

Restraint

Sold, with a promise not to compete. Allegedly. Then came Retinue.

Ryan Tan|14 Oct, 2026

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Aussie Broadband and Superloop merger: two parcels priced within $30 million of each other
Aussie Broadband

A Merger of Equals

Same price, give or take $30 million. One earns half as much again.

Ryan Tan|12 Oct, 2026

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Illustration for Quo Vadis: two lunches, one of them with a receipt. Nick Abrahams, Lawpath and the TPG Telecom Foundation
Board Games

Quo Vadis

He counsels the UN on governance. At home, both sides of the cheque.

Ryan Tan|07 Oct, 2026

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Two schematic documents side by side, both lodged the same morning. Left: the half-year accounts, with a highlighted paragraph. Right: the announcement, with no mention of it.
Swoop Holdings

Growth, Unaudited

A third voted against the pay report. The board abolished the committee. Problem solved.

Ryan Tan|05 Oct, 2026

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Illustration of the Emperor's Garden cream puff window on Hay Street in Sydney's Chinatown, closed after the landlord took possession
The Full Audit

Possession Taken

Four accounts of why the cream puff window closed. None mentions the lease that expired in 2005.

Ryan Tan|02 Oct, 2026

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Illustration, Retinue Accounting liquidation: Ticket one was taken on 30 January 2024. Everyone else is still waiting to be called.
Accounting

First in Line

The chairman lent $38 million, secured it a day before the water rose, and took ticket one. Punctuality is a virtue.

Ryan Tan|30 Sep, 2026

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Illustration of a boardroom table with an observer's chair set apart from the directors, representing Westpac's board observer at Lawpath
Board Games

The Observer's Chair

Lawpath's largest shareholder feels unappreciated. He has begun selling. The Mediterranean awaits.

Ryan Tan|28 Sep, 2026

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Illustration, Circles.Life Australia accounts: Consigned to the landlord. Freight, as the accounts suggested, by supply chain and logistical services.
Circles.Life

A Going Concern

$2.87 on marketing per dollar of revenue. Seven dollars lost per dollar earned. Mum paid. Then it left.

Ryan Tan|26 Sep, 2026

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Illustration, Retinue Accounting collapse: The bell rang 1,400 times. The receipt was printed once.
Accounting

Cost of Sales

Australia's fastest-growing accounting firm. $38.9 million lost, not one gross profit. Sold for a dollar upfront.

Ryan Tan|25 Sep, 2026

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Illustration, Swoop Holdings migration: $50,000 in prizes, if someone answers the door.
Swoop Holdings

Nobody Answered the Door

Swoop took a headcount the day before results. Thirty-three thousand moose were unavailable for comment.

Ryan Tan|24 Sep, 2026

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