In a virtual meeting with his team, Mr Michael was told about concerns over potential pay, pension and bonus cuts, the Financial Times reported.

KPMG consultants also complained about the internal ranking of team members’ performances.

Mr Michael later said his words did not reflect his beliefs.

Bill Michael said: “I am sorry for the words I used, which did not reflect what I believe in, and I have apologised to my colleagues.

“Looking after the wellbeing of our people and creating a culture where everyone can thrive is of critical importance to me and is at the heart of everything we do as a firm.”

Last week the company’s UK business revealed that Mr Michael was paid £1.7 million in 2020, a decrease from £1.98m in 2019.

Despite the pandemic’s impact on seven months of the firm’s financial year, revenue decreased by just 4% from £2.4 billion to £2.3bn. The decrease was driven in part by the sale of the firm’s pensions business, which completed in March 2020. Excluding the disposal of the pensions business, like-for-like revenue reduced by 2%.

Announcing the firm’s annual results, Catherine Burnet, KPMG’s senior partner in Scotland, said: “The unprecedented events of 2020 created challenges for everyone in Scotland. At KPMG, our focus was ensuring the wellbeing of our people, the sustainability of our long-term growth strategy, and helping our clients build their own resilience through a period of great uncertainty.”