Global accounting giant KPMG has distanced itself from the Sydney writers’ festival, requesting its name be removed from the event’s website where it was listed as a corporate partner.

The move follows the festival scheduling Palestinian Australian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah to speak at two sessions in this year’s event.

A KPMG spokesperson confirmed the change on Thursday, telling the Guardian in a statement: “We are the auditor of the company, which we do not define as a ‘partner’. This is now reflected on their website.”

The spokesperson would not confirm whether the scheduling of Abdel-Fattah had prompted the move, but said the company had received calls expressing concern over this issue.

They confirmed that in previous years, KPMG had been comfortable with being described as a partner on the festival’s website.

KPMG has provided auditing services to SWF at a discounted rate since 2023.

The writers’ festival said in a statement that KPMG, according to the firm’s own statement, did not consider itself a partner of the event.

“The website now reflects this,” the festival said in a statement. “SWF have many wonderful partners and supporters, and we are grateful to all of them.”

Abdel-Fattah’s participation in literary events has become a flashpoint for the arts sector. In January the Adelaide writers’ week disinvited Abdel-Fattah from its program on the grounds of “cultural sensitivity” after a terror attack at Bondi Beach.

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It prompted a backlash that culminated in the resignation of the board and the whole event being cancelled.

Objections to her inclusion had centred around a 2024 social media post that said: “If you are a Zionist, you have no claim or right to cultural safety”.

Abdel-Fattah also faced backlash for posting “May 2025 be the end of Israel” and changing her profile picture to a picture of a Palestinian paratrooper after the 7 October attacks.

Abdel-Fattah told the ABC in an interview she had used the image when she had “no idea about the death toll”.

The Sydney writers’ festival board invited her to take part prior to the Bondi attack and the Adelaide writers’ week controversy. This week it stuck by the invitation, with chief executive Brooke Webb saying the event was “not in the business of cancelling or censoring writers”.

Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told ABC News he interpreted Abdel-Fattah’s inclusion in the program as a “deliberate provocation and a middle finger to the Jewish community”.

Last week the NSW premier, Chris Minns, expressed reservations about Abdel-Fattah’s participation in the Newcastle writers festival, describing her inclusion as a “head-scratcher” and “crazy”.

On Wednesday, the NSW arts minister, John Graham, emphasised the need to “lower the temperature” of debate but said cancelling events did not achieve this.

“Everyone can play a part in that, including our cultural institutions and events,” he said. “We have seen that cancelling programs, rather than contributing to social harmony, can often have the opposite effect.

“We have been working closely with Jewish leaders and our cultural sector, including writers festivals, to find ways to make Jewish arts and culture lovers feel welcome at our events and institutions. My expectation is arts organisations make this a priority.”

Guardian Australia is also a partner of the event.