Qld inquiry to grill former IBM top man A MAN who played a key role in the Queensland government adopting his former employer's flawed health payroll system has denied any wrongdoing. Terry Burns, once IBM's "top man" in South Africa, is expected to front the Queensland health payroll inquiry on Wednesday. Mr Burns led a tender process that resulted in IBM winning a Queensland government IT contract in December 2007. In March 2010, IBM rolled out a health payroll system that subsequently incorrectly paid thousands of nurses and staff, and which continues to be costly to operate. It will ultimately cost taxpayers $1.2 billion. Mr Burns' written statement to the inquiry denies any wrongdoing. "I gained no benefit from IBM winning the ITO (tender)," the statement says. He said he was impressed with another tenderer, Accenture's, proposal, but was disappointed with the costings. "Accenture was so much more expensive than IBM," he said. I thought IBM was innovative. Mr Burns was initially contracted to conduct a number of reviews of the government's IT services in early 2007. Counsel assisting the inquiry, Peter Flanagan, SC, has said Mr Burns is of particular interest because of his key role in recommending the government outsource the management and rollout of its IT programs to a single contractor. He then went on to co-ordinate a tender process and was appointed to several powerful positions which he had recommended be created, Mr Flanagan told earlier hearings.