India Eyes Revamp to Foster Large Domestic Audit and Consulting Firms

ECONOMY
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AuthorWhalesbook News Team|Published at:
India Eyes Revamp to Foster Large Domestic Audit and Consulting Firms
Overview

The Indian government is planning to finalize new rules by the March quarter to encourage the growth of large domestic audit and consultancy firms. This initiative aims to address the current landscape where less than 1% of accounting firms have more than 10 partners, allowing larger Indian entities to compete with global giants like the 'Big Four' and capture a share of the international market.

The Indian government is working on a strategic roadmap to overhaul regulations by the end of the March quarter, with the primary goal of fostering the development of large, domestic audit and consultancy firms comparable to the global 'Big Four'. A special panel, led by the corporate affairs secretary Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, is reviewing existing regulatory hurdles that prevent local firms from scaling up.

Latest data from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) indicates a highly fragmented market, with only 459 out of 100,138 registered chartered accountancy firms having more than 10 partners. Despite this, these smaller firms employ a significant portion of the accounting workforce. The dominance of international players like EY, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, Grant Thornton, and BDO in the Indian market underscores the need for stronger homegrown competitors.

To achieve this, the government is considering significant relaxations, including enabling mergers, promoting multidisciplinary partnerships (allowing various professionals under one roof), facilitating easier tie-ups with global firms, and easing norms for advertising, operations, and fundraising. The corporate affairs ministry has already sought feedback on allowing multidisciplinary firms, highlighting current bottlenecks such as advertising bans and fragmented regulatory oversight.

This initiative seeks to equip Indian firms to compete effectively in the estimated $240 billion global auditing and consultancy market.

Impact
This news can have a moderate to high impact on the Indian professional services sector. It could lead to improved corporate governance, increased competition, and greater capacity for Indian firms to handle complex audits and consulting projects. This will indirectly benefit the Indian stock market by enhancing the reliability and transparency of listed companies. Rating: 6/10.

Difficult terms:
Big Four: Refers to the four largest professional services networks globally, offering audit, consulting, and advisory services: Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Multidisciplinary Partnership Firms: Firms where professionals from various disciplines, such as accounting, law, tax, and management consulting, can collaborate and offer integrated services under a single legal structure.
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI): The statutory professional accounting body in India, responsible for the regulation of the accounting profession.

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