India is weighing reforms to build homegrown audit and advisory champions and reduce dependence on the global “Big Four” — Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG.
Measures under consideration include easing advertising restrictions for chartered accountants, lawyers, and company secretaries;
permitting multi-disciplinary partnerships; and limiting foreign advisory firms from bidding for government contracts.
Officials say the goal is to level the field for Indian firms that remain fragmented despite scale and talent, while international networks dominate high-value work, auditing roughly 67% of Nifty 500 companies in FY24.
An inter-ministerial group at the Prime Minister’s Office is reviewing amendments to procurement rules and the Companies Act to enable integrated practices spanning CAs, lawyers, actuaries, and company secretaries — aligning with global best practices and “Make in India.”
Supporters call the move overdue, though skeptics argue regulatory tweaks must be matched by investments in technology, data analytics, and audit-quality systems to compete globally.
The government is also urging ICAI and ICSI to upgrade training in AI, robotic process automation, and other advanced tools.
Experts further recommend reassessing reliance on global research/analyst providers — Gartner, IDC, Forrester, Frost & Sullivan, and Canalys — to create space for competitive Indian research firms.
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