Propping up CA firms with PE

Erstwhile PE-backed small firms in the US and UK are now competing with big firms for high-end clients and top talent

- ASHOK HALDIA

THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION in India, one of the most widespread worldwide, has been grappling with the challenges of a fragmented profession. The profession needs innovation, capacity building, technology, and infrastructure to match the imperatives of the Indian economy, which is fast-growing and highly integrated with the global economy. The Big Four in India are members of the global network, and the rest of the firms, with a couple of exceptions, are small-sized. The structural, legal and regulatory impediments being faced by Indian accounting firms in their growth and becoming global, have been debated for a number of years. Of the 1.8 lakh Chartered Accountant (CA) firms in practice, only about 60 firms have more than 20 partners. Constrained by resources, relatively larger firms have become members or associates of global networks rather than becoming big themselves or becoming Indian representation within the global network.