Panel may be set up for creating local 'Big Fours'
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The government may set up a panel under corporate affairs secretary Deepti Gaur Mukerjee to prepare a framework to build an "enabling ecosystem" to create large home-grown chartered accountancy (CA) firms comparable to the 'Big Four,' people familiar with the development said. The plan follows a meeting by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Friday to deliberate on creating a system where CA firms would be encouraged to pursue expansion and growth, they said.The meeting was chaired by Shaktikanta Das, principal secretary-2 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi , and attended by senior officials from the PMO and the corporate affairs ministry , among others.The planned panel will likely suggest changes required to the extant policy and regulatory frameworks to enable small firms to scale up through both local and global tie-ups, the people said. It could also review impediments currently discouraging firms to grow in size.Currently, the Big Four-EY, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC-along with Grant Thornton and BDO dominate the Indian audit ecosystem "With policy support, regulatory momentum, and entrepreneurial drive, it is realistic that India could produce its own Big 4 in this decade itself," said Rakesh Nangia, founder & managing partner at Nangia & Co LLP."Indian firms must invest in quality, governance, and global presence, while regulators must enable visibility and innovation," added Dinesh Kanabar, chief executive at Dhruva Advisors.
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