The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is developing a “strategic digital platform” aimed at enhancing professional networking and assisting numerous accounting firms in exploring mergers and partnerships to facilitate their growth.
ICAI President Charanjot Singh Nanda shared with ET that this networking portal is a pivotal step toward fostering the establishment of major home-grown firms comparable to the Big Four, aligning with the government’s vision. Currently, the audit landscape in India is predominantly controlled by the Big Four firms—EY, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC—alongside Grant Thornton and BDO.
A report from primeinfobase.com indicates that these firms have managed assignments for 326 out of the 486 Nifty-500 companies as of March 2025. The ICAI portal is expected to empower accounting firms, particularly those that are small to mid-sized, to share resources, capitalize on complementary strengths, and broaden their practice areas and service offerings.
A primary aim of the portal is to “bridge geographical and informational gaps, particularly benefiting chartered accountants located in remote areas,” as noted by Nanda.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi previously emphasized the need to establish at least four significant domestic firms to be ranked among the world’s top eight. In June, the Prime Minister’s Office convened a meeting to discuss strategies for encouraging CA firms to pursue expansion.
Nanda also mentioned that ICAI is in the process of finalizing guidelines for overseas networking for domestic CA firms, allowing them to collaborate with global counterparts and set up operations in India, as reported by ET.
