Big Four gap: Why India lacks a home-grown Big Four despite a huge chartered accountant pool

India has more than 1 lakh registered chartered accountant firms, yet none has grown into a home-grown rival to EY, KPMG, Deloitte or PwC. Regulatory restrictions, limited access to capital and government tender norms have contributed to the scale gap, even as the Big Four’s combined India revenue is estimated at ₹51,000–52,000 crore in FY26. The analysis, by Aditya Laxman Jakki, a public policy consultant, appeared as an article in Swarajya.

Why Indian firms stayed small

India trains more chartered accountants than most countries, but it has not produced a home-grown audit or consulting firm that matches the global Big Four. In India, EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC operate through Indian partner firms and have a strong presence in statutory audit as well as advisory services.

The Big Four’s combined revenue in India was estimated at ₹38,500–38,800 crore in FY24. By FY26, that figure had risen to roughly ₹51,000–52,000 crore, from more than ₹45,000 crore in FY25. Consulting accounted for more than ₹25,000 crore of FY24 revenue, with technology consulting emerging as a major growth driver.

The roots of the scale gap can be traced partly to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. The law restricted CA firms from advertising their services beyond what the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) permitted and barred them from raising money from outside investors.

The restrictions limited the ability of Indian firms to build scale using external capital. An amendment to the Act in 2006 and rules notified in 2008 subsequently allowed partnerships with six other professions — company secretaries, cost accountants, lawyers, engineers, architects and actuaries.

Yet the Indian CA industry remains highly fragmented. Of 100,138 CA firms registered with ICAI as of October 2025, only 2,129 had six or more partners. ICAI data from 2022 showed that fewer than 1% of firms had more than 10 partners and only 10 had more than 50 partners.

In FY26, only 25 audit firms audited 10 or more listed companies, while 649 audited just one.

Key numbers behind India’s Big Four debate

Source:ICAI data

Government tenders add another hurdle

Government procurement has emerged as another challenge for smaller Indian firms. The 2025 edition of India’s Manual for Procurement of Consultancy Services noted that some government departments were setting minimum turnover requirements at five to 10 times the estimated cost of a consultancy assignment.

A Department of Expenditure review of consultancy tenders found that firms’ past experience was often given greater weight than the qualifications of the specific professionals proposed for a project. Some tenders also required firms to maintain more employees than the project actually needed.

The memorandum said such conditions “may unduly restrict competition” and asked departments to align tenders with the existing procurement framework.

Maharashtra adopted a different approach in 2023. It lowered the minimum turnover requirement to ₹15 crore for companies and ₹2 crore for NGOs and not-for-profits. The state also removed the requirement for firms to have prior public-sector experience.

Following the changes, more than 35 firms participated, compared with only a handful earlier.

ICAI disclosure push faces resistance

ICAI has also attempted to increase transparency around Indian firms connected with global networks.

Its Global Networking Guidelines, notified in February 2026, required CA and management consultancy firms to formally register their relationships with overseas networks. Firms were also required to disclose agreements, appoint nodal officers and submit annual information covering revenue, partners, staff and payments made to or received from overseas networks.

However, the global networks resisted disclosure of sensitive information, including royalty structures, technology-licensing fees and fee-sharing arrangements.

ICAI subsequently placed the guidelines on hold on July 15, 2026. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had also raised questions over the extent of ICAI’s powers in framing a framework with wider regulatory implications.

Mergers and CA Act changes could help firms scale

Some measures aimed at strengthening Indian firms have moved ahead. ICAI revised its rules on mergers of CA firms in 2024, and around 1,000 mergers were approved between February and August 2026. Ten networking structures and 18 management consultancy companies were also registered during the period.

The February 2026 Budget also included tax measures intended to support home-grown accounting and advisory firms.

ICAI is preparing amendments to the CA Act that could recognise groupings of firms, allow outside capital into Indian accounting firms and give CAs greater scope in consulting and advisory work. Any such changes would require approval from the government and Parliament.

The debate over India’s own Big Four therefore extends beyond the size of the CA talent pool. It also involves the ability of Indian firms to access capital, consolidate, compete for large government contracts and operate within a regulatory framework that allows them to build scale.