Government Wants Antitrust Review Of Big Four Accountants

  • The CCI needs to conduct a survey or an investigation to assess whether PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG are abusing their dominant position in the Indian audit market
  • The Big Four do auditing work for almost 60% of the top 500 companies that trade on the NSE

The government wants the country’s antitrust body to assess whether the so-called “Big Four” auditing firms and their affiliates are hurting competition in any manner, a senior government official told reporters.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) needs to conduct a survey or an investigation to assess whether the Big Four that include PwC, EY, Deloitte and KPMG are abusing their dominant position in the Indian audit market, said the official, who spoke about the matter on condition of anonymity.

You might also be interested to read: SEBI Raises The Exit Barrier For Auditors

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which holds that view, is yet to send any formal request to the CCI to probe the matter, said the official.

“If you look at the top 500 companies in India, they are totally dominant and the Big Four seem to be sharing the work … whatever be the reason there seems to be entry barriers,” the official told reporters.

Source: Livemint

Comments are closed.