Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the world’s leading accounting, consulting and advisory firm, aims to have 10 per cent of its projected 225,000 worldwide employees based in India. Deloitte will be investing $100 million to strengthen its operations in the country, with India identified as among its top five priority markets.
Speaking with Business Standard, James H Quigley, the global CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, said: “India is our fastest growing market in the world. We came to India for the cost advantage, but we are now staying and expanding because of the quality of professionals and work that it provides.”
The growing importance of India is reflected in the fact that the firm’s workforce has already exceeded its target for 2010. “Two years ago, the firm had planned to put 12,000 employees in India by 2010. We had 8,000 people then, so it looked an aggressive target” said Quigley.
“But we are already over the target and have 15,000 employees currently. So, next year, we should have 18,000 employees in India and the aim is to have 10 per cent of our global professional workforce in India,” added Quigley.
The company is planning to increase its global workforce from 170,000 to 225,000 in the next few years, but wants to recruit 50,000 next year itself, given the high turnover of people in the industry. The firm grew by 30 per cent last year and expects to grow by over 20 per cent this year.
However, the firm’s revenues in dollar terms grew by only 1.8 per cent in 2010. And while Asia-Pacific, of which India is a part, grew by 8.5 per cent, China saw growth of 8 per cent.
The CEO has pushed for some key regulatory changes in India, the absence of which could become impediments to growth, he said. “We would love to see a restriction on the number of partners it takes to be removed. I don’t see how it makes a meaningful contribution to audit quality,” said Quigley.
Quigley is also against legislation being discussed on rotation of auditors. “There is conversation on draft regulation for auditor rotation, which we think should be set aside as it does not contribute to audit quality, but only increases cost.“
The CEO points out that he does not understand how this regulation will help to facilitate FDI in the country or how audit professionals will be stronger and better with such regulation. ”Such a regulatory regime brings complexity to cost without adding to meaningful quality,” he added.
Responding to whether self-regulatory bodies are enough to oversee the audit business, Quigley said: “I am not dismissive of them. But these self-regulatory bodies are most effective when there is independent oversight sponsored by the government. In some markets, self-regulatory is not effective and you have a government regulator, as in the US.”
