Srinivas flags excessive concentration

New Delhi: Corporate affairs secretary Injeti Srinivas has flagged concerns over excessive concentration and lack of competition in auditing work as he talked about the dominance of the Big Four audit firms. Srinivas also said the biggest responsibility of an auditor is to give a fair view of financial health and performance of a company.

His remarks about auditing firms also come at a time when many auditors are under the lens for alleged lapses in the wake of various corporate misdoings that came to light in recent times.

“A few companies (audit firms) account for bulk of the audits, may be 90 per cent. I read somewhere that at the global level, the Big Four account for more than 75 per cent of the audits,” he noted. Audit firms PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG are generally referred to as the Big Four.


“Is there excessive concentration? Is there lack of competition? If there is excessive concentration and lack of competition in a market economy, then it is a matter of concern. How do we deal with this?” he wondered. Srinivas said earlier chartered accountants were not looked at from this angle.