Big 6 Accounting Firms Dominate India’s Corporate Audit Landscape

India's corporate audit market is experiencing unprecedented consolidation, with the so-called "Big 6" accounting firms-Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC, Grant Thornton, and BDO-increasing their stranglehold on India's largest listed companies.

Recent statistics point out that these firms are not continuing to increase their share of audit mandates in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) main board and the Nifty 500 universe.

As of March 2025, the Big 6 conducted 326 of the 483 audits of Nifty-500 companies-more than two-thirds of all assignments, reported Economic times. For all NSE main board-listed firms, the Big 6 handled 694 out of 2,069 audit assignments during FY25, or 34% of all assignments, an increase from 32% during FY24. The mean number of firms audited per firm has increased to 2.4 in FY25 from 2.27 in FY24, indicating continued consolidation of the audit industry.

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Also read: Auditor’s Duty: How Auditors Can Legally Report Fraud in Companies

EY has dominated the audit market by auditing 176 companies and second follows KPMG with 137 and third follows Deloitte. With more than 1,200 audit mandates scheduled to turn over within the next two years as a result of term limits on regulations, the competitive landscape could witness some changes, although the Big 6's grip seems firm. However, compared to the top three, the other 3 have less market share, but still manage in the top compared to other accounting firms.

As auditors, play an important role in maintaining the financial integrity and transparency among the business world values by detecting and reporting fraud in companies, their work is regulated by statutory rules, professional guidelines, and ethical codes, which render them pivotal characters in the war against corporate fraud.

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