PwC India is weighing an overhaul of its consulting operations to align with a global plan to lessen the fragmented approach that marked the Big Four consultancy’s structure, which differed across countries. According to three senior partners in PwC India, there are early discussions on how the firm and its other member firms located in different regions can offer the same kind of consulting service, use the same methodology, and processes to advise a client.
This month, The Financial Times published a news report that PwC is overhauling its consulting business “in a bid to eliminate the sometimes disjointed service when its national firms work together, which bosses view as a disadvantage against more tightly integrated rivals”.
In fact, the FT report said that PwC UK was the first to start the process and will merge its risk and consultancy business. The deal advisory unit will remain separate, it said.
The proposed shift toward a global integrated consulting model seeks to standardize methodologies and technology platforms across borders.
The restructuring arrives at a charged time for the professional services sector. In India, firms are grappling with a cooling pipeline of deals linked to the West Asia war and the existential threat of AI.
PwC India did not respond to Mint’s queries.
While the audit practice remains untouched due to strict local norms, the changes in consulting represent an attempt to dissolve the silo mentality that has usually slowed cross-border interactions and work. For PwC India, the final adoption of these global standards rests with its local partnership.
PwC is the brand under which the member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd (PwCIL) operate and provide professional services. The PwC network is not a global partnership, a single firm, or a multinational corporation. Also, the PwC network consists of firms that are separate legal entities.
Uniform systems
“We are trying to be consistent globally. If one geography is rolling, advising clients on an ESG strategy, then a similar kind of advice should be available in other geographies as well. This will also help partners to work more swiftly across geographies and identify specialists even if they are not available in that country’s team,” said a senior partner.
Going ahead, even the technology platforms that will be used by the partners could be uniform across. “The problems today are global, and the clients are multinationals. Technology has become a big pivot, and clients want speed,” the partner mentioned above added.
PwC is one of the Big Four, a term used to describe some of the largest audit firms. The others in the group are EY, Deloitte, and KPMG. These companies are also consultants and in some of the cases may compete with the likes of Kearney, Bain & Co, McKinsey & Co., who are the bigwigs in the consulting sector.
PwC India, like other member firms, works independently and may adopt some of the global practices. There are about 1,000 partners in the audit and consulting company.
Another senior partner said there could be something like a global integrated consulting model (GICM) where PwC India or any other geography will follow the same methodology and processes while working with a client.
PwC India works across sectors, and some of the services it provides are business transformation, data analytics, risk and regulation, and technology consulting, among others.
Offering services in a new way
The others in the Big Four also keep rejigging their strategies with the aim of offering their customers a bouquet of services. The Big Four in India employ about 30,000-40,000 each.
At the beginning of April, Mint reported how AI and global wars are impacting consulting and audit firms. For instance, those in research and production services teams are more vulnerable, as AI can perform many of the tasks. However, the senior partners mentioned in the story pointed out that if there are any changes in the consulting segments, it will not have an impact on the number of employees.
- PwC India explores a unified global model to standardize international consulting services.
- The shift targets better competition against integrated firms like McKinsey and Bain.
- Audit divisions will remain separate and unaffected due to strict regulatory requirements.
- AI is currently replacing traditional research and presentation roles within consulting firms.
- Implementation depends on PwC India’s 1,000 partners.