TFS Gulf 
- The Finance Story interviewed several US CPA firm leaders in India.
- Honestly, we expected the same AI doom narrative…offshore disruption, job cuts, and “end of the model”.
- Surprise, surprise: They came out as a major winner because of AI.
- The over-titled and overpaid professionals, however, are in for some bad news.
The AI doom narrative is way overblown
Let’s get this out of the way first.
Not a single Indian leader we spoke to believes AI will wipe out the offshore accounting model.
And no! It’s not because they are being optimistic…But because it’s structurally impossible.
As Vishal Agarwal, Executive MD at Citrin Cooperman India ($985Mn in revenue in 2025), puts it:
“If everything gets done by AI, then not only India, but even the U.S. firms would be wiped out. Clients would go straight to AI.”
The offshore model, he argues, was never built on one repeatable task.
It’s built on a stack of human judgment review, interpretation, communication, and client relationships sitting above the process layer that AI is currently automating.
Shrenik Shah, Managing Director at Armanino ($700 million in revenue in 2025), adds a key point, “Offshore teams are actively helping clients adopt AI tools.
At Armanino, every department now has Business Unit Digital Leaders focused on implementing AI and digital systems.
So offshore firms are not resisting AI.”
Where will AI impact India’s offshore accountants?
The ‘repetitive layer of offshore work’ is being automated faster than expected.
As Ishita Doshi, India Tax Practice Leader at PKF O’ Connor Davies, explains: “Earlier, we handled a large volume of individual tax returns. Now, all of them are automated. Even junior-level professionals are now expected to think critically.”
Vishal sees the same shift in data work. AI is reducing manual effort in mapping, transformation, and tax research.
Shrenik is blunt: “If today there are five people involved in one project, there may be three in three years.”
Ishita’s team already lives this reality. K-1 data entry, historically an hours-long seasonal nightmare, now takes minutes.
What does this mean for the offshore model?
The entry point of offshore value has moved up. It is no longer execution at scale…It is judgment, review, advisory, and client communication.
No one is firing anyone…
In fact, several firms are expanding aggressively not despite AI, but alongside it.
Citrin Cooperman India went from 300 employees in early 2024 to over 1,000 today. That’s 700 people added in two years, right in the middle of the AI boom.
Shrenik’s numbers reflect the same trend: Armanino India sits at 450 people, with 100+ roles open, targeting 550–600 by year’s end.
Ishita says their firm never hires recklessly. Their approach has now moved toward structured growth. No panic hiring, no panic firing.
Also read: Offshore U.S. CPA Firms new reality: Talent crisis, attrition, skyrocketing salaries
But Offshore firms are not chasing headcount
They are chasing capability.
- Firms are chasing stronger technical talent and moving toward experienced professionals, tech consultants, data scientists, FP&A talent, and people who can work alongside AI.
- India teams are shifting heavily into high-margin advisory roles: Digital advisory, risk advisory, transaction advisory
- BPO, or managed services: Outsourced accounting, outsourced CFO services, which is actually one of the fastest-growing teams in India.
- And last but not least, core tax and audit work.
In tax specifically, Ishita notes a clear shift: “As automation removes preparer-level work, firms are hiring seniors, supervisors, and managers who can review work, interpret regulations, and support US partners directly.
Vishal adds that while senior-level hiring may slow down for some time, he believes entry-level hiring will eventually ramp up again as firms continue scaling offshore operations.
Where will offshore operations be hit hardest?
This is the part nobody wants to say out loud. So let’s say it.
India’s offshore accounting industry ran a 3-year talent war from 2021 to 2024.
PE money was flowing in. US CPA firms were desperate for capacity.
So firms did what overheated markets always do: they threw money and titles at people to stop them from leaving.
The result is now visible…A generation of over-titled, under-skilled managers.
- Senior became Supervisor in 18 months
- Supervisor became Manager in 2 years
- Manager became Senior Manager without doing manager-level work
- Salaries inflated 30–40% at every level
The process layer they were hired to execute is disappearing….
Now, AI is exposing India’s skills gap crisis
Shrenik puts it sharply:
“I have interviewed multiple managers from big firms who don’t know the basics of fundamental tax work.
A manager with 10 years of experience with ₹40–50 lakhs doesn’t know basic US tax residency rules.
Why? Because their entire career was a checklist. They were promoted for reliability, not depth.
Unless they upskill in AI, business intelligence, and communication, they will be first in line for displacement.”
Firms are investing heavily in training. Because now it’s a question of survival.
Without it, the offshore workforce cannot operate alongside AI systems.
Also read: The career ceiling no one warns you about in offshore US CPA Firm
AI has changed the business model
A tax return that used to take 10 hours at $100/hour = $1,000.
Now AI completes it in 3 hours. You cannot just bill $300, right? It wouldn’t be possible to survive on the same old structure anymore.
Firms will increasingly be measured on outcomes, advice, and relationships, not time spent on an assignment.
Shrenik sees this clearly: “If today you are serving 180 clients over 1,800 hours, with AI, the client volume will 10x in three years.”
A very, very important highlight:
The Big 4 are now competing directly with mid-market firms, as AI allows faster, cheaper, scalable delivery.
So, mid-market firms can no longer compete on cost alone….They must compete on trust and value.
So, is India’s offshore accounting industry safe?
Directionally, yes.
As Ishita puts it: “There wouldn’t be any difference between the onshore and offshore teams in the near future.” Shrenik and Vishal echo the same view.
India doesn’t become irrelevant…India becomes the team.
