TFS Gulf 
- Over the last few weeks, we spoke with professionals at Big 4s, CA firms and founders building AI tools to automate various finance/tax/audit functions.
- One pattern kept repeating….Many Indian CA firms are still in the “We are evaluating AI” phase.
- And according to multiple insiders, it is going to cost them BIG TIME.
How this industry was built
For decades, the professional services market share has been predictably straightforward.
The Big 4 went after the big guys: large corporates, multinational clients, and winning complex mandates.
On the other hand, mid-sized / smaller CA firms built their entire fortune by serving India’s MSMEs / smaller startups.
Now
Threat? Big 4s want your clients
Why? AI has made Big 4 affordable overnight.
Post-2023, AI stopped being a trend and became infrastructure.
EY, KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, and Firms part of global networks began building proprietary AI agent platforms to overhaul their core service lines (audit, tax, and advisory).
The work that once justified a team of junior associates…is now increasingly handled by AI workflows/AI agents.
This has dramatically reduced delivery costs.
And suddenly, Big 4 firms can offer AI-enabled subscription models to MSMEs at ₹10,000–₹20,000 a month.
This is not fiction.
In mid-May 2026, Deloitte India’s Romal Shetty openly spoke about targeting India’s 75 million MSMEs and startups, a market Big firms had never aggressively chased before.
It’s not just the Big 4…Firms like Grant Thornton Bharat and a few other firms in India are aggressively embedding themselves into the startup and MSME ecosystem.
The upper tier of the profession is actively moving down-market!
Psychological shift among clients has started
A mid-market Chief Financial Officer (CFO) summed up the situation bluntly:
“If I can get a PwC or Grant Thornton opinion at the price of a mid-sized firm, why would I look anywhere else?”
According to Chirag Baid, ex-Big 4 professional and founder: The trust is slowly shifting from Individuals to Platforms!
Also read: Dear CA Firms, 950+ listed companies to change Auditors….Well, Big 6 wins
Indian CA firms relaxed in the face of AI?
Firstly…they are not.
Vijay Krishna, a founder building AI for India’s audit ecosystem, gave us proof: “Beyond engineering, I haven’t seen any profession trying to adopt AI as aggressively as the CA fraternity.”
Pranjal Garg, another founder of an AI/ ML powered Treasury Automation Software, tells us,
“CA firms that I have spoken to are genuinely interested in automating clerical, repetitive work. The stuff that interns usually handle.”
Another CA Firm Managing Partner told us, “As a firm, we’ve been investing in AI to transform our entire audit planning process, where one can feed the financials into AI and it maps out all the risks.
Automated invoice matching, PO, GRN, and risk mapping are some real use cases of AI that can save a lot of time.”
The curiosity is real,
But here’s the problem…
One founder bluntly told us: “Most firms think they are AI-driven because they use ChatGPT or Claude.”
He added, “CA firms in India are still not too keen on…AI workflows.”
And inside many firms, the same objections keep surfacing:
- “Clients trust us personally.”
- “We survived Excel and cloud computing. We’ll survive this, too.”
- “AI makes mistakes.”
In short? Most firms are still experimenting with prompts…but NOT rebuilding delivery systems around AI.
Also read: Ex-Big 4 Leaders, AI & Private Equity are going to disrupt Tax Advisory?
Also, AI is expensive
AI infrastructure costs money. Workflow tools, training, integration none of it is free.
The Big 4 can write a ₹50 crore cheque for AI infrastructure and not flinch. A 5-partner CA firm cannot.
Indian CA firms can’t access the PE capital route that US firms are using to fund their AI transition. They’re on their own.
So AI doesn’t level the playing field in India.
So what should CA firms do?
Yes, Big 4 is weaponising AI to become faster and cheaper.
But when an MSME signs up for a low-cost AI subscription with a large firm, what do they often get? A polished dashboard, Automated reports…But Access to a Partner…Nope!
And that is where small and mid-sized firms still have an advantage!
CA Firms should redesign themselves so that AI handles 60–70% of delivery and Partners focus on judgment, review, and client relationships.
Shift to standardisation: a “one firm, one voice” system:
- Shared knowledge base
- Consistent delivery across partners
- AI-backed insights layer
Fix the partner problem: For decades, partners built careers by becoming the definitive voice on FEMA, cross-border M&A, or indirect tax…That intellectual edge is being commoditised fast.
The partners most at risk are the deep subject matter experts who were never trained to think commercially.
The good news? Firms do not need to build proprietary code. The market is flooding with low-cost vertical AI tools, open-source LLMs, and free tools.
As one CA firm partner explained it perfectly:
“Now there are hundreds of audit tools available, including Assure AI and tools provided by ICAI, free of cost. The question is no longer whether technology exists. The question is whether firms are willing to implement it.”
Wrapping up…
The Big 4 are moving downmarket on volume and price.
They are NOT moving on relationships, local trust, founder-level access, and deep sector knowledge.
The firms that survive this will be platform-led, not partner-led.
Standardised delivery.
AI doing 70% of the work. The partner showing up for the 30% that actually needs them.
FAQs
Will AI replace CA firms in India?
No, but it will replace CA firms that don’t adapt.
AI is automating research, compliance workflows, drafting, and first-level analysis.
Firms that use AI to free up time for deeper client relationships will survive.
Firms that don’t will lose clients to Big 4 firms offering AI-powered services at MSME-friendly prices.
What AI tools can Indian CA firms use?
Beyond the big names like ChatGPT and Claude, India-specific tools are emerging for GST automation, invoice processing, and audit workflows.
Open-source LLMs are also a cost-effective option.
The key is moving beyond occasional ChatGPT prompts to actually rebuilding workflows around AI.
This is what we’re hearing on the ground. But we know we don’t have the full picture. What are you actually seeing? What’s working?
