Services CA Firms should offer for driving exponential growth

• India’s entrepreneurial boom and business expansion are fueling demand for CA Firms.
• We spoke with the founders of prominent CA and accounting firms in India to uncover the key service areas that firms should tap for maximum growth.

Vaibhav Manek – Co-founder and Partner at KNAV

Vaibhav Manek co-founded KNAV, an accounting firm in 1999. What started in Mumbai has now expanded its operations to the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, India, Singapore, and the Philippines. It was also ranked as the top 300 CPA firms in the US.

Service lines that are going to make a splash in the upcoming years:

He states that there are vast opportunities beyond just bookkeeping and taxes, extending further up the value chain.

Those are:

Advisory

Advisory services are expected to grow by 25 to 30% in various countries. Particularly accounting advisory is the fastest-growing area.

KNAV is focused on 5 areas in Advisory;

• Client Accounting and Advisory
• Business Advisory
• Accounting advisory:
• Valuation Services
• Corporate Finance
• Risk Advisory

Audit

Audit services are projected to increase by 10 to 15%

Country-Level Audits: This includes local and international audits.

Special Purpose Audits: This includes internal audits, management audits, and forensics audits.

Financial Due Diligence

For investors, KNAV performs quality of earnings reviews and analyzes forecasts, projections, and financial statements to assess business viability and impact on deal valuation.

Tax

And Taxation is anticipated to grow by 15 to 20%.

Before filing any tax return, they prepare a detailed tax position paper. This document outlines the tax positions taken—whether deductions are claimed or not—and explains the reasoning behind each decision.

Devadatta Rajadhyaksha – Founder, Serendipity Fund Advisors

Devadatta Rajadhyaksha was the former Finance Controller at Kedaara Capital, one of the largest homegrown Private Equity Funds in India.

He also served as the CFO at Lumikai, a VC fund focused on the gaming sector.

After a decade in the sector, Dev started his own fund advisory service, Serendipity Fund.

When asked about India’s private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) scenario, Devadatta revealed some astonishing figures.

In 2020, there were only 650 registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in India. As of 2024, the number has more than doubled to 1,400 AIFs. Investor Commitments have also increased, from under INR 4 lakh crore 4 years ago to INR 11. 8 lakh crore in 2024.

Here is how this explosive growth is creating huge opportunities for finance professionals.

Valuation

Finance professionals with expertise in valuation techniques are crucial for supporting funds through pre-investment regulatory valuations and ongoing investor reporting.

Compliance

India’s regulatory landscape is investor-friendly but complex. So, to navigate SEBI reporting and FEMA applications, funds must focus on compliance from day one.

Fund administration

Fund administration is typically outsourced by PE/VC funds to specialized third-party providers.

Larger, established administrators dominate this space, but agile, homegrown administrators are emerging, offering competitive services.

Outsourced CFO services

“When a fund is in its initial stages, founders and general partners often do the heavy lifting on tasks that a CFO would typically handle,” Devadatta said.

So opting for outsourced fractional CFO services helps funds during their 0-to-1 journey, managing regulatory processes, fund documentation, and investor onboarding.

This allows General Partners to focus on fundraising and deal sourcing. They have the option to transition to a full-time CFO once the fund closes.

Girish Vanvari – Founder at Transaction Square

Girish Vanvari was with KPMG for 13 years, where he served as the national head of tax.

At the age of 46, he took the ultimate entrepreneurial leap and co-founded Transaction Square with four other founders in 2018.

In just six years, Transaction Square has expanded its footprint to over 14 cities in India and amassed more than 1,400 clients.

Transaction Square operates as a comprehensive accounting, tax, and regulatory firm. Here are the service areas where they have excelled, and where other CA firms or professional services firms could also thrive.

M&A restructuring expertise

Transaction Square has consistently ranked among the top five firms for the past five years in the M&A space, even surpassing a Big Four firm last year.

Family office services

In addition to M&A restructuring, Transaction Square has developed a strong capability in managing family offices. The firm addresses a wide range of needs beyond wealth management, including legal residence status (LRS), residency migration, trust formation, family charters, and family settlements.

Embracing ESG opportunities

“Over the next six months, we will be fully prepared to integrate ESG into our services. Currently, we handle aspects such as legal due diligence (LDR) and compliance, but there is a larger portion of ESG that we have yet to explore,” Girish stated.

Amarjit Chopra – Senior Partner at GSA & Associates LLP

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) slapped a whopping Rs 10 crore penalty on BSR & Associates in the Coffee Day case and debarred two auditors.

This has professionals in the auditing space reconsidering taking up similar assignments.

CA Dr. Amarjit Chopra was the chairman of NACAS, which was later replaced by NFRA. Additionally, he was appointed to bench 2 of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) disciplinary committee from 2018 to 2022.

He provides a glimmer of hope for CA firms unsure about pursuing audit work.

Demand for audit services prevails

For Amarjit Chopra, audit service is an inseparable aspect of his practice, whether statutory, internal, forensic, or otherwise.

In fact, for many firms auditing has been the cornerstone.

With today’s practitioners well-versed in various standards, including internal and forensic audit standards, they are more equipped than ever to handle these responsibilities.

Although Dr. Amarjit encourages CAs to not be afraid of taking up audit work, he has one piece of advice,

“Prioritize ethical conduct in your auditing practices. If you are unable to accept an audit due to a lack of independence or capacity, do not take it on.”

Vikas Kumar – Senior Partner & CEO at T R Chadha & Co. LLP

We have CA Vikas Kumar, the CEO of TR Chadha & Company. He has been part of the firm for nearly 31 years, starting his journey in 1991 as an article assistant.

He discusses their top-performing service lines in recent years, and what new areas of practice one should keep an eye on.

Overview of service verticals

Assurance 

This remains the backbone of their practice.

CA Vikas mentions that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has limited auditing assignments to certain CA firms. This has further boosted their workload in this area.

Additionally, even large listed companies are exploring options beyond the Big Four, contributing to a significant growth story for their firm.

Risk and governance 

TR Chadha & Company has made significant advancements in this area, focusing on enhancing governance frameworks for their clients.

Tax 

They continue to provide comprehensive tax solutions. The implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India has been a remarkable success. Focusing on GST has allowed them to cultivate a robust practice, and they believe it will continue to be a significant area of growth in the future.

IT audits

Technology also plays a crucial role in their service offerings. Professionals with knowledge of IT and the capability to conduct thorough IT audits are in high demand, creating endless opportunities in this field.

Expanding consulting services

TRC has also directed considerable attention toward consulting services, including due diligence and valuations.

As businesses pursue listing opportunities and mergers, particularly among SMEs, there is a growing demand for expertise in valuations and due diligence.

Gaurav Sukhija – Partner at Kirtane & Pandit

CA Gaurav Sukhija quit his role at Deloitte in 2017 to set up his firm PGSJ & Co.

The firm achieved remarkable growth between 2017 and 2023 and merged with Kirtane & Pandit.

Here are the specific service areas where he has witnessed success.

FP&A

His firm has always targeted startups, offering services including audits, and advisory work.

He recalls many startups approaching his firm for support in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), which involved managing GST, TDS, accounting, and other financial needs.

This became a core focus for them.

Due diligence services

To date, they have conducted valuations for over 500 startups and companies across various industries.

Many investors now consider them exclusive partners for due diligence and transaction advisory services, spanning locations like Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai.

Milind Limaye – Senior Partner at Kirtane & Pandit

CA Milind Limaye is a partner at Kirtane and Pandit a leading firm based out of Pune, Maharashtra.

They boast a team of almost 900 and a strong presence in several other cities in India.

Having spent almost two decades with the firm he discusses the firm’s most successful service lines.

Traditional audit and accounting

Kirtane & Pandit initially focused on traditional audit and accounting services. During this time, growth was slow, but the firm gradually built a solid foundation, especially as the demand for statutory audits increased.

IT and ESOP consulting

With the Indian economy opening up, the firm diversified its offerings in the 1990s.

They established KPIT Technologies, which became a major growth engine for the firm.

ESOP Consulting: They also established KP-ESOP Consulting, one of the first such consulting firms in the country.

Indirect taxation

The introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) in India presented a new service line in Indirect Tax for the firm, starting with VAT audits.

Eventually, GST led to a major pivot in their Indirect Tax practice, opening up further opportunities in this domain.

Internal Financial Control (IFC) and ICFR consulting

The new Companies Act introduced IFRS, IndAS, Internal Financial Control (IFC), and Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR). These regulatory changes led to consulting opportunities, which became significant profit generators for the firm.

Sustainability

While it’s not the fastest-growing just yet, this service line is definitely poised for growth over time, believes Milind.

Akshay Purandare – Partner at Kirtane & Pandit

One way for Indian firms to achieve significant growth is through mergers.

But we don’t see it happening very often.

However, a 12-year-old firm co-founded by Akshay Purandare took the leap to embark on an exciting new chapter in their journey.

They merged with Kirtane & Pandit, one of India’s largest and most reputed CA firms. Here is what service line they focussed on to reach this position.

Audit  

Audit practices have consistently provided a reliable and steady source of income, according to Akshay.

ICFR Implementation

When the Companies Act was enacted, it led to the demand for ICFR (Internal Controls over Financial Reporting) implementation. This became a particularly profitable service for them.

Compliance Services

New compliance regulations and emerging practice areas typically offer higher profit margins initially.

Naveen Nagaraj, Co-founder of M S N A & Associates LLP

CA Naveen Nagaraj was thriving as a Deputy Manager at ASA Bangalore, one of India’s top 10 firms.

But the entrepreneurial bug bit him soon enough and he co-founded M S N A & Associates LLP with three friends who are CAs.

He discusses their top-performing services

Internal Audit

Given the increasing scrutiny from regulators like The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), it’s crucial that you only undertake audit assignments with utmost diligence.

Many organizations also seek independent internal auditors to improve their processes.

There is a growing trend of organizations wanting their SOPs audited and built by professionals to enhance efficiency and compliance.

Traditional services

Traditional services include mainly Virtual CFO services and helping foreign clients establish their companies in India and later hand-holding them with the entire finance and accounts function.

This also includes accounting and tax consulting on a monthly retainer basis.

Building this fixed revenue stream is crucial for the long-term and short-term stability of the firm.

The demand for traditional services like tax consulting and litigation remains steady, providing a stable base for our practice.

Ad Hoc services

This includes tax consulting and opinions issued to clients, SEBI-related audits, Transfer Pricing documentation study, and Building SOPs for the clients.

SEBI-related matters

There is a significant demand for expertise in SEBI-related audits, Portfolio Management Services (PMS), Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), and registered investment advisors.

Virtual CFO services

Bangalore is a hub of startups, creating a demand for incorporation services, and startup advisory services.

Virtual CFO services are particularly in demand, where they handle end-to-end financial operations until the client has their own accounts function.

Wrapping up

Today, success is no longer exclusive to larger firms. Mid-sized and small CA firms are equally presented with significant opportunities.

With startups and SMEs going for IPOs now more than ever, firms that previously focused on smaller audits will now be required to tackle larger projects.

With innovations such as AI and blockchain transforming the industry, the potential for growth in this field is vast!