Top four professional services of India– EY, PwC, Deloitte, and KPMG that might even be housing the nation’s biggest group of crorepati (millionaire) professionals. With even more than 400 partners added during the Covid-19 pandemic, the big 4 firms recently have 2,100 partners and executive directors in the nation who earn at least ₹1 crore every year, which includes bonuses. In a few cases, the salaries of select service line leaders and chief executives have even been around ₹8 crore to ₹10 crore every year. The Big Four firms have even seen the highest number of promotions in the previous year.
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“When Covid-19 first struck India, work increased, even as our cash flows were impacted. But we needed senior people who could handle more work. We focused more on promotions but had to go after competition, too, for hiring,” the chief executive of one of the firms stated.
To be ensured, the bean counters, tax advisors, and consultants who work with India Inc’s biggest companies have witnessed their salaries jump during the last 10 years as these firms grew their toplines by 17%-20% every year until the growth of pandemic.
“As to whether remuneration has gone up in the last 15 years, the answer to that is yes, but then one has to also factor in inflation and India’s growth rate, to put matters in perspective,” said Ketan Dalal, founder, Katalyst Advisors. “Linked to the growth is the jump in the number of partners in the Big Four firms; these firms have grown significantly over the years…”
The Big Four firms had faced immense cash flow issues last year amid the pandemic, but have since added scores of partners, rolled back salary cuts, and are ready to return to their pre-Covid-19 growth rate of about 20%.
The model of partnership in large firms even states that partners take home anywhere from 25% to 33% of the profits – more over and above their salaries.
“There is a catch that comes along with the high salaries,” the tax head of a large firm told ET. “We have to make sure that we recover the money that is due to us, or else part of the monthly salary is held back. So, the salary that I get in a year is probably what I get in 13-15 months,” he stated.
Market leader EY declared mid-year promotions and salary hikes last week,”…the remuneration drawn by partners is a very nuanced topic, and is impacted by capital contribution requirements, drawings policy, and even tax efficiency. Some firms have also linked collections to partner remuneration, and this may vary from one firm to another,” Dalal of Katalyst Advisors stated.
Partners at the Big Four mention that their salaries might look high, but they have to forego investment opportunities because of the restrictions placed on them by their firms.
“Due to conflict-of-interest issues, we can’t invest in the shares of so many good companies. Plus, employees in other industries get stock options. We just have to rely on our salaries to meet our expenses and save for the future,” one of the partners of the Big Four firms stated.
