Indian Big Four forced to ‘live in the past’
Firms still not allowed to update brand names
The Big Four operating in India are still being forced to use pre-merger
names or adopt different names to their international brand names in what they
have labelled a ‘protectionist move’.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is still known as its pre-merger name of Price
Waterhouse dating back to 1998, while Deloitte operates under a name which is
even older, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, dating back 16 years. KPMG is called
BSR & Co, while Ernst & Young carries out audits through a local
business called SRB.
The firms claimed the ban on using their international brand names is part of
a web of ‘protectionist’ restrictions that stifle foreign entrants and protect
the local audit profession from genuine competition, the FT reported.
David Gardner, head of public policy at KPMG, says his firm’s Indian audit
operation had to choose a name with no obvious connection to KPMG.
‘It’s useful for large Indian companies to have well-known international
names rather than a set of initials no-one’s ever heard of,’ Gardner said
He claimed it was an ‘anti-competitive measure’.