Big Four on the lookout for expertise in forensic sciences and cybersecurity

The Big Four accounting and advisory firms appear to be on the lookout for talent in the forensics department, as is evident from their active participation in the latest round of placements amongst graduates of the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University (GFSU) held in Gandhinagar recently.

Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC have been actively engaged in developing a strong pool of talent in their respective advisory practices in the Indian market. This strategy has led to strong competition in recent times, involving the poaching of large groups of partners and their teams from each others’ rosters.

The demand for personnel is driven not only by growth in demand for advisory services in the country, but also by significantly more diverse expectations from consulting firms. Where firms were traditionally required to offer strategy support, clients now expect end-to-end involvement from strategy to implementation.

Cyber security and digital forensics now appears to be among the range of specialisations in which the firms are now building capabilities. As the Indian market digitalises rapidly, highly sensitive data is now more vulnerable than ever in light of inexperienced online users. The Big Four themselves have been victims of cyber attacks in recent times.

As a result, EY, PwC and Deloitte were high on the list of firms hiring from the GFSU in the latest round of placements, representing the consulting industry among a range of tech and telecommunications firms including Reliance Jio and L&T Infotech, as well as financial institutions such as Axis Bank and HDFC Bank.

In addition to the multisectoral interest, the primary recruiters at the event were, ofcourse, forensics and cybersecurity firms. According to the university, the highest salary package offered at the event was 11 lakh per annum. “I was interested in the field and updated myself regularly that paid off”, said Amey Pokale, who will now engage in penetration testing and cyber auditing for Big Four accounting and advisory firm Deloitte.

Pranav Pahat, another student who was hired by EY indicated that he expected this demand from the professional services sector, stating that “against requirement of about 1 lakh professionals, we don’t even have quarter of that number. I believe that for the next few years, the fields such as cyber security audit and penetration testing for both computer and mobile can be a good career option.”

Director General at GFSU JM Vyas meanwhile added that, “the requirement (for forensics experts) is coming from very diverse fields and for the past few years, the global management consultancy firms are also visiting us to hire the cyber security experts.”