Deloitte Global CEO comments on India's role in the global economy
In light of its rapidly growing economy, Big Four accounting and advisory firm Deloitte’s Global CEO Punit Renjen has indicated that India is the area of primary focus for Deloitte in the near future, branding the few decades to come as the potentially “Asian century” or even the “Indian century.”
Renjen has spent nearly three decades – the entirety of his professional career – at Deloitte, during which time he has gradually ascended through the senior ranks of the organisation. He was appointed as Global CEO at the firm in 2015, and has recently won a second term at the helm of the organisation.
In an interview with the Economic Times, Renjen has elucidated how India is set to become a major economic centre in years to come. India records the highest GDP growth rate across the globe, and is expected to become the second largest economy in the world by 2050, behind only China.
Given what Renjen describes as a “subdued” global economy – brought about by the rise of populism and the trade wars – he expects Asia and more specifically India to become a hub of economic growth. As a result, Deloitte’s focus is heavily on investing in the Indian market, looking to capitalise on this growth story.
“We are very bullish in India and it is one of our fastest growing regions. We have 45,000 individuals in India. We talked about the demographic dividend that India will get and the ability to take advantage of industrialisation 4.0, given our tech base, the opportunity in India is tremendous,” says Renjen.
His actions precede his words, given that Deloitte India recently announced its intentions to double its presence in its Hyderabad innovation centre from 40,000 professionals to 80,000. However, the changes being introduced to Deloitte India extend beyond the size of the staff as well.
Much like other Big Four firms, Deloitte’s objective in recent years has been to expand the role that advisory services play in their overall operations. India’s economy is transforming rapidly in tandem with industry 4.0 technology, and several firms are looking for support to help integrate technology and remain relevant.
Digital services are therefore becoming a major area of focus for a number of consulting firms, while the auditing segments appear to be shifting out of focus. According to Renjen, Deloitte has been more successful than other firms in effecting change of this nature.
“In fact, there is nothing unique about the strategy that we're executing but the difference between us and everybody else is that we've outgrown our competition globally, and in India. We are the largest professional services firm globally, bar none, and the reason for that is not because of strategy but good execution,” he said.
