Head of Tax for KPMG India breaks off to start his own advisory firm

Girish Vanvari, the former Head of the Tax practice for all of India at Big Four professional services firm KPMG, has broken off to launch an independent consulting firm by the name of Transaction Square. The boutique firm will offer services in the tax, regulatory, and business advisory domains. 

The Indian tax consulting market is currently at a crucial stage of its development. On the one hand, the major accounting and advisory firms, including the Big Four, are substantially ramping up their operations in their country, through a variety of means from large-scale talent-acquisition to the establishment of new service verticals.

On the other hand, trends in the global consulting industry are having a contradictory impact on the market, in that demand for consulting services is increasingly swaying towards smaller firms, which are often more specialised, more customised to individual needs, motivated to deliver, and, of course, much more cost-effective.

This latter trend has been facilitated by a third pattern across global markets, and particularly the Indian market — a boom in the number of startups. In 2015, the Indian government launched the 'Startup India' campaign, which includes provisions to simplify the startup process by helping raise funding and facilitating partnerships between academia and industry.

The current business environment in India is ideal for establishing a consulting startup, and Girish Vanvari has done just that. Vanvari, a Chartered Accountant and graduate of the prestigious Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in India, is now the founder of an advisory firm by the name of Transaction Square.

Professionally, stability has been the name of the game for Vanvari so far. He began his career in 2004 in the Tax vertical of Big Four accounting and advisory firm KPMG, and remained there for nearly 14 years —until March of this year. During his time at KPMG, he is credited with building the M&A Tax and Global International Corporate Tax practices for KPMG in India.

Vanvari worked on M&A deals with firms in a wide variety of sectors, including manufacturing, infrastructure, telecom, IT, energy & natural resources, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and a number of others. In addition, he helped devise market-entry strategies for a number of multinational corporations (MNCs) looking to integrate with India’s complex tax landscape.

His achievements at KPMG gained him the position of National Head for the Tax division at the firm by the end of his tenure, and he will hope to leverage both his experience and his credibility in the Indian market to attract business for Transaction Square.

The firm will work with entrepreneurs, households, MNCs and investors alike, offering financial services such as tax advisory, as well as strategy services for businesses. Although Transaction Square lays emphasis on regulatory and tax compliance, the firm will offer a variety of other services, including business planning & strategy, corporate restructuring such as M&As, divestment, funding, and even succession planning.

Another major area where the firm will be active is advising on insolvency and bankruptcy, a service which is seeing growing demand in India. Real estate, investment in infrastructure, and asset reconstruction will also feature in the firm’s portfolio. The names of Vanvari’s co-founders are yet to be disclosed, as they are in the process of exiting their current positions.

Commenting on his new firm, Vanvari said, “Indian and overseas conglomerates are betting big on India. Entrepreneurship is emerging strongly, be it startups, SMEs or big houses. In addition, the tax, regulatory and business landscape is changing rapidly. Thus, there is a need for a focused and agile firm that can help businesses navigate through complex issues.”