Scramble for CAS sparks pay hikes, retention steps

In the engine rooms of finance, chartered accountants have always had a special place. Now, they are more valuable than ever before.

- Devina Sengupta

Top professional services companies and dedicated CA firms are offering pay hikes of as much as 50% for lateral hires, multiple industry executives said. Plus, on offer are options to work in consulting divisions if auditing and taxation become too cumbersome, and training in artificial intelligence-led programmes to retain CAs who are trained to sift through company details with a hawk eye.

Rising compliance requirements in a growing economy are fuelling demand for those well-versed in goods services and tax (GST), corporate taxes, initial public offerings (IPOS) and audit work.

Even as long work hours and stress prompt many to jump ship, employers cannot freely dial-up hiring as in other sectors, since only a limited number of candidates qualify to be CAs every year. The result: Every industry is scrambling to hire CAs, led by financial institutions, startups, and global capability centres.

"With the economy opening up, compliance needs have shot up as companies now are working on both domestic and international clients. Behind each IPO of a mid-sized firm, there is a team of 30-40 CAS working on the listing," said Ashok Shah, founding partner of NA Shah Associates, that offers auditing, accounting services and employs 100 CAS working alongside 400 trainees who are yet to get their degree. "The Big Four often recruit our talent at 40% hikes when it would have been 25% a year ago," Shah said.