Accounting firm RSM's US arm plans to more than double India headcount in 3 years

By Sai Ishwarbharath B

BENGALURU (Reuters) - UK-based accounting firm RSM's U.S. arm is planning to more than double its India workforce to 5,000 over the next three years, a top executive said.

"The expansion is driven by the tremendous talent base in India. Compared to the last 10-15 years, the talent now is very superior in the market," Prasad Balakrishnan, India Principal of RSM US LLP, told Reuters.

The world's No. 6 accounting firm's U.S. arm employs 2,000 of its 17,000 employees in India, and is creating more consulting, audit and tax roles in the country to cater to its North American clients as a part of its global capability centre (GCC) expansion plan.

India's evolution from a low-cost back office location to a high-value innovation hub has encouraged many multinational companies to set up local offices and boost hiring, a trend that is expected to gain more traction in the coming years.

These local offices, or GCCs, support their global parents in daily operations, finance, research and development, and product development functions.

GCCs are expected to contribute 2% of India's GDP by 2030, as per ICICI Securities, compared to less than 1% currently.

RSM's larger rivals Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC - the "Big Four" of accounting - also operate GCCs in India and have a combined headcount of between 140,000-160,000, according to market intelligence firm UnearthInsight.

In addition to providing consulting, audit and tax services, RSM's India team is involved in developing artificial intelligence-powered co-pilots to help boost customers' efficiency.

"India is also a hub for all the internal research and development we take to our clients," Balakrishnan said.

(Reporting by Sai Ishwarbharath B; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Varun H K)