Consulting Network » 2009 http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:39:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Recession and the Big 4 – How are they dealing with it ? http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recession-and-big-4-how-are-they-dealing-with-it/835/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recession-and-big-4-how-are-they-dealing-with-it/835/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 06:08:37 +0000 Mohit http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=835 Recession has affected almost all of the industries in India. Big 4 firms  despite their might have been having a tough time dealing with the recession.

One chain of thought argues that big 4 firms should, to some extent, be sheltered from the current crisis. Their type of client, the large private and public multinational company, will invariably have a legal requirement for an audit. This type of client is usually large enough to withstand economic downturns so audit fees from such companies should, in general, remain stable.

However, a large chunk of the revenue for the big 4 firms come from the non audit services such as risk advisory, transaction advisory etc. On one hand transaction advisory services are facing a major crisis since the number of transactions in the Indian markets have gone down significantly, on the other hand, other advisory services under the risk advisory/business advisory umbrella are not selling, since most of the client are postponing their decision to hire big 4’s or for that matter any consulting firm for such services. Many of these services are being considered a luxury  by prospective clients in these recessionary times.

PwC has been affected even further due to their alleged involvement in the Satyam scandal, many of the PwC clients are reportedly seeking services of other big 4 biggies, Deloitte and KPMG are speculated to have grabbed a number of PwC clients.

Most of the big 4 firms have frozen or deferred hiring and are adopting a “wait-and-watch” policy.

However, there is always an opportunity in adversity, from a human resource prospective, the recession provides big 4 firms an opportunity to build their brand equity and tackle high attrition problem by supporting their employees in these tough times and passing on the least amount of pain on them. Employee oriented moves during recessionary times could help big 4 firms to build their brand and attract quality talent in the long run.  However, how big 4 firms respond to the human resource aspect in this recession will only become clear in the coming months.

Most of the Big 4 firms have stepped up their business development activities and are aggressively pursing prospective clients. These may be classified as challenging times for the big 4 firms, but at the same time recession is forcing many big 4 employees to hone their existing skills and acquire new skills.

To summarize, there is unrest in the sea, and how will the big fish respond? This question will only be answered in time.

Views presented in this article are those of the author and author alone and in no way reflect the views of the author’s employer or any connected parties.

You can reach the author on mohit.kant@consultingnetwork.co.in or contactus@consultingnetwork.co.in


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recession-and-big-4-how-are-they-dealing-with-it/835/feed/ 0 India Salary Hikes Will be Highest in Region http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/india-salary-hikes-will-be-highest-in-region/630/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/india-salary-hikes-will-be-highest-in-region/630/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:55:34 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=630 Salary increases in India this year is projected to be the highest in the Asia Pacific region at 10.8%, according to HR consultancy firm ECA International. The firm released its latest salary trends survey findings on Tuesday.

Even as almost a third of Asia Pacific-based companies surveyed plan to put salary increases on hold, and salaries in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have recorded the biggest downward adjustments, some Asian countries, including India, Vietnam and Indonesia, may still see big increases in 2009, the study predicted.

However, the survey points out that since the annual inflation figures are also significantly lower than what they were (oil and food prices have fallen from the highs last year), the real wage increases may not differ significantly from last year in some markets.

ECA regional director-Asia, Lee Quane, said, “There is still a huge demand for talent in India that is keeping pay increases high despite the current economic situation. While, in Vietnam and Indonesia, persistently high levels of inflation are keeping increases up.”

The survey stated that pay rises across Asia-Pacific are down 40% from hikes predicted prior to the global economic crisis and almost one-third of firms surveyed are planning to put salary increases on hold.

According to survey, pay hikes in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to average at 4.8% in 2009, a drop of 30% from last year’s 6.9% increases.

This is almost in tune with the salary increase surveys released earlier this year by other HR firms, which predicted a 7.5-8.5% salary increase in India and projected the increase to be the highest in the world.

India Inc will report an average salary increase in single digit at 8.2% or lower this year, down from 13.2% in 2008, another HR firm, Hewitt Associates, had projected.

Despite the dip to be witnessed, India will fare better than its immediate and extended neighbours as the expected salary increase estimates continue to be the highest in the Asia Pacific region and among the highest globally, according to the a global human resources consulting firm that conducted a survey across 480 companies across sectors.

Sandeep Chaudhary, leader, Hewitt’s performance and rewards consulting practice, said, “Expectedly, salary increase projections have dipped from previous years. Still, the Indian and Chinese economies are continuing to grow at greater than 7%, and salary increases in these markets will be among the highest in the globe. In fact, with inflation well below 5.5%, an average increase of 8.2% can be considered significantly healthy.”

Chaudhary, however, cautioned against taking such salary increases at face value as lower salary increases in the US or other developed economies is taking place at a much higher base, which implies that the highest salary increases in India will not match the developed economies in terms of salary levels.

Despite the downturn

 ECA International projected salary increases in India at 10.8%

Hewitt Associates projected average salary increase at 8.2%

However, since annual inflation figures are significantly lower, real wage increases may not differ significantly

Pay hikes in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to average at 4.8% in 2009

The average hike last year was 6.9%

Source: apakistannews


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/india-salary-hikes-will-be-highest-in-region/630/feed/ 1 Salary increments in India Inc to dip in 2009 http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/salary-increments-in-india-inc-to-dip-in-2009/497/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/salary-increments-in-india-inc-to-dip-in-2009/497/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:12:38 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=497 Sourced from Economic Times 

Salary increase projections for 2009 in India have dipped to 8.2% from an actual increase of 13.3% in 2008. But it continues to be highest in the Asia Pacific region and among the highest globally. These findings were revealed by the 13annual ‘Salary Increase Survey’ conducted across 480 companies by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company. The companies considered in this survey comprised foreign-owned , locally owned and joint-venture companies spanning across 20 primary industries and 23 sub-industries .

“When organisations actually release their salary increase budgets, a further dip by 1% or 2% (on the projected 8.2%) may be witnessed across some sectors,” reveals Sandeep Chaudhary, leader of Hewitt’s Performance and Rewards Consulting practice in India. According to the survey, it is also for the first time in six years that India will see single digit salary increases.

Given these projections, should the mood at India Inc be sombre or one of cheer? “While it is true that on one hand the dip in salary increase projection from 13.3% to 8.2% translates to a decrease of almost 38%, it is also a fact that all sectors are not going to be equally affected,” says Chaudhary. According to him, while sectors like retail, information technology, banking and insurance, and entertainment and communications are likely to witness the sharpest decline in terms of salary increments , the B2C (business to consumer) industry segment comprising sectors like telecom, pharmaceuticals, consumer durables and passenger cars that depend on domestic market penetration for growth are going to witness the highest salary increase.

“Moreover, the current GDP growth of India is higher than the GDP growth of most countries in south-east Asia (like Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore) North America and Europe. This, coupled with the fact that inflation is well below 5.5% in India, signifies that an average increase of 8.2% can be considered significantly healthy,” shares Chaudhary.

Chaudhary says that this particular survey, conducted in the backdrop of economic slowdown, is different from the preceding surveys as it has shown projections for India Inc by taking an uncluttered view of the economy. According to him, this has also helped in comprehending how different dynamics influence different sectors. “For instance, it has been established through the survey that sectors that had dependent economic ties with the US and sectors which are directly dependent on other industries for advertising revenue are among the worst hit in terms of growth and salary increase projections,” explains Chaudhary.


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/salary-increments-in-india-inc-to-dip-in-2009/497/feed/ 0 My Predictions for Telecom Industry in 2009 & 2010 by Mohit Agrawal http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/my-predictions-for-telecom-industry-in-2009-2010/406/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/my-predictions-for-telecom-industry-in-2009-2010/406/#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:49:26 +0000 Mohit Agrawal http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=406  

  1. Greater focus on data services and fewer tariff wars as focus shifts to managing EBIDTA margins
  2. Both the handset manufacturers and operators would focus on the handset OS platform
  3. Smart Phones likely to be the fastest growing category amongst handsets
  4. Handset vendors to aggressively push GPS
  5. Mobile RSS Feeds and Widgets to emerge stronger
  6. Social Networking (esp. IM+eMail) to be the driver of Internet adoption on mobiles
  7. Music, video, gaming and location to adopt the social networking platform which would in turn drive their adoption
  8. Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) to gain traction with Central Banks across the world coming out with regulations in favour of MMT considering the convenience and high penetration of mobiles
  9. Mobile applications to get mainstream
  10. Carrier Walled Gardens would disappear leading to better content development by independent VAS companies
  11. 4G technology debate to be decided in favour of LTE. WiMax would go down fighting but will still manage substantial installations as a support to 3G/LTE
  12. Consolidation amongst carrier and cross-border deals in emerging markets likely to give boost to M&A activities
  13. Mobile entertainment to grow as the cheapest source of entertainment during the tough economic conditions

For my other articles, please visit www.telecomcircle.com


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