PwC India Launches Connected Cybersecurity Solutions Centre in Bengaluru to Secure Smart Factories, Critical Infrastructure & Emerging Tech

• A first-of-its-kind lab and delivery centre that brings together OT, IoT, hardware testing and AI-led monitoring under one roof.

PwC India, on Wednesday, announced the launch of its Connected Cybersecurity Solutions Centre (CCSC) in Bengaluru, a step further in the firm's journey of building and securing the future of technology. Built around the theme "Securing the connected ecosystem," the Centre is designed to help organisations defend smart factories, connected products, critical infrastructure and emerging technology environments against an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape.

The CCSC houses two purpose-built zones — a Product Security Operations Centre (Product SOC) and a Hardware (Product) Testing Centre — that together replicate real-world environments across smart factory, EV charging, smart grid, drone, smart city and medical device use cases. Through interactive demos, accelerated proofs of concept, co-creation workshops and live attack-and-defence walkthroughs, clients can experience capabilities first-hand and seamlessly transition from demonstration to delivery.

Commenting on the launch, Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India said, "The way our clients build, operate and grow is being fundamentally redefined by technology — and so is the way we, at PwC, choose to show up for them. The Connected Cybersecurity Solutions Centre is more than a lab; it is a statement of intent. It reflects how deeply technology, engineering and innovation are now woven into the fabric of our firm — from the assets we build, to the platforms we run, to the way our people solve problems. As emerging technologies reshape every industry, we want our clients to see a firm that doesn't just advise on transformation, but lives it."

The Centre is powered by PwC's proprietary suite of cyber accelerators, including Smart Product (IoT) Shield, Smart Factory (OT) Shield, the Technical Compliance Management System (TCMS), the Cyber Nerve Center (Fusion Centre), the Quantum & Crypto Service Platform, Digital Twin, Digital Assets (Blockchain) and Next-Gen Connectivity (5G) use cases. These solutions are unified by a common digital backbone of AI/ML, ELK, Edge Computing, Blockchain, PKI and Confidential Computing — enabling clients to stay secure across every stage of the product lifecycle, from R&D and design through production, after-sales and end-of-life.

"Cybersecurity decisions today are made at the speed of business, and our clients need partners who can move with them — from boardroom strategy to a working proof of concept on the shop floor. The CCSC is built precisely for that. Clients can walk in with a problem and walk out having seen their use case demonstrated, tested and validated on real hardware, real OT and real IoT environments. This dramatically shortens the journey from insight to impact, helps de-risk transformation programmes, and gives our clients far greater confidence in the security posture of their connected products and operations," said Siddharth Vishwnath, Partner and Leader – Risk Consulting, PwC India.

The CCSC features 11+ live demo stations spanning ransomware, lateral movement, PLC logic manipulation, SCADA tampering, GPS spoofing, CAN bus attacks, Bluetooth and RFID exploits, and rogue Wi-Fi takeovers — paired with PwC India's detection, monitoring, response and remediation capabilities.

The launch of the CCSC marks another deliberate step in PwC India's evolution from a professional services firm that advises on technology to one that is increasingly building and securing the future of technology — designing, engineering and owning the platforms behind its client outcomes. The Centre's accelerators — Smart Product Shield, Smart Factory Shield, TCMS, the Cyber Nerve Center, the Quantum & Crypto Service Platform and others — are proprietary platforms built, run and continuously enhanced by PwC's own engineering and product teams. Looking ahead, the Centre will serve as the central hub of an interconnected network of PwC labs — including the Experience Centres and the Gurugram Centre — evolving into a Connected Security Platform characterised by interconnected intelligence, zero-touch orchestration and cyber-autonomous infrastructure.

Fake Reviews of Health, Wellness Products Deter Over 42% Shoppers from Making Purchases: PwC Report

PwC India has released a report unveiling insights on the evolving dynamics of e-commerce in India, particularly focusing on the shopping behaviour of consumers in tier 2 and tier 3 regions. Titled "How India shops online: Consumer preferences in the metropolises and tier 1-4 cities", the report encapsulates comprehensive research that aims to reshape the trajectory for businesses operating in India's burgeoning digital marketplace.

45% of the respondents look at the ratings and reviews before shopping, said the PwC report. 37% of Urban dwellers accept that fake customer reviews are a key barrier for using other platforms in the electronics category.

The report is based on an online survey of 2,100 people, 100 qualitative interviews, and 400 in-person interviews across India with leading experts and industry partners. The insights derived from the report highlight the similarities and differences in the purchasing habits, choices and mindsets of online shoppers across the country.

Some of the key findings of the report include the following:

• 50% of consumers in metros and tier-1 cities value quick delivery, while for 54% of consumers in tier-2, 3 and 4 cities, deals and offers take precedence.
• With increasing financial independence, women's shopping behaviour shifted from social to individualistic across geographies as per our survey.
• Fake reviews of health and wellness products deter over 42% of tier-2, 3 and 4 cities' shoppers from making purchases in this category. They also prefer buying these products online since there are concerns related to the authenticity of these products in brick-and-mortar stores.
• More than 60% of our respondents preferred to shop using an app rather than using any website. There was a clear preference for marketplace apps since they cater to many categories.
• YouTube emerged as a clear winner when it comes to a reliable platform (discovery. information, usage experience and unboxing videos) for making buying choices.
• Interestingly, Gen Z prefers cash on delivery (CoD) in tier-2, 3 and 4 cities.

This report aims to understand the pulse of India's diverse consumer base and provide insights into their behaviour. 

Beyond the urban landscape, a new trend is rapidly unfolding in India – tier-2, 3, and 4 cities – where aspirations have begun to surge, and shopping habits are undergoing a transformation.

Average basket size based on last purchase

Average basket size based on last purchase

Today, consumers from rest of India are dedicating more time to shopping, with order volumes in tier-2 and 3 cities expanding by more than 0%3 compared to previous years. As India’s e-commerce narrative evolves, it is crucial to observe these behavioural changes.

The report also elucidates the disparities in e-commerce shopping patterns between urban and rural India. A significant shift is observed in the shopping behaviours of consumers from tier 2, 3, and 4 cities, compared to their urban counterparts. While urban dwellers are enticed by perennial discounts and convenience of online shopping, consumers from rest of India regions are driven towards online shopping by factors such as limited product availability and stockouts in local offline stores.

The preference of Apps

Over 60% of surveyed respondents prefer shopping via mobile apps due to ease of navigation, user-friendly interfaces, and vernacular support, highlighting the importance of app-based platforms in India's e-commerce landscape.

Social Media Influence

Social media platforms play a pivotal role in driving product trials, with 62% of users trying products after seeing them on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Urban and rest of India consumers exhibit differing preferences in social media channels for product discovery and trials.

Payments Preferences

Mode of Payment

While both urban dwellers and rest of India consumers display comparable acceptance of UPI payments, cash on delivery remains the preferred option among the latter to minimise fraud risks. Generation X from rest of India regions prefers card transactions for mid-high value purchases, citing transaction safety as a key factor.

Category Preference 

Categories purchased

The report delves into specific category preferences among consumers, highlighting varying trends in fashion, sports and fitness, electronics, home and kitchen, beauty and personal care, health and wellness, and grocery segments. In these categories, urban dwellers prefer online shopping for its quick delivery which meets their demand for instant gratification, even if it means paying a premium. In contrast, Rest of India consumers are more focused on finding the best deals and discounts online.

The report aims to help businesses not only increase market share and revenue but also make a positive difference in the lives of millions of consumers in India. By embracing empathy, businesses can tap into the human side of e-commerce and unlock the potential of a nation on the cusp of greatness.

PwC India Partners AI-powered CLM Sirion to Transform Enterprise Contract Management

PwC India announced their strategic partnership with Sirion, a leading AI-powered Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) enterprise, which aims to transform and streamline the contract management processes for businesses across industries. This collaboration will combine Sirion's CLM and AI technology with PwC India's consulting expertise to provide clients with enhanced efficiency while reducing risks as well as driving innovation in the end-to-end contract lifecycle.

Leveraging Sirion's deep focus on AI in the CLM landscape, this partnership will empower organisations with intelligent contract management solutions enabling them to make informed decisions, enhance compliance, and ultimately achieve larger business goals in today's dynamic and competitive landscape. The collaboration harnesses the power of AI to transform contract documents from static into dynamic, changing how organisations manage their contracts and extract value from them.

Speaking on the partnership, Vivek Belgavi, Partner & Leader – Alliances & Ecosystems, PwC India said, "PwC India prides itself on driving transformative business solutions. Aligning with Sirion, we're set to deliver unparalleled expertise in contract management, fostering a new level of efficiency and strategic impact for our clients."

"Our AI-driven solutions, combined with PwC India's deep market understanding, sectoral insights, and global presence, will bring about a new era of contracting comprised of streamlined contract processes and access to strategic, data-informed decision-making across enterprises," said Puneet Bhakri, Global Head of Alliances, Sirion. "Further, we’ve chosen to partner with PwC India to help create awareness on the need to strategically build strong, enterprise-level CLM processes. We look forward to working together to take organisations beyond basic contract repository functions and into a world where AI-driven contract management helps them extract maximum value from their business relationships.”

Ankur Jain, Partner & Leader – Contracts and Compliance at PwC India stated, "This partnership reinforces and supplements PwC India's strengths in the contracts and compliance space. By combining PwC India's robust industry expertise and CLM Transformation experience with SirionLabs' cutting-edge AI-enabled platform, we are poised to reshape the landscape of contract management for businesses."

He added, "We are committed to helping clients derive greater value from their commercial and legal contractual arrangements. We believe that effective obligation management is a key driver in minimising value leakages and enhancing overall contract performance. In the first phase, we will focus on power, infrastructure, real estate, logistics, energy and utilities as a sector where there are defined use-cases on revenue and cost assurance as well as EPC contract management."

This collaboration aims to enhance legal, sales, procurement, and finance operations by integrating a complete full-lifecycle contract management system. By eliminating inefficient 'shadow processes' and siloed work, it will allow employees to focus on strategic aspects of business that propel growth and efficiency.

The Big-4 Accounting Firms Admitted to Violating Rules on Audit Independence Hundreds of Times

The so called "Big Four" accounting firms —Deloitte, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), EY (Ernst & Young), and KPMG — have admitted hundreds of violations of regulations designed to protect the independence of their audit work, reported the Financial Times (FT).

This information comes after the introduction of new disclosure rules in the US by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), an audit inspector of the US established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies.

The FT report said that confessions by the Big-4s come as the PCAOB urges companies and investors to pay greater attention to the findings of its annual inspections of audit firms, the latest round of which are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

US regulators require audit firm staff and their immediate family to make thorough financial disclosures, for example of their investments, and they ban employment and financial relationships with audit clients that could impair the firm's independence.

Under the disclosure, PwC said that it had identified 129 breaches of independence rules affecting 74 clients and PCAOB inspectors had found a further one themselves while inspecting audit work in 2022. The figures were included in an update to PwC's audit quality report, published on its website.

Citing a person familiar with the situation at PwC, the FT report said, "one example was the spouse of a staffer (PwC) holding a cash balance on payments app Venmo while PwC was auditing Venmo's parent company PayPal.

Notably, PwC affiliates served as independent auditors of Satyam Computer Services when the report of scandal in the account books of Satyam Computer Services broke. Satyam was an IT services company that once had Fortune-500 clientele, which later merged with Tech Mahindra.

Deloitte had told PCAOB inspectors of 129 breaches across 78 clients in 2022 affecting approximately 3% of its US audits and 107 across 53 clients in the 2023 inspection cycle.

According to the Deloitte, the most common instances of non-compliance were "related to financial relationships and employment relationships of approximately 145,000 professionals monitored".

"I would characterise them as technical violations," said Dennis McGowan, vice-president of the Center for Audit Quality, Deloitte.

In June 2023, Deloitte resigned from India's Byju's statutory auditor midway saying that the financial statement of the edtech company for FY22 was long delayed.

EY disclosed that it had found independence violations affecting 3% of its audits in 2022.

KPMG is the only Big-Four firm not to have disclosed its figures, which will become public in the PCAOB's forthcoming inspection reports for 2022. The PCAOB decided last year to begin routinely including data on independence violations.

Big Four audit clients are what arguably make the largest audit companies in the world worth working for. A staggering 100% of the Fortune 500 are audited by one of the Big Four accounting firms.

Early this month, India's National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has also started investigating audit and non-audit services provided by the Big Four and other firms to clients. NFRA had raised concerns about conflict of interest and independence issues, leading to disciplinary actions. Violations include exceeding the revenue limit for non-audit services and breaching the cap on revenue from a single client.

PwC India and Workiva Announce Strategic Alliance to Help Indian Enterprises for Automating Risk and Compliance Functions

PwC India today announced a strategic partnership with Workiva (NYSE:WK), a leading cloud platform for assured integrated reporting to meet increasing demands in India for accurate and transparent disclosures and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC).

Enhancing customer experience is at the heart of this alliance. Combining PwC India’s subject matter knowledge and experience in reporting as well as GRC with Workiva’s fit-for-purpose solution, can help Indian enterprises enhance stakeholder confidence through greater consistency, accuracy, timeliness and ownership over their reports and operations covering financials, ESG, audit, risk, controls, policy and other local regulatory compliances. This will be achieved by connecting people, processes, and data within Workiva’s unified SaaS platform for reduced risk, increased control, enhanced collaboration, and ultimately giving time back to the teams for more rewarding work.

Sivarama Krishnan, Partner & Leader - Risk Consulting, PwC India said, “A strong GRC strategy can be a strategic asset that drives business performance. By embedding management mechanisms that proactively identify, measure, prioritise and manage risk, leaders can gain valuable insights they need to make informed decisions. Workiva’s technology solutions will complement our full range of integrated control, compliance and certification capabilities across all sectors.”

Erik Saito, SVP & General Manager, EMEA & APAC of Workiva said, "Our strong partnership with PwC goes a long way. Our expanded alliance with PwC India brings great synergy into the India market as we help organisations navigate reporting challenges and implement best practices for an optimised and sustainable result. Technology can help financial reporting, ESG and GRC teams work together more efficiently to produce assured integrated reports on the timelines that stakeholders are demanding. Rather than choosing software that addresses only financial reporting, ESG or GRC, Workiva is a platform that all three teams can use. Through PwC India, we bring this integrated ecosystem to life."

Speaking on the partnership, Vivek Belgavi, Partner & Leader - Alliances & Ecosystems, PwC India said, “Workiva is a great addition to PwC India’s expanding alliance ecosystem to help empower businesses in their decision making process by delivering complete control over data across outputs with a visibility into the entire GRC process, from early risk identification to final reports.”

About Workiva

Workiva Inc. (NYSE:WK) is on a mission to power transparent reporting for a better world. We build and deliver the world’s leading cloud platform for assured integrated reporting to meet stakeholder demands for action, transparency, and disclosure of financial and non-financial data. Workiva offers the only unified SaaS platform that brings customers’ financial reporting, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) together in a controlled, secure, audit-ready platform. Our platform simplifies the most complex reporting and disclosure challenges by streamlining processes, connecting data and teams, and ensuring consistency. Learn more at https://www.workiva.com.

PwC India and Zoho Announce Strategic Alliance to Enhance Digital Transformation Across the Technology Ecosystem

Today, Chennai-headquartered global technology company, Zoho announced a strategic partnership with PwC India. This alliance brings together Zoho's product portfolio of over 55 products with PwC's proven expertise in driving digital transformation strategy through advisory and consulting services. Through this partnership, PwC India and Zoho will help medium to large enterprises in the country, accelerate their digital transformation journey, enabling them to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Speaking on the partnership, Vivek Belgavi, Partner & Leader – Alliances & Ecosystems, PwC India said, “Zoho is a great addition to PwC India’s expanding alliance ecosystem aimed at technology and digital transformation landscape. Our joint value proposition with Zoho marks an important step towards shaping the future of digital transformation, as we aim to offer the most relevant and agile transformation solutions to drive growth and success for our clients. With Zoho's robust product portfolio and our sectoral and technology expertise, we are in a position to empower organisations in their transformative journeys, delivering human-led, tech-powered innovative solutions.”

Shivendra Singh, Partner – One Consulting, Zoho Alliance Lead, PwC India adds “We are delighted to embark on a transformative partnership with Zoho, driven by our shared vision of empowering our clients in their digital transformation journey. By leveraging Zoho's comprehensive suite of products, we plan to modernise operations and unlock higher efficiency for our clients. With the ability to customise, streamline and automate processes across functions, we are confident that our collaboration will provide strategic solutions that drive tangible results and propel our clients towards sustainable growth. Together, we are well-placed to deliver the future of technology transformation by solving complex client problems.”

“Zoho's partnership with PwC India is an extension of its larger strategy to leverage its SI partners' solutioning expertise to offer industry-specific tailored solutions for enterprises, built on Zoho's technology platform. We are confident that our customers will benefit from the breadth and depth of Zoho’s offering coupled with the industry expertise of PwC. We plan to expand our partnership with PwC to other geographies in the coming years,” said Bishan Singh, Head - Channel Ecosystem, Zoho Corp.

PwC India and Zoho will focus on providing clients and businesses with bespoke transformation solutions such as customer experience platform, custom applications, HR tech, and financial management applications including accounting solutions.

Zoho has a robust portfolio of over 55 products that cater to every business need from customer experience and employee experience to enterprise collaboration, custom solutions and business intelligence. Zoho’s products have been built on a common technology stack, owned by the company, enabling it to offer a truly unified offering. The platform approach ensures that its apps can be easily integrated and extended to fit into the larger technology ecosystem of any enterprise business. Zoho's products can be customised to cater to complex business requirements.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 152 countries with over 327,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

About Zoho

With 55+ apps in nearly every major business category, Zoho Corporation is one of the world's most prolific technology companies. Headquartered in Chennai, India, Zoho is privately held and profitable with more than 12,000 employees. Zoho respects user privacy and does not have an ad-revenue model in any part of its business, including its free products. The company owns and operates its data centres, ensuring complete oversight of customer data, privacy, and security. More than 90 million users around the world, across hundreds of thousands of companies, rely on Zoho everyday to run their businesses, including Zoho itself. For more information, please visit: www.zoho.com

Digital Transformation High on the Agenda for the Manufacturing Sector; 54% of the Companies Have Implemented AI and Analytics for Business Functions

• Digital transformation high on the agenda for the manufacturing sector; 54% of the companies have implemented AI and analytics for business functions: PwC India survey
• Digital champions from across the six sectors in India believe that being resilient, transparent and sustainable will prepare them for future growth
• Indian organisations are focusing on personalisation and customer-centric digital transformation solutions while global counterparts are inclined to innovation
• The payback period for technology deployments is lower for India as compared globally
• Companies in India that invested at least 3% of their entire sales in digital transformation had a higher proportion of high returns

The onset of industry 4.0 is leading the Indian manufacturing industry to a major transformation in terms of doing business operations. Shifting customer preferences, new distribution models, geopolitical uncertainties, supply chain disruption, and ESG regulations have given rise to new opportunities in terms of redesigning and innovating the existing business models. Various government initiatives like the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) and ‘Make in India’ have contributed to the development of a favourable environment in the domestic market attracting global partnerships and foreign direct investments (FDI).

Given this context, PwC India conducted a survey to understand the current digital landscape in the Indian manufacturing industry and assess the prospect of laying down the future roadmap. CXOs of organisations in the domestic market, including multinational companies (MNCs), were interviewed to gain insights into the digital transformation trends of the manufacturing sector.

Sharing insights from the survey titled Reimagining Digital Factories of Tomorrow, Sudipta Ghosh, Partner, Industrial Products Sector and Data and Analytics Practice Leader, PwC India, said: “This is a very interesting time for organisations, especially in India, who have embarked upon the digitisation journey. Organisations are focusing on improving the efficiency of processes, such as reducing the down time of assets, minimising the maintenance cost of expensive equipment, cutting down the cost of poor quality by understanding the parameters needed for the golden batch using digital twins, automation of processes like connected workstations using IoT for better visibility at the shop floor and workflow-based automated solution for efficient scheduling.”

Key trends emerging from the survey

• 38% of the Indian companies that had participated in the survey revealed that they do not have any plans to adopt digital technology for their businesses. According to the research, digital champions from across the six sectors in India believe that being resilient, transparent and sustainable will prepare them for future growth. However, they also opine that greater innovation and faster time to market will help them to stay relevant in the competitive landscape in the coming days.
• Indian manufacturing companies currently prefer to adopt one standardised digital solution across plants compared to global companies which prefer one standardised digital solution with different functionalities or modules. Indian companies are showing an upward trend towards adopting analytics and AI with a current implementation rate of 54%.
• The average payback period is less than three years for the technology deployment use cases. Shorter payback periods encourage organisations to invest in technological solutions. Though investment in digital technology remains a challenge, lack of planning for aligning digital transformation with the organisation’s objectives and implementing digital technology remains a greater problem.
• Indian companies tend to focus more on people, policies and mindset while the global companies prefer to build up the right system for driving any transformation. Successful digital transformation demands elements of centralised standard-setting to establish best practices and guidelines, accompanied by centralised teamwork for local implementation.

The survey indicates that collaborating with the right team who can devise a custom digital transformation strategy which is suitable for the organisation, and working with the right enablers to implement the strategy is important to increase the return on investment (ROI).

“Organisations will also need to determine aspects of tangible returns apart from the financial outcomes to ensure that implementing digital technology has a holistic, long-term and sustainable impact on the business. Analytics continues to play a significant role in improving the decision-making process, both at the shop floor as well as across the entire supply chain. The return on investments will be governed to a large extent by how organisations are using the data to generate insights and take timely decisions.” Sudipta added.

The road ahead

Though there is no single model for success, companies should frame a transformation blueprint having answers to key questions before committing to a digital transformation path. While learning from success stories within their industry may provide the insights on where to begin, it is important to take into consideration a wide variety of contingencies and probable pitfalls from failure case studies. 

Reiterating on the same, Ankur Basu, Partner and Digital Operations Leader, PwC India, said: “Though many companies have implemented fit-for-future technologies in some capacity to solve operational challenges, only few are able to implement it successfully across the value-chain. Adopting digital technologies effectively at scale requires the commitment of the leadership team besides a clear roadmap for implementation and skilled people.”

This survey has recommended key strategies for successful digital transformation of factories and outlined a strategic route focusing on people, process and technology.

• Digital strategy: Companies should be clear about their strategic targets and digital vision when it comes to the selection of use cases, business applications and technologies.
• IT architecture design: The architecture archetype, or digital backbone, is the key to achieving outcomes. The underlying IT architecture is both a solution and a risk area where companies can potentially lose the capability to implement digital solutions at speed and scale.
• Vendor strategy: Companies should consider whether they should devise their own digital solutions or buy it from external service providers.
• Agile platform, systems, use case and process development: During the development phase, the key question companies should consider is whether an agile delivery model is more suited to the organisation’s needs or whether they can implement the traditional waterfall model.
• Implementation and rollout: Digital rollouts can either be executed in a step-by-step manner or in a single rollout. However, the speed of simultaneous rollout carries its own risks, and companies should conduct a risk-benefit assessment before they implement it.
• Organisation, people and change: For a successful digital transformation strategy, organisations should consider the various nuanced aspects of their operations and then select the best-fit operating model tailored to their needs instead of copying peers.

About the Survey

PwC India conducted a survey early this year to understand the current digital landscape in the Indian manufacturing industry and assess the prospect of laying down the future roadmap. The survey covered Indian manufacturing organisations in key sectors such as industrial manufacturing, hi-tech and electronics, chemicals and process industries, pharma and medtech, retail and consumer goods, automotive and transportation. CXOs of these organisations in the domestic market, including multinational companies (MNCs), were interviewed to gain insights into the digital transformation trends of the manufacturing sector.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 156 countries with over 295,000 people who are committed to delivering quality assurance, advisory, and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

© 2023 PwC. All rights reserved.

PwC India is Investing Over INR 600 Cr Over the Next 3 Yrs Towards the Holistic Learning and Development of Its People and Across Different Wellbeing Initiatives

Launches a new four-pillared people experience framework that will unlock potential, accelerate learning, create an enabling environment and inspire the community

The past three years have had a dramatic effect on people, and as a result, individuals are now reassessing what they want to do and how they want to work. Appreciating this fundamental workforce shift, PwC India is committed to investing over INR 600 crore towards the holistic growth, development and wellbeing of its people through its new People Experience Framework, where our people can experience infinite opportunities. The framework enables employees to gain access to personalised opportunities that allow them to live their lives how they want to, including meeting the needs of their families, finding work that aligns with their purpose and values, thereby creating an environment in which they are building the skills needed for the future.

“We want to enable limitless possibilities and infinite experiences for our people. Towards this, our new People Experience Framework will bring in increased emphasis on growth and development, customised rewards, benefits and well-being that are stitched into our daily experiences, and where we have the flexibility to support our people as their lives and needs shift over time,” said Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India.

At their recently organised Chairperson townhalls that was held in eight cities and saw enthusiastic participation from over by 15k people, the firm announced this People Experience Framework and its four key pillars:

1. Unlocking potential: The firm’s priority is to ensure that PwC community of solvers find their careers to be enriching – which includes engaging work that challenges them professionally and contributes to the larger organisational purpose, an ecosystem that develops their skills, deepens their expertise and provides them opportunities to grow while being rewarded. Through its Opportunities, Growth, Rewards model, PwC India aims to unlock the true potential of its people at work.

2. Accelerated learning: PwC India has long committed to investing 1% of its revenue on the learning and development of its people. To ensure holistic development, there will now be an enhanced focus on three key areas through which the organisation aims to accelerate professional growth:

• Build capabilities of people to ensure that the firm is developing capable leaders and managers
• Upskilling people and making sure that they are future-fit in their respective areas of expertise
• Building a common minimum Digital IQ for the organisation

PwC India has announced a non-residential executive MBA programme for regular full-time employees up to the Director level, wherein the firm will sponsor 75% of the course fees for employees (up to INR 10 lakh per person). In addition to this, sponsorship of self-initiated learning certifications has been increased to up to INR 1 lakh from INR 30K before.

3. Environment that cares: The creation of a workplace that continues to be inclusive in its style, nurtures people by focusing on holistic wellbeing and develops a diverse workforce where individual opinions are valued is a key area of focus. PwC India also aims to facilitate ease of working for its people by creating an enabling ecosystem that invests in digital and technology to simplify how people experience processes. The firm has announced an increase in medical coverage to (INR 20 lakhs) for every employee, their spouse and two children (up from an average of INR 5 lakh). The organisation has also created a special Benevolent Fund, reiterating its commitment to fulfilling the financial needs of its people in any adverse situations relating to health and life. Apart from this, a Recharge and Rejuvenate policy has been introduced so that each employee is entitled to a minimum downtime of 10 days in a year. Paternity leaves have also been enhanced to 30 days. 

4. Inspiring communities: PwC’s passionate community of solvers are always coming together to collaborate in unexpected ways to build trust and deliver sustained outcomes with stakeholders. They are creating solutions to help businesses solve faster, solve more and realise more value, delivering on trust in a sustained manner and creating an impact in society. Through the PwC India Foundation, the firm continues to invest over 16,000 volunteering hours for supporting India’s humanitarian, environmental and educational challenges. It has also announced the Chairperson’s Award of INR 2 lakh per person to recognise 150 inspiring employees up to the Director level.

In addition to this, PwC India announced that it is committed to sharing the gains of growth with all its people by matching the percentage overachievement of its revenue budget with a corresponding increase in the people budget. The amount of the year-end bonus would be increased on this basis. PwC India also announced a special celebratory gift for its employees to commemorate the 150 years of existence of its member firms in India, and has set aside INR 150 crores for this payout.

Padmaja Alaganandan, Chief People Officer, PwC India said: “Our people are at the core of everything we do as a firm. Just as we are relentlessly client focused, we will continue to invest in our people. To deliver on our purpose – to build trust in society and solve important problems – we will continue to build trust within our own organisation. The most meaningful workplace experiences are those that are created with people’s interests top of mind. Our new People Experience Framework will give our people greater personalisation within their career so they can grow and develop, and have access to #ExperienceInfinite opportunities, benefits and connections they need to maximise their journey at PwC.”

“Our people strategy will continue to transform how we work over the coming years, and while change of this scale is not always easy, it will help us create a culture that sets us apart from any other firm, helping us to attract and retain the best people in the market. I couldn’t be more proud of our people and the bold steps we are taking,” concluded Krishan.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 155 countries with over 327,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

IIMA and PwC India Join Hands to Establish PwC ESG Research and Innovation Forum at IIMA

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), a premier global management Institute, in collaboration with PwC India, announced the establishment of the ‘PwC ESG Research and Innovation Forum’ today. This ESG Forum has been set up for an initial period of five years, facilitated by the efforts of IIMA Endowment Fund (IIMAEF).

PwC ESG Forum at IIMA is envisaged to be an avenue for knowledge sharing and exchange among the ESG stakeholders; driven by a marquee event or series of events that the Forum will host at IIMA. This initiative comes as a step towards contributing to India's commitment to the net zero agenda and upcoming BRSR regulations by widening and deepening the sustainability impact in the Indian industry.

Emphasizing the need for more ESG focused collaborations and conversations, Professor Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA said, "ESG has become a mainstay in every boardroom discussion and is being looked at as a quality standard that determines capital allocation, investor valuation, capacity building and the overall sustainability quotient of the company. Although ESG incorporation in India is in a nascent stage, the room for growth is tremendous. This scenario makes the need for a forum – a common platform for stakeholders across the spectrum – compelling. We are happy to partner with PwC to launch this Forum and are confident that it will provide the much-needed action space for academia, industry, think tanks and policymakers to come together, deliberate on best practices and devise a roadmap that is aligned with ESG goals, globally.”

Supported by a high calibre faculty pool and strong research credentials, IIMA has been at the forefront of leading initiatives that have the potential to educate and influence scholarship, practice, and policy. The understanding and need for ESG discussions have moved beyond just ‘purpose’ or CSR for companies, towards creating positive change with tangible plans towards stakeholder capitalism. This Forum will play an important role in initiating the right conversations within the ESG space in India and in contributing towards thought leadership in ESG research, industry use cases and timely policy interventions.

Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India said, “ESG is gaining prominence in terms of the Government's agenda be it achieving the Net Zero target by 2070, the NDC commitments for 2030, the extended product responsibility regulations and SEBI’s BRSR regulations around reporting and disclosures. Achieving this requires a platform approach which brings together relevant stakeholders to ideate, align initiatives and develop roadmaps for achieving interlinked goals. Moving beyond strategy and expediting actions will be key to making an impact.

We are proud to join hands with IIM-A to provide a forum to foster meaningful conversations, empower stakeholders with adequate research, enable thought leadership to build alliance ecosystems and raise resources to plan and execute ESG-led transformation. We believe partnerships of this nature will play a significant role in bolstering the nation’s ESG agenda and help in meeting the climate goals.”

PwC Global is focusing on turning ESG theory into action by helping create outcomes that drive value and fuel growth, whilst strengthening our environment and societies. This Forum will be instrumental in bringing together a community of solvers (environmentalists, sociologists, economists, strategists, technologists), industry, and academia - to work towards finding solutions that can be embedded into various business functions effectively and for the long term.

This collaboration between the Institute and PwC has been facilitated by the IIMA Endowment Fund (IIMA EF) – the Institute’s unified fundraising and philanthropic arm that facilitates all donations given to IIMA.

On facilitating the setting up of the ESG Forum at IIMA, Ms Chhavi Moodgal, CEO, IIMA EF said, “IIMA Endowment Fund focuses on continuously identifying opportunities in which IIMA wants to build academic and research capabilities - particularly topical themes like sustainability which will be relevant from a public policy and industry perspective over many years. Accordingly, we have also been instrumental in identifying corporate collaborations for the Institute. We are pleased to announce another concrete step towards shaping the ESG ecosystem in India through the PwC ESG Forum. This Forum will be an important platform to support dialogue and dissemination of cutting-edge research to improve ESG performance of Indian organizations and enterprises. We hope that the industry-academia collaborative effort of this Forum will help in spreading the word on ESG themes and research globally. We thank Sanjeev Krishan and the PwC India team for this contribution to IIMA.”

The IIMA EF is the first of its kind at any B School in the country. It has been instituted to provide funding support for IIMA’s initiatives in strategically building thought leadership, research and academic excellence, globally.

About IIMA:

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) is a premier, global management Institute that is at the forefront of promoting excellence in the field of management education. Over the 60 years of its existence, it has been acknowledged for its exemplary contributions to scholarship, practice and policy through its distinctive teaching, high-quality research, nurturing future leaders, supporting industry, government, social enterprise and creating a progressive impact on society.

IIMA was founded as an innovative initiative by the Government, industry and international academia in 1961. Since then, it has been consolidating its global footprint and today it has a network with over 80 top international institutions and a presence in Dubai. Its eminent faculty members and close to 40,000 alumni, who are at the helm of influential positions in all walks of life also contribute to its global recognition. Over the years, IIMA’s academically superior, market-driven, and socially impactful programmes, have earned high reputation and acclaim globally. It became the first Indian institution to receive international accreditation from EQUIS. The renowned flagship two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) is ranked 26th in the FT master’s in management Ranking 2021 and the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has been ranked 62nd in the FT Global MBA rankings 2022. The institute also is placed first in the Government of India’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), India Rankings 2022. IIMA offers consultancy services and more than 200 curated executive education programmes in customized, blended, and open enrolment formats for a diverse audience comprising of business leaders, policymakers, industry professionals, academicians, government officials, armed forces personnel, agri-business and other niche sector specialists and entrepreneurs.

To know more about IIMA, please visit: https://www.iima.ac.in/

About PwC:

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 152 countries with over 328,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity.

Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.


© 2022 PwC. All rights reserved.

Rise in External Fraud Post Covid, Over 95% Organisations in India Have Experienced ‘New Fraud’ Incidents in the Past 2 Years: PwC Survey

Emerging threats around ESG reporting fraud, anti-embargo fraud and supply chain fraud could cause major business disruption over the coming years

• 52% of companies experienced fraud or economic crime in the last 24 months.
• Among the organisations that encountered fraud in the last 24 months, 12% experienced ESG reporting fraud, 9% experienced anti-embargo fraud and 19% experienced supply chain fraud.
• 67% of companies that experienced fraud reported that the most disruptive incident came via an external attack or collusion between external and internal sources.
• 40% lost between USD 50,000- 1,00,000 due to COVID-19 disruptions

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the uncertainties associated with it, and the subsequent shift to digital operations and remote working, businesses have been exposed to new risks related to digital security, employee safety and disinformation. These in turn have led to new incidents of fraud: 52% of Indian companies experienced fraud or economic crime in the last 24 months and an overwhelming 95% of these have experienced new types of fraud as a result of the disruption caused by COVID-19. This is according to the PwC’s recent report Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2022: India Insights.

Top 5 Frauds Faced By Indian Organisations 

Nearly 67% of organisations in India that experienced fraud reported that the most disruptive incident came via an external attack or collusion between external and internal sources. This proportion was 56% in our 2020 survey.

On the bright side, companies in India have been undertaking fraud prevention measures to combat fraud which are working – 52% of Indian organisations experienced fraud or economic crime within the last 24 months, as opposed to 69% in our 2020 survey.

Puneet Garkhel, Partner and Leader, Forensics Services, PwC India, said: ‘With organisational perimeters becoming more vulnerable over the past two years, it is imperative for businesses to not only continually focus on policies, training and internal controls but also prioritise investing in sophisticated technologies to manage and mitigate the evolving nature of frauds. It is increasingly becoming important for organisations to understand the end-to-end life cycle of customer-facing products and also strike a balance between user experience and fraud controls. Over time, formidable actors become better at exploiting cracks.’

The new types of fraud experienced by companies include misconduct risk (67%), legal risk (16%), cybercrime (31%), insider trading (19%), and platform risk (38%). Misconduct was the biggest challenge faced by organisations as bad actors began collaborating and taking advantage of pandemic-related uncertainty and volatility. Amongst organisations that reported fraud, conduct risk (or risks associated with individuals within the firm, or vendors, agents and customers) was the biggest threat at 90%.

Fraud and economic crimes impact both big and small firms. However, the survey found fraud to be more prevalent amongst big firms: 60% of companies surveyed in India having global annual revenues above USD 1 billion experienced fraud during the past 24 months (globally, 52% of organisations with revenues over USD 10 billion experienced fraud). The impact on smaller companies was less extensive as only 37% of companies in India with global annual revenues below USD 100 million experienced fraud during the past 24 months (global: 38%).

Surge in customer fraud

Our 2020 survey had found cybercrime, accounting/financial statement fraud, and bribery and corruption to be the top three frauds in India. Though globally, the findings of this year’s survey are similar to those of our 2020 survey, for India, the top frauds have changed significantly. In India, customer fraud (e.g. frauds involving mortgage, credit cards, claims, cheques) was the top fraud reported by 47% of companies. Cybercrime came a close second, with 45% of Indian organisations reporting this type of fraud. Further, KYC failure was experienced by 34% of Indian firms that experienced fraud, corruption or economic/financial crime in the last 24 months.

Emerging threats

Indian organisations are facing multiple emerging risks that have the potential to cause greater disruption in the coming years. One such area is ESG reporting fraud (the act of altering ESG disclosures so that they do not truly reflect the activities or progress of an organisation) — 12% of organisations experienced ESG reporting fraud. Companies in India are facing several challenges in managing risks associated with ESG targets and reporting requirements, such as a general lack of understanding about ESG (reported by 45% of organisations surveyed), lack of ownership over ESG in the organisation (at 42%) and inability to accurately monitor or report ESG metrics within the organisation (46%). As ESG continues to increase in importance for stakeholders, the incentive to commit fraud in this area is likely to grow.

Another emerging area of disruption is anti-embargo fraud (participation in unsanctioned foreign boycotts, or when an organisation is tricked into breaking an embargo). Though just 9% of organisations experienced anti-embargo fraud over the last 24 months, this may change in the next two years as global sanctions rise to the highest levels in recent history.

Supply chain fraud also has the potential to cause greater disruption in the coming years – 19% of organisations experienced it in the last 24 months.

Organisations also experienced increased risk due to customer fraud (30%) and KYC failure (22%) as a result of disruption caused by COVID-19. Globally, these percentages were much lower – 17% for customer fraud and 10% for KYC failure. With an increase in digital banking and payments, KYC fraud is another emerging risk that organisations need to watch out for

About the survey:

PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey (GECS) 2022 surveyed 1,296 organisations across the world, out of which 112 were from India and represented 32 diverse industries. Over 76% of the respondents from India sit in the C-suite. The India survey covered both small and large organisations. 

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 152 countries with over 327,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.,

Funding for Indian Startups Dips by 40% from Q1 CY22 to $6.8 Bn in Q2 CY22: PwC India Report

Funding in early-stage deals in Q2 CY22 continued to be stable at around USD 800 million and is likely to remain stable or even grow in the next few quarters.

After three consecutive quarters of raising more than USD 10 billion, the total funding in the Indian start-up ecosystem fell by 40% during Q2 CY22 to reach USD 6.8 billion. The decline can be attributed to a global slowdown, decrease in tech stock valuations, inflation and geopolitical instability, as per the PwC India report titled, “Startup Deals Tracker - Q2 CY22.” Software as a service (SaaS) and FinTech companies had the highest share of funding in Q2 CY22, totaling more than USD 3.1 billion.

Early-stage deals comprised more than 60% of the total deal volumes with an average ticket size of USD 5 million. Funding in early-stage deals during Q2 CY22 continued to be stable at around USD 800 million and could remain stable or even grow in the next few quarters – given that entrepreneurial activity continues to flourish with increased digitisation as well as the quantum of venture capital funds waiting to be deployed in the Indian market.

Amit Nawka, Partner - Deals & India Startups Leader, PwC India, said, “We expect the overall funding landscape to take 12–18 months to stabilise, during which it would be beneficial for startups to increase their ‘funding runway'. No matter which stage a startup is in, they would do well to keep a close tab on core business and ensure unit economics is strictly as per plan. Valuations are likely to remain under pressure across all funding stages, primarily trickling down from the significant funding slowdown in late-stage or initial public offering (IPO) deals.”

Startup Perspectives for Q2 of CY22 – A snapshot

• M&A transactions: Approximately 54 M&A transactions were executed in the start-up ecosystem in Q2 CY22 - 33% of the M&A deals were in the SaaS space and 24% were in e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) space. Domestic M&A accounted for 80% of the deals. Two of the largest deals were executed in the FoodTech space – Zomato's acquisition of Blinkit and Swiggy's acquisition of Dineout. Considering the broader correction in the funding market, we can expect an increase in consolidations and buyouts.
• Stages of funding: Growth-stage deals, which have accounted for the largest share of the funding pie, represented 62% of the total funding in Q2 CY22 (USD 4.2 billion). The average ticket size continued to fall in Q2 CY22 and was the lowest in the last four quarters at USD 44 million. The average ticket size of late-stage deals continued to be in excess of USD 100 million. Early-stage funding rounds worth USD 807 million (average ticket size of USD 5 million per round) were done in Q2 CY22. Early-stage deals accounted for 61% of the total deal volumes.
• Global and Indian unicorns: Only four start-ups in India attained the unicorn status in Q2 CY22, mirroring a global trend in decline in the number of new unicorns this last quarter. Globally, the total unicorn count has crossed 1,200 with maximum unicorns in Q2 CY22 operational in the SaaS sector, followed by FinTech. The number of decacorns (start-ups valued at USD 10 billion) globally has reached 57, with four new entrants in Q2 CY22.

Pandemic Has Accelerated Digital Upskilling, But Key Groups Still Miss Out - PwC survey

While 40% of workers say their digital skills improved during the lockdown, data shows unequal access to career and training opportunities

LONDON, March 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the largest-ever studies of the global workforce shows:

• Two in five believe their job will be obsolete within 5 years
• Half of the global workforce report missing out on career opportunities due to bias
• Training opportunities focused on those who already have high levels of skills
• Younger people report being more focused on maximising income than 'making a difference'
• Only 1 in 10 of those who can work remotely want to go back to a traditional commute and work environment full time
• But people are taking their future into their own hands: 77% are ready to learn new skills or completely re-train and 49% would like to set up their own business.

A new survey of 32,500 workers in 19 countries paints a picture of a global workforce that sees the shift to remote working as just the tip of the iceberg. Reflecting the fact the pandemic has accelerated a number of workforce trends, 60% are worried that automation is putting many jobs at risk; 48% believe 'traditional employment won't be around in the future' and 39% think it is likely that their job will be obsolete within 5 years.

However, this is not a counsel of despair, as 40% of workers say their digital skills have been improved through the prolonged period of lockdown, and claim they'll continue to embrace training and skill development. 77% are 'ready to learn new skills or completely re-train' and 74% see training as a matter of personal responsibility. And, 80% are confident they can adapt to new technologies entering their workplace, with a large majority of those asked in India (69%) and in South Africa (66%) saying they are 'very' confident.

In addition, 49% of respondents are focused on building entrepreneurial skills with an interest in setting up their own business.

Half of workforce report missing out on career opportunities or training due to prejudice

The survey also found that 50% of workers say they've faced discrimination at work which led to them missing out on career advancement or training. 13% report missing out on opportunities as a result of ethnicity and 14% of workers have experienced discrimination on the grounds of gender, with women twice as likely to report gender discrimination as men. 13% report discrimination on the basis of class, with post-graduates and others with higher qualifications more likely to report prejudice. Younger people are as likely as older people to report discrimination based on age.

On top of that, the survey found there are disparities in access to upskilling opportunities. While 46% of people with postgraduate degrees say their employer gives them many opportunities to improve their digital skills, just 28% of people with school-leaver qualifications say the same. Industries like retail or transport, which are most at risk of disruption, score just 25% and 20% respectively; while banking scores 42%.

"If current patterns in access to training persist, upskilling will increase social inequality when it should be doing precisely the opposite," said Bhushan Sethi, Joint Global Leader of PwC's People and Organization Practice. "Government and business leaders need to work together to intensify efforts to ensure people in the most-at risk industries and groups get the opportunities they need. Automation and technological disruption are inevitable, but we can control whether its negative effects are managed or not."

Younger people more focused on maximising income than 'making a difference' if forced to choose.

Three-quarters of workers globally (75%) say they want to work for an organisation that will make a 'positive contribution to society.' This feeling was especially acute in China (87%), India (90%), and South Africa (90%).

However, economic insecurity is limiting people's ability to pursue purpose driven careers, with younger people particularly affected. Overall, 54% of those polled said, if forced to choose, they would prefer a job that enabled them to 'take every opportunity to maximise their income' over a job that 'makes a difference' (46%).

Interestingly, those between 18 and 34 are more likely than other generations to prioritise income over purpose in their job with 57% prioritising 'maximising their income' over 'making a difference' (43%), a margin of 14 points. Those over 55 prioritise making a difference by a margin of 8 points, which rises to 22 points amongst workers over 65.

"As the world continues to grapple with a global health crisis and economic uncertainty, we've seen workers come to demand more from the business community, expecting their employers to make a positive contribution to society," said Peter Brown, Joint Global Leader of PwC's People and Organization Practice. "Fortunately, focusing on societal impact and maximising profit are not mutually exclusive, and being a purpose-led business can actually help boost your bottom line."

Employees want the option to work remotely moving forward

The survey concludes that remote working will persist post-lockdown. Of those who can work remotely, 72% of say they prefer a mixture of in-person and remote working, with only 9% stating they'd like to go back to their traditional work environment full-time. This is particularly true of professionals, office workers, business owners and the self-employed, all of whom are able to perform their jobs remotely using technology. Home working need not be limited to professional jobs. 43% of manual workers and 45% of semi-skilled workers say there are many elements of their job that they are able to do remotely.

People's attitudes to working from home also change by location, providing further evidence of how the pandemic has increased the global digital divide. Workers in metropolitan areas (66%) are more likely to work in roles that could allow remote working than those who live in rural areas (44%).

Workers torn on privacy and technology

44% of workers globally would agree to let their employer use technology to monitor their performance at work including sensors and wearable devices, with 31% against. However, many would not go as far as allowing their employers access to their personal data. 41% of respondents said that they were unwilling to give their employer access to their personal data including social media profiles, with only 35% willing.

Between 26 January, 2021 and 8 February, 2021, PwC commissioned a survey of 32,517 members of the general public. Respondents included workers, business owners, contract workers, students, unemployed people looking for work, and those on furlough or who were temporarily laid off. The survey polled workers in 19 countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, UAE, UK, and the US.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We're a network of firms in 155 countries with over 284,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

© 2021 PwC. All rights reserved

M&A valuations boom in the second half of 2020, despite COVID-19 impacts on the economy, according to PwC

- Deal volumes up 18% and deal values increase 94% in second half of 2020

- Megadeals double in second half of the year

- Technology and telecom sub-sectors see highest growth as demand for digital assets accelerates

- Special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) raised about $70 billion in capital 

LONDON, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- M&A valuations are soaring, with rich valuations and intense competition for many digital or technology-based assets driving global deals activity, according to PwC's latest Global M&A Industry Trends analysis. 

Covering the last six months of 2020, the analysis examines global deals activity and incorporates insights from PwC's deals industry specialists to identify the key trends driving M&A activity, and anticipated investment hotspots in 2021.

In spite of the uncertainty created by COVID-19, the second half of 2020 saw a surge in M&A activity.

"COVID-19 gave companies a rare glimpse into their future, and many did not like what they saw. An acceleration of digitalisation and transformation of their businesses instantly became a top priority, with M&A the fastest way to make that happen — creating a highly competitive landscape for the right deals," says Brian Levy, PwC's Global Deals Industries Leader, Partner, PwC US.

Key insights from the second half of 2020 deals activity include:

• Dealmaking jumped in the second half of the year with total global deal volumes and values increasing by 18% and 94%, respectively compared to the first half of the year. In addition, both deal volumes and deal values were up compared to the last six months of 2019.
• The higher deal values in the second half of 2020 were partly due to an increase in megadeals ($5 billion+). Overall, 56 megadeals were announced in the second half of 2020, compared to 27 in the first half of the year. 
• The technology and telecom sub-sectors saw the highest growth in deal volumes and values in the second half of 2020, with technology deal volumes up 34% and values up 118%. Telecom deal volumes were up 15% and values significantly up by almost 300% due to three telecom megadeals. 
• On a regional basis, deal volumes increased by 20% in the Americas, 17% in EMEA and 17% in Asia Pacific between the first and second half of 2020. The Americas saw the biggest growth in deal values of over 200%, primarily due to some significant megadeals in the second half of the year. 

COVID-19 accelerates deals activity for digital and technology assets in a highly competitive market

In demand assets have commanded high valuations and fierce competition, driven by

macroeconomic factors. These include low interest rates, a desire to acquire innovative, digital or technology-enabled businesses and an abundance of available capital from both corporate (over $7.6 trillion in cash and marketable securities) and private equity buyers ($1.7 trillion).

By comparison, assets in sectors that have been hardest hit by the pandemic like industrial manufacturing or those being shaped by factors such as the transformation to net zero carbon emissions are creating structural changes that companies will need to address. Where the future viability of their business models are challenged, companies may look to distressed M&A opportunities or restructuring to preserve value.

Deal makers widen assessment of value creation to non-traditional sources

Non-traditional sources of value creation such as the impact of environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) are increasingly being considered by deal makers and factored into strategic decision-making and due diligence, as they focus on protecting and maximising returns from high valuations and fierce demand.

"With so much capital out there, good businesses are commanding high multiples and achieving them. If this continues - and I believe it will - then the need to double down on value creation is now more relevant than ever for successful M&A," says Malcolm Lloyd, Global Deals Leader, Partner, PwC Spain.

The impact of a hot IPO market on M&A

The last six months saw the prevalence of the use of special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) to pool investor capital for acquisition opportunities in a highly active IPO market. In 2020, SPACs raised about $70 billion in capital and accounted for more than half of all US IPOs. Private equity firms have been key players in the recent SPAC boom, finding them a useful alternative source of capital. More SPAC activity is expected in 2021, especially involving assets such as electric vehicle charging infrastructure, power storage, and healthcare technology.

Read PwC's Global M&A Industry Trends for more insights on 2020 and 2021.

Notes

PwC's Global M&A Industry Trends is a biannual analysis of global deals activity across five industries — consumer markets (CM), technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), health industries (HI), energy, utilities and resources (EU&R), and industrial manufacturing and automotive (IM&A).

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We're a network of firms in 157 countries with over 276,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

© 2021 PwC. All rights reserved. 

Amidst COVID-19, India Noted Highest Increase in AI Usage Compared to the US, UK and Japan - PwC Report

Amidst the global pandemic, India has noted the highest increase in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as compared to major economies -- the US, UK and Japan), according to a global study by PwC India. 

94 % of the over 200 chief executives in India surveyed said they’ve either adopted or are planning to implement AI in their companies, said the PwC report. Enterprises are no w more aware than earlier that AI is no longer a ‘nice to have’ technology but a 'must have', the report said.

Indian organisations are firm in their resolve to combat the challenges of the pandemic, with the manufacturing sector reconfiguring traditional practices to automate value chain processes and the Government engaging with technology firms to solve problems in the new normal (e.g. contact tracing, contactless thermal screening). 

Similarly, universities, start-ups and the healthcare sector have developed AI-powered diagnostic guidance systems to help patients and models to predict the spread of the virus.

While Indian businesses still lag behind their global counterparts when it comes to scaling up AI across the organisation (5% in India vs 25% globally), India has a much higher proportion of firms (46%) with implementation in some business functions compared to the global average (28%). Significantly, more Indian enterprises are considering the use of AI (24%) compared to the global average (15%), which indicates rapid acceleration in the adoption of AI in India post the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increased adoption of AI can be attributed to the following factors -

• Post COVID-19, AI-enabled use cases like contactless selling and delivery have gained traction due to changes in buying behaviour. 
• As organisations are reopening their manufacturing and office locations, AI-enabled tools are helping them enforce best practices from a health and safety perspective. 
• The remote workforce is relying more on AI-enabled digital assistants to do their work without loss of productivity. 
• As past knowledge and experience may fail to provide the right insights in these times of disruption, organisations are increasingly making decisions based on current data using AI-enabled predictive and prescriptive tools. 
• To reduce cost of doing business, combat disruption and become future ready, organisations are adopting AI-based digital twins and synthetic data. This is also enabling them to build resilient ecosystems (e.g. supply chain and operations).

Industries which have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as travel and hospitality and financial services, are adopting AI to navigate the increased business uncertainties and disruptions.

Sectors which have faced the most disruption due to COVID-19 have embraced AI in a more definitive manner because for them it is more of a business necessity than a ‘good-to-have’ solution. AI adoption in India was led by Travel and hospitality (89%), followed by TMT (86%), financial services (82%), and healthcare & pharma (73%).

While the survey for India was conducted between August and September, globally it was conducted among 670 high ranking officials in September-October. The study said India witnessed the highest increase in AI use compared to major economies like Britain, Japan and the US, with over 70 per cent of Indian organisations having implemented AI in some functional areas in 2020 as compared to around 62 per cent last year. Also, over 90 per cent companies are implementing or planning to invest in AI solutions to address current business concerns, the survey said.

PwC: Blockchain technologies could boost the global economy US$1.76 trillion by 2030 through raising levels of tracking, tracing and trust

• Tracking and tracing of products and services has the largest economic potential (US$962bn)
• Public administration, education and healthcare sectors will benefit the most. 
• Blockchain could have the highest potential net benefit in China (US$440bn) and the USA (US $407bn).

LONDON, Oct. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New analysis by PwC shows Blockchain technology has the potential to boost global gross domestic product (GDP) by US$1.76 trillion over the next decade.

That is the key finding of a new PwC report Time for trust: The trillion-dollar reason to rethink blockchain, assessing how the technology is being currently used and exploring the impact blockchain could have on the global economy. Through analysis of the top five uses of blockchain, ranked by their potential to generate economic value, the report gauges the technology's potential to create value across industry, from healthcare, government and public services, to manufacturing, finance, logistics and retail.

"Blockchain technology has long been associated with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, but there is so much more that it has to offer, particularly in how public and private organisations secure, share and use data," comments Steve Davies, Global Leader, Blockchain and Partner, PwC UK.

"As organisations grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, many disruptive trends have been accelerated. The analysis shows the potential for blockchain to support organisations in how they rebuild and reconfigure their operations underpinned by improvements in trust, transparency and efficiency across organisations and society."

• The report identifies five key application areas of blockchain and assesses their potential to generate economic value using economic analysis and industry research. The analysis suggests a tipping point in 2025 as blockchain technologies are expected to be adopted at scale across the global economy.
• Tracking and tracing of products and services - or provenance - which emerged as a new priority for many companies' supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic, has the largest economic potential (US$962bn). Blockchain's application can be wide ranging and support companies ranging from heavy industries, including mining through to fashion labels, responding to the rise in public and investor scrutiny around sustainable and ethical sourcing.
• Payments and financial services, including use of digital currencies, or supporting financial inclusion through cross border and remittance payments (US$433bn).
• Identity management (US$224bn) including personal IDs, professional credentials and certificates to help curb fraud and identity theft.
• Application of blockchain in contracts and dispute resolution (US$73bn), and customer engagement (US$54bn) including blockchain's use in loyalty programmes further extends blockchain's potential into a much wider range of public and private industry sectors.

Blockchain's success will depend on a supportive policy environment, a business ecosystem that is ready to exploit the new opportunities that technology opens, and a suitable industry mix.

Across all continents, Asia will likely see the most economic benefits from blockchain technology. In terms of individual countries, blockchain could have the highest potential net benefit in China (US$440bn) and the USA (US$407bn). Five other countries - Germany, Japan, the UK, India, and France – are also estimated to have net benefits over US$50bn.

The benefits for each country differ however, with manufacturing focused economies such as China and Germany benefiting more from provenance and traceability, while the US would benefit most from its application in securitisation and payments as well as identity and credentials.

At a sector level, the biggest beneficiaries look set to be the public administration, education and healthcare sectors. PwC expects these sectors to benefit approximately US$574bn by 2030, by capitalising on the efficiencies blockchain will bring to the world of identity and credentials.

Meanwhile, there will be broader benefits for business services, communications and media, while wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and construction services, will benefit from using blockchain to engage consumers and meet demand for provenance and traceability.

The potential for blockchain to be considered as part of organisations' future strategy is linked to research by PwC with business leaders that showed almost two thirds of CEOs (61%) said they were placing digital transformation of core business operations and processes among their top three priorities, as they rebuild from COVID-19.

"One of the biggest mistakes organisations can make with implementing emerging technologies is to leave it in the realm of the enthusiast in the team. It needs C-Suite support to work, identify the strategic opportunity and value, and to facilitate the right level of collaboration within an industry," comments Steve Davies. "Given the scale of economic disruption organisations are dealing with currently, establishing proof of concept uses which can be extended and scaled if successful, will enable businesses to identify the value, while building trust and transparency in the solution to deliver on blockchain's potential."

The report warns that if blockchain's economic impact potential is to be realised, its energy overhead must be managed. Growing business and government action on climate change, including commitments to Net Zero transformation, will mean that organisations need to consider new models for consolidating and sharing infrastructure resources to reduce reliance on traditional data centres and their overall technology related energy consumption.

Download the report here.

Methodology: PwC's report looks at the GDP impact of blockchain, which is the net additional value of goods and services within an economy as a result of blockchain technology. This study provides a scenario of the impact blockchain technology could have on the global economy by 2030 if uptake and the quality of products and services available develop as expected. This report did not model the impacts of COVID-19 separately. However, given how the pandemic has encouraged remote working and technological solutions across sectors, the analysis took a prudent approach in estimating Blockchain's economic impact. Further information on the methodology can be found in the report.

This report forms part of a PwC series, examining the economic impact and practical use cases for emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented & Virtual Reality, and Blockchain.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details

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PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.