KPMG, PwC and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsuplan to recruit at least 2,000 graduates each in China and Hong Kong next year, as well as hundreds of non-graduates, as they seek to cope with rising demand for their services.
The business has been driven in recent years by Chinese public offerings, which typically involved western audit firms conducting due diligence.
The collapse in such listings has led firms to reduce the size of their audit departments – KPMG China recently axed or redeployed 200 staff. However, they report greater demand from mainland or foreign companies operating in China for services such as tax advice or dealing with rising regulation.