New Delhi, July 16 -- Boutique advisory firms are chipping away at the dominance of the Big Four, using clever strategies to steal a slice of the lucrative tax, audit and consultancy pie. These firms are also recruiting partners and directors from the Big Four-a term coined to denote PwC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte-as competition intensifies in this business.

Uniqus Consultech started three and a half years ago, and its consulting services include accounting and reporting; governance, risk and compliance; tech, and valuation. Today, Mumbai-based Uniqus has 100 partners and directors, more than 70% of whom are from the Big Four.

"We wanted to focus on specialized areas to differentiate ourselves in the market. One such area was the IPO-readin...