New Delhi, June 4 -- There's a talent war playing out among the country's leading audit and advisory firms to beef up their top tax advisors' teams. Over 100 partners and senior executives have changed firms in the past six to seven months, setting off one of the busiest hiring cycles the sector has seen in recent years.

The surge in demand for tax professionals comes on the back of companies seeking advice on issues including retrospective tax, cross-border transactions, tariffs, mergers and acquisitions. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tax solutions are also fuelling the hiring frenzy, with the firms recruiting top executives and their teams from rivals.

In focus are companies such as EY, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, which are bunched to...