Thought Leadership

This article by PrimeGlobal Executive Director for Asia Pacific, George Guo, first appeared in the IAB magazine in April 2026.

The headline performance across our region is encouraging. PrimeGlobal is now ranked #1 in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, with Hong Kong recording 346% fee income growth and 354% staff growth year on year. In China, PrimeGlobal advanced to second place in both fee income and staff numbers, after posting growth of 198% and 255% respectively.

But these results represent outcomes, not the underlying explanation. The real driver is what our firms are doing within their own markets: strengthening capability, developing new service offerings, and responding directly to the needs of clients navigating increasingly complex environments.

China: Technical depth and an advisory mindset

China’s PrimeGlobal firms demonstrate how expansion, when matched with capability, leads to sustained performance. Shanghai CPA now operates 26 offices, and serves a broad client base including listed companies and new economy sectors. Its long-term work with Volkswagen, evolving from a traditional audit into controls redesign, revenue recognition modelling, and analytical support, illustrates how Chinese firms have shifted from compliance to advisory roles that address operational challenges.

China Audit Asia Pacific, with over 2,000 employees and 26 branches, continues to maintain strong national rankings by combining audit, consulting, and tax services with high-volume, high-quality execution. Meanwhile, PengSheng CPA has become one of South China’s largest firms, with 42 branches and a multidisciplinary service mix ranging from audit to valuation and engineering consulting.

All three firms are ranked within the top 30 in the latest CICPA rankings, underscoring their national standing.

These firms have succeeded not simply because China’s economy is large, but because they have invested in skills and systems that allow them to deliver deeper insights. As regulations and client expectations evolve, their ability to pair assurance with analytics has become a significant differentiator.

Japan: Multiservice firms for a complex transaction market

Japan’s midmarket is defined by steady inbound and outbound M&A activity. Clients require tax, audit, legal, valuation, and deal support delivered in an integrated manner. PrimeGlobal’s Japanese members such as ASA Group, Yamada & Partners, and Cosmos & Co and SBC Group, have built their practices around this need.

Yamada & Partners alone operates more than 20 offices with over 1,000 professionals, supported by affiliated consulting and legal entities. These firms offer bilingual due diligence, tax structuring, valuation, and IPO preparation, covering transactions that frequently number over 300 inbound deals each year. Their continued top-tier performance reflects an environment where technical precision and multidisciplinary coordination determine success.

India: Providing clarity in a complex regulatory landscape

India remains one of the world’s most intricate regulatory jurisdictions. Companies face obligations under the Companies Act, SEBI, GST, labour regulation, transfer pricing, data protection, and exchange controls, all of which change frequently.

PrimeGlobal’s Indian firms, such as AKM Global, meet this challenge with deep technical knowledge and an operational approach to compliance. Many serve predominantly international clients, offering continuous regulatory interpretation alongside structuring and execution support. Their growth is anchored in a clear value proposition: helping clients meet requirements that are too detailed or volatile to manage alone.

ASEAN: Advisory built into the region’s supply chain realignment

Southeast Asia has become central to global supply chain restructuring. Singapore has strengthened its position as a logistics and regional HQ hub, supported by a skilled workforce and worldclass port and air cargo capacity. Vietnam continues to attract significant FDI, with 90–95% occupancy in industrial parks and expanding electronics and manufacturing capacity. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia are receiving substantial investment in automotive, electronics, semiconductors, and datacentre infrastructure.

PrimeGlobal firms are heavily involved in this activity, guiding clients through site selection, incentives, incorporation, tax, labour rules, and origin compliance related to US tariffs. Their ability to connect multi-country operating models, such as Singapore headquarters with Vietnam or Indonesia manufacturing, has become a core strength.

Why APAC firms choose PrimeGlobal

Across the region, firms join PrimeGlobal because it provides a balanced model: international reach and collaboration combined with retained independence and decision-making. They gain access to cross border collaboration and a community of peer firms operating at a similar scale, while avoiding the hierarchy and internal competition often seen in larger global networks.

Across APAC, clients increasingly look for partner led delivery, fast responses, and advisers who understand both regulations and operating realities. PrimeGlobal firms, are well positioned for this shift - they are large enough to handle complex, multidisciplinary engagements, yet agile enough to remain accessible and commercially practical.

And importantly, with one of the most diversified business ecosystems in the region, spanning assurance, tax, advisory, corporate finance, M&A, and global mobility, PrimeGlobal members are able to effectively collaborate and quickly respond to client needs by drawing on a broad range of technical capabilities across APAC and beyond.

Looking ahead

Asia Pacific will continue to evolve as supply chains diversify, regulations expand, and cross‑border investment grows. The sustained performance of PrimeGlobal firms is grounded in their capabilities, collaboration, and commitment to understanding the specific needs of their markets. These fundamentals will remain central as our firms continue to help clients navigate and shape the region’s next phase of development.