The 10 Most Dynamic CFOs to Watch in 2018
- 1. Rakesh Gupta An Innovative & Committed Finance Professional cum an Award Winning Filmmaker MOST DYNAMIC CFOs TO WATCH IN 2018 THE 10 Seven Relationship Tips Which will Help You Create a Non-Toxic Workplace Exclusive Weird Startup Ideas to Million Dollar Businesses Fascinating Facts
- 4. oney speaks. Yes, that is true. No matter what, Mirrespective of any situation, money does speak. It builds opinion. It forms culture and it creates something new. It is true that ideas lead to innovation and innovation gives birth to an exceptional business. That is how the big names and business giants came into the industry and our knowledge. Each one of the most popular business names that we hear now is ruling the world just because they had an idea which others did not, they had a plan and route-map which others surely did not have. Is that all? There’s a lot more to it than just this. As we all know that success doesn’t come overnight and it takes enormous effort to build a castle out of sand. Crowd funding is an interesting factor that is helping some of the weird ideas to strive in the industry and turn a mere startup into a multi-million dollar business. But the main factor behind this struggle that is keeping a business alive is its monetary capital and the person who responsibly manages the capital and leads the business towards the staircase of success. The industry players are often quite aware of the terms like money-management, financial planning, budget mapping but even the leaders often miss out on many things which lead to the fall- down of a business. As technology is getting into the veins of every industry, tech experts are redefining the world of finance with numerous software and applications to help people enhance planning and managing company’s funds. May it be deciding an employee’s salary, their increment or incentive, or purchasing a new hardware or software, every single penny matters and that is why finance builds the core structure of a company and it defines it route to success. Let’s hold the hand of technology to manage our money matters so that each of our penny counts and we lead our business towards the stepping stones of success. Editorial Finance: Foundation, Pillar, and Core Structure of a Business Rajarshi Chatterjee
- 5. Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Database Management Prashant Chevale Technology Consultant Swapnil Patil Circulation Manager Vivek Bangade Research Analyst David Business Development Executives Contributors Sumit LunawatArt Editor Business Development Manager Akansha Garewal Visualiser Priyanka Rajage Marketing Manager Dhruv Apte Picture Editor Alex Noel Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Co-designer Karan Gaikwad Managing Editor Senior Editor Shraddha Deshpande Rahul, Aishwarya, Nilam, Apurva, Bhavithiran Copyright © 2018 Insights Success, All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success. Printed and Published by Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. th Off. No. 513 & 510, 5 Flr., Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017 Phone - India: +91 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 Email: info@insightssuccess.in For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.in sales@insightssuccess.com October 2018 Follow us on : www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/ollow us on : www https://twitter.com/insightssuccess We are also available on : Cover Price : RS. 150/- Executive Editor Shweta Priyadarshini Vaishnavi, Divya, Sarika Rajarshi Chatterjee
- 6. RAKESH GUPTA An Innovative & Committed Finance Professional cum an Award Winning Filmmaker C O N T E N T S CoverStory 08
- 7. The evolving role of a CFO in the current business scenario Expert’s Opinion26 Eros International PLC: Entertainment Unleashed Interview With Insights Success 16 An extraordinary leader moulded by experiences, expertise and empathy Vikash Sureka: 42 The Impact of Indian Taxation System on its Economic Growth Expert’s Insight38Seven Relationship Tips Which will Help You Create a Non-Toxic Workplace Exclusive Truth, Transparency and Honesty: Ingredients to cook a successful Entrepreneurship Editor’s Pick Weird Startup Ideas to Million Dollar Businesses Fascinating Facts Neeraj Jain24 Redening the Manufacturing Sector to the Core 22 28 34 Articles Mr. Prem Parameswaran Manoj Shrikant Gujarathi Hemant Kumar Ruia
- 8. s part of good governance, organizations should place the responsibility of sound and ethical financial Amanagement and reporting, and more broadly the efficient and productive use of resources, under the oversight of a person with the necessary skills, qualities, and professional standards. The training, expertise, and experience professional accountants bring to the CFO role should be seen as an advantage specifically in terms of uniting an ethical and technical mindset together with business acumen. The transparency, financial stability, and performance of governments and public sector organizations are closely linked with quality and professionalism of the CFO and the F&A function. To highlight the journey of some of the marvelous leaders, Insights Success Magazine, has introduced The 10 Most Dynamic CFOs to Watch in 2018. Let's meet 10 of the seasoned Chief financial officer and up-in-comers, listed in no particular order of power or wealth, which one should know about that, would be crucial to the business expanding in the country. On the cover we have highlighted, Rakesh Gupta, Group CFO at Apollo International Limited. He believes that change is the most prominent characteristic of an organization and it should always be ready to adapt with new/innovative ways of achieving the company's objectives. Vikash Sureka, CFO at IBS Software, a leading provider of propriety on-demand software solutions for the global travel, transportation and logistics industry. Parag Gupta, CFO at Spectra who is an extraordinary entrepreneur who sacrificed his well-paid job, well- established and settle lifestyle to create a mark in the digital world and build something bigger, construct something of his own. We have listed Saurav Bhala, CFO at Astec Lifesciences Ltd, Hitesh Mehta, CFO at Waaree Energies, Anil George, CFO at Voltas Ltd, Asharam Mundra, CFO at Bombay Rayon Fashions Ltd, Madhusudan Jangid, CFO at Cello Wim Plast, Parag Shah at IIFL Holdings. We have Interview with Insights Success of Prem Parameswaran, CFO at Eros International and Neeraj Jain, CFO at Cosmo Films Ltd. Also, we have included articles The evolving role of a CFO in the current business scenario written by Hemant Kumar Ruia is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Indus Towers Limited. Our in-house editors have come up with some adroitly written articles such as Truth, Transparency and Honesty: Ingredients to cook a successful Entrepreneurship and Seven Relationship Tips Which will Help You Create a Non-Toxic Workplace So, flip through our magazine and explore interesting insights into the world of businesses. CFO’s Role in Harmonizing Diverse Business Strategies The10 Most DynamicCFOs to Watchin2018 The10 Most DynamicCFOs to Watch in 2018
- 10. Cover Story
- 11. An Innovative & Committed Finance Professional cum an Award Winning Filmmaker
- 12. ife’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; Lthey’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” - Bernice Johnson Reagon, a renowned music composer, scholar and social activist. That’s the spirit a person must possess in order to dream something big and achieve something bigger. Challenges are the parts and parcels of our life which takes us forward towards success. Accomplishment of each challenge takes us a step closer to our dreamt destiny. Taking up any challenge and winning over that is definitely not easy and as wise and successful people say, success never comes without pain, hard work, dedication, and sincerity. Meet Rakesh Gupta, Group CFO at Apollo International Limited. He is a figure of inspiration himself and his life is no less than an interesting story. Facing newer challenges in a continuously changing business environment is what keeps Rakesh motivated. It definitely sounds different but it is highly inspiring. There had always been challenges thrown by regulatory, technology, business environment and competitors which had been disrupting the market in many ways. Overcoming those challenges with sheer dedication and enthusiasm and making the company resilient towards such hurdles has been the biggest motivational factors of Rakesh’s life. Besides everything else, Rakesh speaks about Apollo’s MD Raaja Kanwar, whom he considers to be his role model. He further expresses, ‘Our MD Mr. Raaja Kanwar is my role model, who inspires and motivates me to overcome the business challenges by the principle of “Keeping things Simple.” The Journey from the Initial Stint to Career Milestones Rakesh experienced his initial stint of the professional life at Modi Rubber Ltd. Soon after getting the essence of the professional world, he joined Apollo Group as Finance Controller and Company Secretary in the year 1994. Gradually through ambition, continuous dedication, hardwork, and perseverance, Rakesh got elevated to the level of Group CFO in the year 2009. Since then, he started taking responsible actions for various functions including Finance, Banking, Accounts, Compliance, Secretarial, Mergers & Acquisitions, Investments, Taxation, Legal, and Commercial besides direct involvement in business and strategy. Due to his performance and contribution on business side beyond his normal functional duties, he was also awarded with “All Round Performance Award” during his early years in the company. While talking about the most memorable moments of life, Rakesh shares some of his life’s happenings and says, “Over and above the professional achievements and faith bestowed by Kanwar family (Apollo Group Promoters) during my association with Apollo Group, one moment that has been close to my heart is the nomination of my Short Film “Raaya” which was exhibited at the 71st Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 and got the ‘Special Festival Mention Award’at Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2018. I produced the said film to spread a social message of not losing hope, even in extreme adverse circumstances and the same message also applies to our day to day corporate life. The success of this movie inspired me and my promoters to do more such films on a commercial scale.” Mr. Gupta, has been recently “Identified among The Top 20 CFO’s for their continued Commitment to Excellence” at 13th CFO Leadership Summit held in September 2018 in Delhi” Innovating Ideas, Changing Situations and Taking Business towards Success “I strongly believe that Change is the most prominent characteristic of an organization and it should always be ready to adapt with new/innovative ways of achieving the company’s objectives. I keep myself abreast with the latest technological, AI and other changes happening globally and has been working on utilization of such technology towards advancement of the company and people,” says Rakesh. With these motives in mind, Rakesh is exploring and working on a new concept of Blockchain project wherein ITO (Initial Token Offerings) is planned for issuing Digital Tokens of the business/assets of the company which will be listed on Delaware (US) Stock exchange. It is expected that it will unlock numerous values and increase the company’s global presence without diluting the control and voting rights of the promoters. He has also coined the concept of “Unlocking the Power of Mind” for identifying the endless opportunities available around an individual for creative thinking and multi-tasking. He has also brought the collaborative effort by bringing business partners in various business verticals, to enhance the growth of the business in an exponential manner. It has helped the business divisions and company to break the pattern of an existing level of growth. Rakesh has further initiated the process of designing the training and development program for motivating the employees of various functions to think out-of-the-box and “ The10 Most DynamicCFOs to Watch in 2018
- 13. come out of their tunnel vision. Ultimately, this program will help many employees to fight monotonies linked to their regular job. Another side of Rakesh displays the characteristics of that of a fitness guy, who advocates for good health for the employees. A Leader by Deeds, Passion and Dedication Rakesh’s leadership has led to the creation of Profit Centres in various business verticals of Apollo International Limited. He introduced the concept of converting various support functions like Human Resource, Accounting, and Banking and others Cost Centres into Profit Centres. He has even successfully implemented an innovative way of forward planning through the concept of “Run Rate” to bring the Sportsman Spirit in business and improve the process of effective decision making. With a passion to do things differently, he is also playing a pivotal role in implementing good business practices in the company, starting from conducting the Voluntary Secretarial Audits and also leading the voluntary implementation of Ind Accounting Standard for Apollo International Limited for better presentation of Accounts. While working on the improvement of overall profitability of the business by reduction of input cost, Rakesh managed to substantially reduce the input cost for the product and created a milestone for the company. About the Company Adapting and Being the Change Incepted in the year 1994 as a part of Apollo Group, Apollo International Limited is a public limited company owned and controlled by Mr. Raaja Kanwar, son of Mr. O S Kanwar, who heads the flagship Apollo Tyre Group. The company’s history spans two decades of visionary thinking, robust planning, effective implementation and closing the loop with continuous improvement. The verticals of Apollo International Group now include Integrated Logistics, Distribution and Marketing of Tyres, International Business of Products, Equipments and Projects and Leather Garments, Shoes and Accessories. A Leader’s Advice for the Rising Stars I would advise to budding entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and take calculated risk, while starting a new story. They should develop the right skill of identifying good people and invest in them to make their business grow. They should remember hurdles will be coming their way at various stages which need to be taken up as a small challenge for the big story they would want to write. “Believe in yourself and take calculated risks”
- 16. Read it FirstRead it First Subscribe today Global Subscription Address : Country :City : State : Zip : Date : CORPORATE OFFICE Name : Telephone : Email : Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Off No. 513 & 510, 5th Flr, Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017. Phone - India: 020- 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 USA: 302-319-9947 Email: info@insightssuccess.in Yes I would like to subscribe to Insights Success Magazine. Cheque should be drawn in favour of : INSIGHTS SUCCESS MEDIA AND TECH PVT. LTD.
- 17. Management BriefCompany Name Apollo International Ltd apolloindia.com Started in the year 1994 as a part of Apollo Group, Apollo International Limited is a public limited company. Rakesh Gupta CFO Astec Lifesciences Ltd astecls.com Astec has come a long way, and enjoys the patronage of 1.1 billion consumers globally, across onsumer goods, real estate, appliances, agriculture and many other businesses. Saurav Bhala CFO Bombay Rayon Fashions Ltd bombayrayon.com Bombay Rayon Fashions is a vertically integrated textile company,engaged in the manufacture of wide range of fabrics and garments from state of the art production facilities Asharam Mundra CFO Cello Wim Plast celloworld.com “Cello” a name that is common in the Indian households, is one of the leading processor of household consumer products Madhusudan Jangid CFO IBS Software ibsplc.com IBS Software is a leading provider of propriety on-demand software solutions for the global travel, transportation and logistics industry Vikash Sureka CFO IIFL Holdings iifl.com IIFL is a financial services conglomerate which was started by a group of passionate entrepreneurs in 1995. The genesis of IIFL lies in the power of dreaming big and believing in your dreams. Parag Shah CFO Vip Industries vipindustries.co.in VIP aims to be the global leaders in the travel production business by building enriching partnerships Jogendraji Sethi CFO Voltas Ltd. voltas.com Voltas is also one of the most reputed engineering solution providers specializing in project management. Anil George CFO Waaree Energies waaree.com Waaree Energies is amongst the top player in India in providing EPC services, project development, rooftop solutions, and solar water pumps and also as an Independent Power Producer. Hitesh Mehta CFO Spectra spectra.co Parag Gupta CFO Spectra is India’s first purely fiber optic based internet service provider. The10 Most DynamicCFOs to Watch in 2018
- 18. The Company stands amongst the global leaders in distributing and aggregating Indian movies on the international platform. In a conversation with the CFO – Mr. Prem Parameswaran, he talks about his professional journey and his overall experience along with the learnings and advice for budding entrepreneurs. Kindly brief us about your background and the evolution of your career. I am working as the Group Chief Financial Officer and President of Eros International’s North America Operations. I joined Eros International after a long and successful career as an investment banker in the Global Media and Telecom sector. In my 23 years career in Investment Banking, I became one of the top Media and Telecom bankers on Wall Street. I advised clients and many Fortune 10 companies on mergers and acquisitions, as well as both public and private equity and debt financings. I executed over 300 transactions in my career. Prior to joining Eros in 2015, I had recently served as the Global Head of Media and Telecommunications Investment Banking at Jefferies LLC. Prior to Jefferies I was the Americas Head of Media and Telecom Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. I had been with Goldman Sachs for 7 years prior to joining Deutsche Bank, where I was a Vice President and Head of the Integrated Communications Providers within Investment Banking. Prior to Goldman Sachs, I started my career at Salomon Brothers where I worked my way up from an Analyst to a Vice President. I graduated from Columbia University with a BA and received an MBA with Honors from Columbia Business School. I was awarded Indian American Businessman of the Year in 2012 by the Asian American Republican Committee. I also serve on the Boards of Columbia University Alumni Trustee Nominating Committee and The Program for Financial Studies at Columbia Business School. I am a member of very exclusive Winged Foot Golf Club and The Golf Club of Purchase, and was invited to the White House Oval Office Reception for Diwali in 2017 with President Trump. How would you describe yourself in one word? Analytical. If two words – analytical and motivational. ENTERTAINMENT UNLEASHED Interview With Insights Success October 2018|16
- 19. Mr. Prem Parameswaran CFO October 2018| 17
- 20. What motivates you? Or, who is your role model and who inspires you? I am first motivated by my Father who is 88 years old and immigrated to the United States in 1954 with $100 in his pocket on an academic scholarship. He spent 30 days on a boat to come to the USA. He worked as a diplomat for the Permanent Mission of India to the UN and attended Columbia Business School, later becoming the first Indian family to move to the affluent suburb of Scarsdale, NY in 1970. His hard work and sacrifice for his family is what motivates me to be extremely hard working and diligent to help build our company. Additionally, my Chairman and CEO Kishore Lulla is a pioneer in Indian entertainment and one of the most positive people you will meet in the world. His strategic thinking and leadership have helped me focus on the company’s long- term goals of global success. I also see our stock price is a motivational tool, as it drives everyone in our company to focus on producing high quality work. Our stock price will be a by-product of both our operating and business success. Tell us about the most memorable and remarkable moment of your life? The birth of all three of my children, Trinity (13), Kayla (10) and Hudson (8) are by far most memorable and remarkable life experiences. Children are the meaning of life and I now live for them. From an education standpoint, graduating from both an Ivy League undergraduate institution as well as one of the top business schools in the world is certainly a nice accomplishment. Having played ice hockey and soccer in college was also a great achievement. Becoming a Group Head and one of the top investment bankers on Wall Street was also something that I was fortunate to achieve. However, I would like to be remembered as someone who is a great father to my kids as my children are my world. What was the most daring challenge you took and the risk associated with it? Joining Eros International as CFO after working 23 years in Investment Banking was certainly a different challenge. You need a different skillset that evolves – you need both operating and financial acumen to help grow a company. I have embraced this challenge and really enjoy making Eros International one of the pre-eminent digital content companies in the world. It is very important to have honesty and integrity, and with that you can overcome challenges. Nothing substitutes good hard work. One must be a strong motivational leader with the strongest integrity. This, coupled with hard work, will enable both operating and financial success. Tell us about the state of the media industry from your perspective? We are a creator, distributer and aggregator of premium Indian content globally. We have over 11,000 films in our digital OTT platform Eros Now, which is unmatched. Our studio business has had over 30 of the top 100 Indian grossing films over the past five years. Many have called us the Netflix of India, but quite frankly, we are actually Netflix and Disney combined as we have both the studio business as well as the digital OTT platform. Disney recently validated our strategy by setting up an OTT platform scheduled to launch next year. I don’t believe Netflix has as many titles in their overall library as we have in our Indian content focused library. We believe with opportunity in digital growth - both in India and internationally - we are extremely well positioned to grow our business exponentially. Our target market is not just the 1.3 billion people in India, but also the 250 million outside of India who enjoy Indian content. The Indian diaspora outside of India is also approximately 30 million. If we add China to the mix, that number certainly goes up as well. Please describe Eros International and its services/products. Eros International is the pre-eminent creator of Indian movies (we will do approximately 50 movies this year), digital OTT Content (we have a library of 11,000 movies plus Originals) where we have over 100mm registered users and over 10 million paying subscribers. We are the only Indian media company publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EROS). Please see the company website for a full description: Tell us about your major achievements and your company’s achievements under your leadership? Please share your views about the Necessity of Change in the world of business Over my 3-plus years with Eros International, we have changed the major growth focus of our company to our digital division, Eros Now. This is the future growth engine of the company and it was certainly a feather in our cap October 2018|18
- 21. when Disney validated our strategy. Additionally, many in the investment community have called us the Netflix of India and we feel this is a nice compliment. During my time at the company, we have adhered to very strict New York Stock Exchange and SEC reporting requirements which shows the integrity and honesty of our organization. Very few Indian companies list on the NYSE given the stringent reporting requirements. We believe this is one of our strengths. Since joining, we have completed both a public capital markets financing of $100mn with Citigroup, as well as selling a 5% strategic stake to Reliance Industries Limited at $15 per share. In addition, being invited to the White House by President Trump is also one of the highest honors you can achieve as a CFO of a publicly listed company. It is truly an honor and privilege to be the Group CFO of Eros International, one of the truly pre-eminent digital content companies in the world. Please describe your passions, aims and goals? My goal is help drive our company’s operational and financial growth. We believe we have a unique opportunity with such a large addressable market to grow the company’s business to great heights. We have terrific momentum and believe our stock price will eventually be a by-product our strong operational and financial success. I also enjoy motivating and encouraging our work force, as we want to train future business leaders. We are a team- oriented company and with hard work and diligence, we will be one of the best companies in the world. What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs? Work hard and never give up on your goals. Have passion and, above all, integrity. Hire smart people who will be loyal and train them. Most of all, have fun with what you are doing - if you are enjoying your work, you will be a success. How do you motivate your employees and maintain a healthy and dynamic working environment in the office? Please share the work culture at your office. Always motivate employees by being a good example and leader. Work hard and diligently with the utmost integrity and honesty. This will show them the passion and the work detail in the organization. It is also important to stress a team-oriented culture to foster ideas and have the best and brightest succeed. I do like to reward workers with dinners, lunches, bonuses, etc., which is a useful tool, but the best tool is our stock price, as everyone in the company is a shareholder. We are building value creation together as team. Our hard work together will hopefully build our stock price to new heights. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned throughout your career? Be creative and inspiring – Genius = Creativity + Hardwork. Always work hard and lead by example. Be honest – it’s okay to say “I don’t know the answer to a question” and go research it, rather than be dishonest. Be a team-player and help your peers and juniors. The ultimate goal is business success for the company, and we only win if everyone works together and gives 100 percent. Hire smart people - even smarter than yourself. An A-player will always hire an A-player, but a B-player will hire a C-player to avoid being outperformed or outshined. My view is we should always hire A-players. Don’t be afraid of criticism, always listen and learn - especially as a public company. And finally - enjoy what you do, as this may be the ultimate secret in being successful. October 2018| 19
- 22. Learning is biggest motivator for me. I love to take up a role, which provides me opportunity to learn new things regularly”. This is the mantra which drives one ahead and makes one a successful leader. It is hard to achieve, but the true learners always succeed. One such man who abides by this mantra is Jogendra Sethi, CFO at VIP Industries Limited, India’s luggage partner for half-a-century. Jogendra is a Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant with 29 years of rich experience. In his career span of almost three decades, he has played a lead role in empowering business by raising funds for the growth plans through equity and debt. Being the CFO of the world’s second largest and Asia’s largest bag manufacturer, he has even been the business enabler by shouldering responsibility with CEO for improving revenue and profitability of the Company. As the wise people say that the only constant thing in the world is change, the business sector is no exception to it and especially in a diverse country like India. With the implementation of GST, organized players started getting benefitted as the price difference between organized and unorganized players started getting reduced. Travel industry is growing as can be seen with growth in the airlines traffic. It apparently reflects that the luggage industry is in a sweet spot. Standing in such a scenario when the MNC started getting into the market and people were shifting their taste towards products manufactured by foreign companies, situations appeared to be difficult for the companies like VIP. But, people’s trust on VIP is such that it is hard to break. This Mumbai-based luggage company is serving the nation with its extraordinary/remarkable baggage solutions since 1971. Though the global luggage leader Samsonite is present in the Indian market for last 20 years, VIP Industries Limited leads the Indian luggage sector for last 50 years. And, leading such a legacy is not something easy to accomplish, but with the extraordinary skills, a wealth of experience and knowledge beyond ordinary, Jogendra Sethi is doing the job perfectly, rather even better the people’s expectations. Steering through the Hurdles and Moving Across the Oceans There is no such enterprise in this world of business that has faced no roadblocks, no hurdles and troubles all along its way to victory. The CFO of VIP Industries Limited talks about the most difficult challenge he has ever witnessed in his three decades of career and says, “I am all along a Finance professional. Haj Committee of India (HCoI) issued a tender for supply of two lakhs pieces of bags for one lakh Haji’s in 2015. Management assigned responsibility to me to negotiate the proposal with HCoI, which I lead with manufacturing head instead of Sales head. The tender process was very rigorous and there were several rounds of discussions like presentation on Company’s credentials, manufacturing capabilities, quality standards, financial strength and servicing capabilities as two lac bags were to be delivered to Haji’s within stipulated time frame. “ ASelf-MotivatedBusinessLeaderSteeringthe50-yearoldLegacy Jogendra Sethi: October 2018|20 The10 Most DynamicCFOs to Watch in 2018
- 23. There was tough competition because it was a very large single order as per Indian luggage industry’s point of view. After weeks of negotiations, we won the order and supplied two lakhs bags to Haji’s across India in time. For me, it was a very big challenge for negotiating a large sales order in spite of having a Finance background. Like this, I also enjoyed incorporating companies in Bangladesh and setting up manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh. In my previous company, I also enjoyed managing Initial Public Offer (IPO) and Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) of shares.” “My work is my passion” Jogendra is a man whose work is his passion and his only aim in life is to make finance more business partnering and implement the usage of technology to achieve/accomplish bigger organizational goals. As says the leader that innovation is the most crucial lever for growth with relentlessly focusing on customer needs, he gives his best effort to lead the organization to grow intelligently and consistently driving up its gross margins by raising cost competitiveness. Under the able guidance of Jogendra, the company’s sales have grown from Rs. 860 crores in FY 2011 to Rs. 1416 crores in FY 2018. The company’s profit before tax has grown from Rs. 103.22 crores in FY 2011 to Rs. 179.49 crores in FY 2018. In last seven years, IT infrastructure of the company has also undergone up gradation from SAP ECC5 to ECC6 and presently SAP S4 HANA is under implementation. He has even led the demand planning to upgrade from forecasting to replenishment mode under TOC. Most interesting, the Sales CRM is implemented and done App based by his guidance. From the Leader’s Desk Jogendra talks about the most important lesson that he has learned in his life and says that finance is a strong enabler and support function for achieving organization goals and objectives. He further adds that as a business partner, finance works closely with line functions, operations and sales as their financial partner in achieving business results. As a custodian function, it is responsible for the integrity of accounting and reporting, compliance, efficiency of financial process, effective treasury and tax management, implementation of controls and corporate governance. While asking the CFO of VIP Industries Limited about the tactics he uses to take the keep the employees happy and guide them to continue the 50-year old legacy, Jogendra says, “Openness and empowerment are our two important values which the team really appreciates. We offer opportunities for learning and professional enrichment and a platform to contribute significantly to the successful and profitable growth of the organization.” Iaimtomakefinancemorebusiness partneringandalsomoreuseoftechnology forachievingorganizationalgoals ,,,, ,,,, Jogendra Sethi CFO October 2018| 21
- 24. Who could ever think a man can make millions selling rocks? Yes, in the 1970s, one of the greatest American copywriter, creative director, and advertisement agency owner Gary Ross Dahl strangely came up with the idea that rock was some kind of pet and it can be sold to children. A blend of excellent packaging and excellent marketing strategies that is the main selling point which Pet Rock a hit. The idea not only seemed strange and weird, but unbelievable. Moreover, eventually, it made Garry a millionaire. tartups are often termed as the unknown seeds. You Snever know what fruit it may come up with. Defining the path of a startup seed is hard. Some may fail while others may turn out to be multi-million dollar business enterprises. Ideas are like seeds; it needs to be sowed into the ground with care, watered regularly and placed in proper sunlight for it to grow into a full-fledged tree. No one could ever guess that a portal designed for college community communication purposes will be the most addictive social networking site in the world. Even the idea which was thought to be marvelous in the beginning failed to succeed and ended up in a major crisis. On the other hand, there were ideas which seemed odd and weird in the beginning, ended up making millions. There is nothing certain in this world except Let's walk through the pages of history and explore the world of startups filled with strange yet unusual ideas. WEIRD TO MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESSES STARTUP IDEAS Fascinating Facts October 2018|22
- 25. Back in 1998, the internet was still new and winning people ‘s trust was difcult. It was when PayPal was launched. Soon, it started growing, and today the company has earned the trust of millions of people all over the globe. From individuals to business entities handle their millions of transactions through trust, and it seems that people trust PayPal as much as banks. Back in 2002, nobody thought that any private organization could come into the competition of space-related technologies. NASA was the only one name that people trusted. Nobody thought that the idea behind SpaceX would lead to a million-dollar business soon. People hardly tried or touched that sector. It failed, that's true, but after multiple failed launches and fresh investments, things started seeming to pace towards a better way. Soon after some successful launches and signicant contracts from NASA, SpaceX has begun rolling into the coaster towards success. As reports suggest, this extraordinary company of Elon Musk is producing some of the greatest, cost- effective and highly practical space-oriented technologies. The world of internet witnessed a massive transition from the times of email, Orkut to Facebook. In the year 2010, when Facebook was already in the veins of the growing youth of the world, Instagram entered into the scenario. Emerged as a Foursquare knockoff, the social media app started gaining popularity soon when it transformed into a platform entirely dedicated to image sharing. Like most other startups, the idea behind Instagram seemed odd, and its oddity has made the platform to be one of the most popular social media with more 800 million monthly active users. People are reluctant to accept change. Though we all love something new, something extraordinary, moreover a move that can redene our lives, yet we are afraid to be the change or even a part of it and prefers to be an integral part of the traditional system that exists for years. In the early '90s, people still loved the small and fancy bookstores; they loved its smell probably, or maybe the option to read a bit of the book that they are going to purchase. That is when Amazon emerged into the market. Also, just in a matter of few years, the company became one of the most popular sites on the internet. Eventually, Amazon went beyond selling books, and it now sells everything from daily grocery, stationary to automobile accessories and health products. Are you still thinking that you have a crazy idea, but it won’t be successful? Then give it a last chance and make it happen. You never know, your next weird idea can give birth to the future greatest multi-million dollar business. Instagram October 2018| 23
- 26. Catering comprehensive solutions to the manufacturing industry, one-stop shop for the all the business requirements across the globe; Cosmo Films Limited is one of the leading companies. Ashok Jaipuria is the Chairman and Managing Director of the company. Engineered to Enhance is what best describes Cosmo Films. It is a pioneer in BOPP film manufacturing, which introduced the country to commercial applications. To get more insight about Cosmo’s high value services and uniqueness, we bring you an exclusive interview with Neeraj Jain, CFO of the company. 1. Kindly brief us about you and your journey since the beginning of your career. I am a chartered accountant having close to 20 years’ experience with large Indian corporates and multinational companies in corporate finance, business strategy planning and execution, corporate restructuring, banking & fund raising, M&A, taxation, risk management and internal control. I started my career with RPG Life Sciences Limited (pharmaceutical arm of India's leading RPG Group) in 1999 as Senior Officer– Finance. I have worked in different finance leadership roles at Aditya Birla Group, Bajaj Allianz and Havells before joining Cosmo Films Ltd. A major turning point in my career was at Havells when I was given a responsibility to run finance function for its global subsidiary Sylvania BV (World’s 4th largest lighting company) which used to have operations in 30 countries and facilitating restructuring of the company. I joined Cosmo Films Ltd as CFO in 2013 which is a public listed manufacturing company with more than INR 2,200 crores revenue having operations in India and overseas. Cosmo is India’s largest exporter and second largest producer of BOPP flexible packaging films. The journey so far has been very exciting. 2. How do you describe yourself in one-word? Dynamic and Energetic 3. What is the thing which is acting as your motivational tool? Or, who is your role model, who inspires and motivates you? The Chairman of Cosmo Films, Mr Ashok Jaipuria is a source of energy for me and inspires me a lot. He is a perfect example of aiming big and putting best to achieve the same along with maintaining work-life balance. 4. State us about the most memorable and remarkable moment of your life. One of the most memorable moments was when I successfully raised first funding of USD 100 million for the organization at a cost lower than budgeted. It gave me immense sense of satisfaction. 5. Kindly tell us about the most daring challenge you took and the risk associated with it. At Cosmo Films, we successfully rationalized finance cost by 20% in difficult times when the industry cycle was not Cosmo Films: Interview With Insights Success CFO October 2018|24
- 27. favourable. This came with a risk of foreign exchange fluctuation; however we could manage it with the help of hedging to a certain level. 6. Kindly describe in brief about your company and its services/products. Established in 1981, Cosmo Films is a global leader in speciality films for packaging, lamination and labeling applications. With engineering of innovative products and sustainability solutions, Cosmo partners with world’s leading F&B brands, packaging & printing converters to enhance their consumer experience. Company’s film offerings include Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) films and Cast Polypropylene (CPP) films. Today, the company is the largest exporter of BOPP films from India and also the largest producer of thermal lamination films in the world. Its customer base is spread in more than 100 countries with plant cum distribution centres in India, U.S, Korea & Japan. 7. Brief us about the industry scenario from your perspective. India’s BOPP flexible films industry is going through difficult times due to poor commodity pricing in domestic market from last two years primarily due to temporary demand-supply gap. Cosmo Films is trying to tide through this difficult situation by focusing on improving sales mix (higher share of value added products with stable margins), improving internal efficiencies and increasing international sales. 8. State us your major achievements and your company’s achievements under your leadership. Please share your views about the “Necessity of Change” in the world of business”. My key achievements: Ÿ Successfully executed 20% finance cost rationalization during challenging times. Ÿ Company’s market capitalization became 5x in the last 3 years Ÿ Played key role in driving strategic and cost rationalization initiatives in the company Ÿ One of the best working capital management in the Industry. Company’s key achievements: Ÿ Cosmo Films has successfully executed the strategy to a large extent to change business model to be a value added films producer from a commodity producer. Although, we are yet to completely achieve the same, however we are on the right path (today more than 50% revenue comes from value added specialty products). Ÿ The company is leading in terms of providing innovative and specialized packaging solutions through R&D. The company has recently introduced sterilisable conduction sealing film for flavoured milk, juices etc as well as universal lidding film which can seal with any plastic material such as food trays, jams, sauces, butter etc. On the lamination side, we have come up with metalized velvet film for premium lamination and in packaging we have developed CPP metalized film with high metal bond as well as heat resistant BOPP film to replace BOPET in reverse printed films. 9. Tell us about your passions, aims and goals. My passion is to add value to business and this is what I work for. On the personal side, I like travelling and music. I aim to be a business finance leader to whom young finance professionals could look upto as a role model. 10. What would you advise to the budding entrepreneurs? India is growing and this is the right time to be a part of its growth story. There are ample opportunities available for a good business idea right from funding to all kinds of resources. If you believe you have good business ideas, please execute the same so that we could make India a growing hub for entrepreneurship/start-ups. 11. How do you motivate your employees and maintain a healthy and dynamic working environment in the office? Share with us the work culture at your office. There are different ways you keep your employees motivated. This includes transparent HR policies, friendly culture across the organization, recognition for good work, rewards policies and on the top of it care for this. We have implemented many policies and schemes at Cosmo Films which reflect the same. I am proud to be a part of this open and friendly culture at Cosmo Films. 12. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned throughout and would like to share? With increasing globalization, volatility is something you need to deal with, be it foreign exchange fluctuation, crude impact or other economic and business factors and how to run organizations along with managing key risks without ignoring them. October 2018| 25
- 28. he Chief Financial Officer (CFOs) of a business Torganisation especially that of a telecom sector knows how to utilize the pillars of leadership that can fulfil promises. The individual in this role has the primary responsibility of both financial and operational functions. He is the custodian of the company’s assets and securities and in charge of the communication of delivering financial data to stock analysts, investment managers, and regulators, and detailed performance metrics to fellow officers and employees. CFOs specializing in Telecom business work well in highly diversified companies that need to compare performance across different businesses, have aggressive growth or cost targets, or whose limited resources require careful allocation. A CFO is a combination of 80% functional and 20% leadership package. The concept behind his functional role involves embedding the risk management of the business, strengthening the life insurance industry in India by mitigating financial crime risks. As the CFO’s role becomes more strategic, the challenges facing the insurance industry become more transparent. In particular, regulatory demands are a significant burden. Ever-changing regulations can be a major distractor from the strategic work of the CFO but are nonetheless critical to the health of the organization. It is this particular individual who can genuinely help organisation achieve higher growth, reduce risk, and uncover greater opportunities. Traits that make a great CFO The role of a CFO plays a pivotal part of company leadership team, that help in making crucial financial decisions and leading the execution of those decisions. CFOs play a very important role in any organization and do a lot more than just crunch numbers. To maintain the stature, they must possess a holistic understanding of the financial workings of their company, and also of their entire industry. However, their roles as a chief financial officer has changed dramatically over the past decade. They excelled at managing inventory, accounting, capital expenditure, working capital and cost control, but are now being called upon to act as strategic partners to chief executive officers (CEOs) and work towards sustainable financial growth of the company. A CFO should have a long-term vision on how he can build the organization. For a CFO’s stint to be successful, equal importance should be given to the finance department, compliance and risk management. CFO should leave a legacy as they a major role to play in strategic management. THE EVOLVING ROLEOFACFO IN THE CURRENTBUSINESS SCENARIO Expert’s Opinion October 2018|26
- 29. A study by EY suggests that much more is demanded of CFOs in today’s dynamic business environment – which is way beyond their traditional finance skills. The traits of a successful modern CFO are someone who thinks broadly and strategically about the growth of the business, turns strategy and tactics into actionable plans, and possesses the skills to communicate the strategy across the organization, external stakeholders as well as the employees. On top of these, the strategic CFO must also learn to manage crisis and enhance the company’s resilience and mitigate the risks as the organization grows in order to have a successful stint. CFOs must also be comfortable with operating in unfamiliar territory in the face of changing business conditions and situations such as mergers and acquisitions. Disruptive Technology and its implications At present, Digital Transformation is a focus across all industries today because of the emergence of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning and an economy driven by customer and service led business models. It’s already very clear that the development and use of AI is going to play a big role in shaping future workplaces. However, it is not certain that the emergence of technological transformations will replace entire functions such as finance department. If new technologies and trends are adding to the development of the CFO’s role, they should also have the potential to make it easier for the finance team to understand the current business complexities. There is a wide array of tools that can help CFOs benefit from technological developments and the digitization of finance processes. CFOs should understand and increasingly deploy such tools to lead complex enterprise-resource planning efforts, among other challenges that they are being tasked with managing. Companies are becoming more sophisticated in their approaches to business planning, supported by new cloud technology. The insight the CFO can derive from this for planning will become a driving force for business in the future. And AI raises the bar again, helping make sense of even more data and automating outcomes. The disruptive technologies could in turn give finance teams the power to access decades worth of projects, around the world, at the touch of a button which could help them develop a better- informed risk assessment, mapping the project against a much larger database of historical projects. As technology improves, AI will become smarter and faster at providing analysis, and the competitive disadvantage that businesses not using it will experience and become more pronounced. Businesses don’t want to replace their employees, but they do want to make better financial decisions, and AI and Machine Learning will allow them to do that faster and cheaper than a whole team of human effort. Overall, AI will enable skilled office workers to spend more time focusing on their core competencies over the mechanics of maintaining data. On a larger scale, this will result in lower financial costs for organizations and time saved on tasks usually spent on manual operations or classifying data. Hemant Kumar Ruia is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Indus Towers Limited. Hemant is a Chartered accountant, cost accountant and a chartered financial analyst and brings with him over 23 years of diverse experience across industries in various coveted organisations. Prior to joining Indus, Hemant worked with Reliance Retail Limited as the CFO. He played a business partnering role across various brands with Reliance Retail – Reliance Fresh, Digital, Jewellery, Trends, Footwear and Reliance Markets. Before Reliance Retail, he was associated with Agro Tech Food Limited. Hemant has extensive experience in Business Partnering, Funds Management, Information Systems, Legal and Secretarial and other aspects of leading the Finance Function. Hemant is a winner of ‘Top 100 CFO Award’ for four consecutive years from 2013-2016 as well as the CIO& Leader Business Impact Award for 2015. ABOUT THE AUTHOR October 2018| 27
- 30. ife is to open the covered, reveal the secrets, know Lthe unknown and turn uncertainties into certainties. Some say that lying is a bad habit, while some others say harmless lies are okay. Even since childhood, we are been taught something, we are offered something and slowly, as we grow up, we observe something that is exactly opposite of what we have been said for the entire time till we grow up. The controversies are everywhere and the conflicts carry us around. Remember those days when our father used to say, “If you come up first in your class, you will get a brand new watch or an impressive fountain pen?” Remember those old days when our mother used to give us a glass full of milk and say, “If you drink this glass full of milk, God will bless you with strength, intelligence and wisdom?” Remember those moments when our parents used to distract our minds with an interesting story and feed us with rice, pulses and vegetables or smash the vegetables within the rice so that we neglect the fact that even though we don’t like it, but we were actually eating the vegetables? It’s hard to forget those joyful days of our life. Though we hated all those little activities of our parents in those days, we cherish it now, and we miss it now. It is to be noted that we are no longer in the days of adolescence and the people Editor’s Pick October 2018|28
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- 32. surrounding us are not our parents. It’s the real world. It does not expect us to offer white lies, it wants straightforward truth. It believes in transparency. To maintain any kind of relationship in this true and fast pacing world, one must always go by the offers on the table and not below the table. It is obvious that people rarely read between the lines to find whether the action is for their good or bad, they just focus on the matter whether they are aware of that or not. As per experts from all over the world, the strategies and tricks that one must follow within the boundaries of his/her enterprise and beyond are shared below. Maintain a clear and transparent communication with your customers. Nobody loves the hidden truth and that too, when they have to dig it and find the conditions beneath that. It is always advisable to disseminate information simply and clearly in a manner that is not hard to explain for you and it is easy for the person on the opposite side to understand. The easier it is to understand, the more the transparency is maintained between you and your customers, the more superior you become to your customers. Go beyond the walls, don’t just speak to them, rather, you must make them feel emotionally that you walk that extra mile for your clients to make their lives better. Treat your employees in the same as you treat your customers. It is time to remove that thin line of barrier that separates you from your employees. Let your employees know the benefits that you are offering to them. It is obvious that these offerings are something beyond the medical coverage and paid time off. Make your employees feel that you care for them, their opinion, their career, and most importantly, their life. Being the leader of a company comprising of more than 50 members, it is clearly not possible for you to reach each one of your employee, but you can always pass on the message through a simple mail or any kind of testimony. Give back more than you take. Our society, our community, our employees, our customers, and our investors, they have given us plenty of things because of which we and our enterprise is standing tall. It is apparently our responsibility to give that back. The most amazing thing about this is that it is something beyond just giving back to the society. One can use this as one of the greatest marketing tricks. Let’s not promote ourselves, let’s just promote our ideas and make people aware about the societal responsibilities, and let the people find the cause and figures behind this awareness program. Let the programs play the game; tell people about the things that they want to hear; you just need to take the credit beyond just profit. Be the light, be the Torchbearer and be the hero of your team. You are doing great and you are the leader of your team and also your organization, but you must go beyond your cabin and desk. Your employees must feel your presence, not just in your emails, but on a personalized level. You must come out of your cubicle and share your thoughts through various regular communications with the employees. As the entire world is digitizing itself, there exists the scope for increasing the level of visibility through a blog or podcast. Not just your employees, you must build a base with your customers too. The more visible you are among your customers, the more popular and more trustworthy you are. When the world is going live, what are you waiting for? It’s time; entrepreneurs must out of their corporate cocoons and let everyone know the real person hidden behind those fancy blazers and suits sitting inside those glass door cabins. Spread the Laughter. Success doesn’t come overnight and it takes a huge effort to build and lead a team or organization. While building an enterprise and leading it towards the stepping stones of success, what we often miss out is “To enjoy”. Humor is the catalyst to a pleasant working environment and that is why laughter plays a great role in building up bonding amongst the employees. In any workplace, what matters the most is the enjoyment in the work. So, let’s laugh, and spread the laughter and build a workplace that goes beyond a healthy working environment. October 2018|30
- 34. hat defines a successful professional? Believer of hope, self-motivator what else! WYes, he is known for acquiring such qualities and that too with utmost perfection and sincerity. Meet Parag Gupta, CFO at Spectra, an extraordinary professional who sacrificed his well-paid job, well-established and settle lifestyle to create a mark in the digital world and build something bigger, construct something of his own. A Relentless Improver Revolutionizing the World of Internet Parag Gupta: Execution and relentless execution is the key to success ,, ,, Parag Gupta CFO October 2018|32 The10 Most DynamicCFOs to Watch in 2018
- 35. Transitions which Paved the Way towards Success After successfully accomplishing Chartered Accounting in the year 2002, Parag started his career with Dell International Services at Bangalore in Shared Services space and then travelled to the United Kingdom to transition AR accounting processes. A short stint of a year in the UK helped Parag to learn a lot about transitioning and offshoring processes effectively and soon he decided to move on to Washington Mutual Bank to expand his skills and put more knowledge into his bag of wisdom. At Washington Mutual Bank, Parag worked in the sector of strategy and business delivery. While serving the company for four years, his career saw an exceptional transition. From there, he moved up from managing a 50- people single process to over 3000 people of multiple voice and non-voice functions over three different geographies. In the year 2008, Parag took a giant step in his career when he joined AT&T India in Delhi as the India CFO and worked on India entry strategy and telecom services. The Daring Challenge which made his Foundations Strong It was not easy, it was daring and it is apparent that hardly anybody would have taken such a risky call. Being the youngest CFO of AT&T in India at the age of 32 and with just six years of post-qualification experience is something beyond extraordinary. But the decision to move on from AT&T to a small startup called Nimbuzz and that too at a time when the existence of internet and mobile internet was itself in a state of question, was a daring step. Even though it was risky and people hardly knew about the internet economy, Parag saw the light of hope and made the move towards an unknown trail. Parag further expresses his experience in his own words and states, “The time when I decided to move on from AT&T to a little-known startup called Nimbuzz, that too at a time when internet and mobile internet was almost nonexistent was a big risk, everyone I knew and discussed with, thought I was crazy in what I was doing, I was leaving the stability of world's biggest telecom company for a startup which was funded with a few million dollars. If this startup did not work the way I thought it would, my career and all the hard work could have been gone.” It was in 2011 when Parag joined the Naspers owned internet startup – Nimbuzz, a chat platform where he managed operation in three continents and then eventually sold it to a British company in 2015. In the same year, he joined Paypal as the India CFO in its nascent stage to work on the India entry planning and launch. And, a year later, for personal reasons, Parag decided to move back to Delhi in 2016 and then he joined Spectra as its CFO. And, with his vast and extensive experience of such serious roles in numerous prestigious companies, Parag intends to grow this company over five times in the next five years. While talking about the factors which motivates him to take risks and move forward, Parag states, “I am a self- motivated person who firmly believes that if my biggest achievement in life is more than 18 months old then I am not doing myself justice, this continuous strive for improvement keeps me going and has helped me to take new risks in industries and job roles during the last 15 years.” About the Innovative Company With a mission to enable lives and journeys of individuals and businesses of urban India, to be more productive, progressive and fulfilling by providing them access to global standard broadband and other internet based services, Spectra is India’s first purely fiber optic based internet service provider. The company’s offerings include internet access, VoIP, digital infrastructure, cloud based solutions and media connectivity work seamlessly together to provide an unparalleled experience for homes and businesses. While discussing the factors driving the driving the company towards an exceptional future, the CFO states, “An erstwhile 10 year old company which desperately required change and fast, we needed automation and digitization of process across the company to prepare for the sought out growth in customers. We needed to reinvent ourselves according to our vision to get in to new streams of businesses and customers. We have successfully completed the first phase of the plan, we rebranded ourselves, made existing financial processes more efficient, transparent, faster, accurate and inexpensive.” Another side of the Leader Parag Gupta, alike other successful professional, is a man of passion. Unlike others the differences lies in the taste of activities and choices. He is undoubtedly curious about the know- hows of technology, but what interests him more are travel and history. He further adds, “My aim in life is to be amongst the best in what I do and my professional goal is to build successful teams and businesses that thrive.” And Parag’s advice to the budding entrepreneurs is, “Take calculated and learned decisions, learn from yours and others’ mistakes, understand the market and its dynamics, bet on people and not on ideas.” He always tells his team that execution and relentless execution is the key to success.” October 2018| 33
- 36. 8Hours a day. 5 Days a week. 4 Weeks a month. 12 Months a year and, 40 Years in one’s life. This figure is humongous, and so is its importance. Believe it or not, this is the quantification of time that we actually spend while working. An average human rd being spends about 1/3 of his/her life while working at offices. And, rd this doesn’t even stop here. Even in the balance 2/3 portion, significant amount of time is spent either warming-up one-self with preparations before work or cooling-down one-self from exhaustions after work. Ironically, while we get busy weaving our lives at the workplaces, the other ‘important-stuffs’ like our families, friends & personal relationships helplessly watch us somewhere from their back-seats in which we have forced them into. In our generation, the impact of our work is quite heavy on almost everything else that we have. A single bad day at work has multiple cascading effects on everything that follows, be it our personal life, our social life, even our physical and mental health is not spared. But even after knowing all this, the real conundrum is – One just cannot rid oneself from working. It is the basic source to earn the fundamental necessities of life viz. Food, Water and Shelter. It has become so integral to our lives that imagining a life without work sound ridiculous. So, it goes without saying that one has to be very careful while choosing the kind of work/career they opt for. Usually, this part is taken well care of. However, the part which often gets neglected is our ‘conduct’ at the workplace. Our conduct determines the environment and the inter-personnel relationships at offices. The relationships that we forge on work-places are quite vital in determining its environment. We are not robots assigned with tasks to perform, and that is why even though sacrifice or neglect many other things in life, relationships, culture and work environment not only maintains the balance of the employees but also creates a direct impact on the productivity of the workspace. Whatever happens around us has Exclusive TIPS WHICH WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIP WILL HELP YOU CREATE A NON-TOXIC Seven October 2018|34
- 37. serious impressions on our work-life, on our life after work and most importantly on us. Hence, it should never be neglected, rd and especially not when the existence and relevance of entire 2/3 portion of our life is dependent on it. Making workplace more productive and non-toxic is not a rocket-science. The solution is not that far; it lies within us only. Here are some cues which will ensure healthiness in work-place relationships and the associated atmosphere. 1) Acknowledge the Common-Cause Irrespective of the kind of profession or the type of department we are in, there is one simple goal that never changes, i.e., the aim to bring success for the organisation, firm or business we are working for. A proper understanding of this common-cause strengthens the team-bonding among the co-workers which emboldens the person-to-person relationships at work. October 2018| 35
- 38. 2) Appreciate the Value that Others Bring In Needless to mention, majority of conflicts in any organisation are caused once the feeling of individual superiority creeps in among the equals. There needs to be a clear understanding that a colleague working in the same rank as yours is in there only because he/she belongs there, rather deserves to be there. There shall absolutely be no scope of egoistic impositions amongst them. No matter what the designation of an employee is the senior management should always give importance and value to the junior empoyees to make them believe that their work, ideas and decisions matter for the organization's growth. In this way, one can enhance the confidence and trust of the employees belonging to all levels of the hierarchy authority. No matter, how good an architect you are with world-class technique and degrees to boast of; can you build even a simple wall of house without taking help of mason, carpenters and workers? It is apparently not possible. 3) Make the Transition from ‘Me to We’ There is a reason why there is no ‘I’ in a ‘TEAM’. Working in isolation never serves the purpose. No matter how efficient you are, the larger picture of success comes only when the individuals work in unison with a sense of mutual co-operation amongst them. The essence of togetherness energizes the complete work-environment. It rejuvenates the employees and ensures higher level of dedication in their work. 4) Give Personal Space and Find One in Return Individuals working at offices have a lot of things to deal-with out of office. But most of us tend to overlook it quite often. Irrespective of how good your bonding is with your colleague, there would obviously be certain areas where your repeated interventions might not be appreciated. Sudden interference in colleague’s life may hamper somebody’s private space and it is always appreciable to respect each and every people’s privacy. So, to maintain a healthy relationship with the person sitting next to you, one should know ‘when to speak’ and more importantly ‘when not to’. 5) Be Gentle in Suggestions It is an apparent fact that monetary earning and perks are the things that motivates us to go to work every day. No denial to this fact, after all, we all work to make a living. We get paid for what we do. No denial to this fact too. But, sometimes things are better understood when not said point-blank. It is a general psychological fact that if one points out other’s mistake in a rude note, the person being pointed out might find that offensive. That will eventually lead to demoralization of the employee, the formation of depressive air in the work environment and will ultimately hamper the productivity of the entire team. Suggestions are always fruitful when delivered with calmness and supported with logic. If some suggests or advices another employee or even points out mistake of that person in a polite and ethical way, the person will value that and obviously the respect for the person will be enhanced to a new level. 6) Be Affluent in Appreciations Ever tried calling your office-boy or office-cleaner by name? The smile that’ll appear on their faces upon hearing their names from so-called ‘white collar’ employees like you would be priceless. Same applies to your counter-parts, your colleagues and your sub- ordinates too. Take some time to appreciate the ‘goods’ around you. There would be plenty of those surrounding you every day. Mere few good-words regarding their work, etiquette, sincerity or even dressing sense, works a magic in motivating people at work. No matter who the person is appreciation always play a magical role in building positivity filled with motivation among the employees. 7) Be Happy and Spread Happiness Happiness is infectious. A simple burst of laughter spreads in a speed faster than light. You must have noticed that the happiest faces at any office are most efficient at work too. They have an aura surrounding them. People feel them to be approachable and easy to communicate. This ‘ease’ is the foundation of healthy relationship between colleagues at work. Nothing is constant in this world except change. You never know when you might have say “Fare-thy-well” to one of your colleagues or vice-a-versa. So, get rid of pity grudges, be polite with all and, have courage to forgive, forget and move-on. You must be thinking, it’s so simple, chalk-n-cheese! But not really. Even if you have acquired the awareness and you are ready to condition yourself to maintain healthy relationship at work; what is the guarantee that your counter-part at work will reciprocate and follow the same? You can’t just clap by a single hand. Well, nothing comes rd this easy in our lives. But, as our valuable 2/3 portion of lives are dependent on it, we must put-in extra some efforts demanded by this relationship. The power of any relationship lies with the one who cares more. Let us be the one who cares. We all know that the change begins with rd you and within you. Once you start caring, the 1/3 will set itself free from all kinds of toxicity and, once this liberation rd is attained, the balance 2/3 will get-up from their ‘back- seats’ to smile at you and to embrace you with the happiness which you have craved for so long. Wouldn’t the life filled with such moments be beautiful? Even the thought of such life has brought a smile on your face. October 2018|36
- 40. A determined personality, Manoj Shrikant Gujarathi is a highly qualified individual and a GST Practitioner by profession. He has completed his Graduation in Commerce and further pursued LL.B and D.T.L. He has also done an internship in C.A. and is currently running his own firm known as Manoj Gujrathi GST Practitioner. Over the years, he has successfully led his company to achieve numerous achievements and worked with the values of integrity and dedication. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Expert’s Insight October 2018|38 Manoj Shrikant Gujarathi GST Practitioner
- 41. Today Indian saddling framework is going a progressive change attributable to spreading the wings of Indian business into worldwide market. Indian Government is giving careful consideration to change the saddling framework and in the meantime shutting the provisos to incapacitate the gatecrashers to dodge the exhausting framework in order to augment the income to Government exchequer and prosper the general business scene. Loathe Budget 2014 has likewise assumed imperative job toward this path. Assessment might be demanded on common people like individual, Hindu unified family fake elements like Firm, relationship of people, organization, society and so on and furthermore on merchandise and enterprises. Therefore, another grouping of expense we found into direct assessment and backhanded duty. In India, dynamic and relative saddling frameworks are pursued. In Indian expense law, chunk shrewd taxability emerges to some degree for money charge while corresponding assessment is material for different duties, for instance extract obligation, traditions obligation, VAT, benefit impose, riches impose and so forth. Advance under salary assess, lottery pay, long haul capital gain, and now and again here and now capital gain is burdened under relative tax collection framework. Coordinate duty implies a kind of expense which is paid by a man straightforwardly to the Government. For instance wage expense and riches charge in India. Roundabout expense implies impose on products and ventures which are paid by a man to the maker, dealer or specialist co-op who is subject to pay the equivalent to the record of Government. For instance traditions obligation, extract obligation, VAT, benefit impose, amusement assess and so on in India. Presently an advanced arrangement of saddling all merchandise and ventures “products and enterprises charge” is going to be presented. This will supplant every single existing sanctioning identifying with products and enterprises. Pay charge: Under Indian pay impose law both level rate (corresponding duty) and chunk rate (dynamic assessment) applies. Duty is figured on aggregate pay. Riches impose: riches charge is collected at 1% on the net abundance of individual, Hindu unified family and friends if net riches surpasses Rs.30 lakhs on the valuation date. It is payable in each appraisal year in view of valuation of net riches on the separate valuation dates. The effect of direct assessment on financial development: The immediate expense is one of the imperative wellsprings of government income. Advance it likewise impacts specifically the extra cash of people. On the off chance that immediate expense rate is expanded by the Government, individuals begin putting something aside for venture purposes. Because of this conduct of person’s pay age procedure of economy is hampered. Especially this is valid for extravagance wares. This reductions the generation of extravagance wares in the economy and subsequently additionally antagonistically influences the GDP and ways of life. Anyway on the positive sides, if appropriate findings are permitted in light of speculations, it prompts capital development in the nation. Consequently, comprehensively following are the positive sides of direct charges on the monetary development: Ÿ Better capital arrangement Ÿ Inducement of sparing and speculation Ÿ Surety of Government's income development Ÿ Increase in arranged use of government Ÿ Decrease in swelling rate because of lesser accessibility of extra cash to people Ÿ Timely accessibility of income to the Government Ÿ Effect of aberrant assessment on monetary development Since the weight of indirect charges straightforwardly fall on the shoppers, it specifically impacts the expense of merchandise and enterprises. Therefore, circuitous assessment builds the proficiency of the makers, since to keep up their interest they should put their full endeavors towards cost cutting measures. Further, this exertion of makers likewise acquires appropriate usage of assets the economy. The buyers are at opportunity to choose items at their decision, along these lines solid rivalry additionally develops in the economy. Accordingly, extensively following are the positive sides of roundabout expenses on the monetary development: Ÿ Better usage of assets Ÿ Increase in proficiency of makers Ÿ Growth of solid rivalry in the market Ÿ More opportunity of decision to the buyers Ÿ Increase sought after for extravagance products Ÿ Increase in way of life of individuals October 2018| 39
- 44. And as the old adage goes, “Change is the only constant in the world.” Time changes everything around us, but what makes a winner out of each one of us depends on how we adapt to the change, learn from it and evolve with it. Vikash Sureka, CFO, IBS Software Private Limited, is someone who has evolved with time, facing the challenges thrown in front of him with focus and determination. And that makes him an unconventional, yet successful leader of today. Born and brought up in Bangalore, Vikash was a happy-go- lucky teenager, mostly on the road riding his fully modified 100cc Yamaha. All that seemed important was to have a plan for the day, finalized each morning. Sudden death of his father compelled Vikash to start early on his career to support his family. At the age of 16, he joined a small firm in Bangalore as an assistant to a typist. “This was perhaps the most defining moment for me. I realised the importance of hard work and the need to respect each and every aspect of a professional work environment.” says Vikash. Soon after, Vikash started working as an articled clerk with S.B. Billimoria & Co. and completed his Chartered Accountancy. Later he moved to Wipro Limited where he spent a decade working across various functions and businesses which ultimately uplifted Vikash's career to the next level. After working for a few years with Wipro, Vikash joined AppLabs (in the UK) as their global CFO. AppLabs (later acquired by CSC), introduced Vikash to the real concept of management. He shares his experiences and says, “The exposure to a variety of stakeholders, taught me the value of positioning and articulating the corporate story. Subsequently I returned to India to join IBS as its CFO.” Memorable moments that marked Vikash’s life There are personal moments in everyone’s life, ones that make you swell with pride every time you think about it, another that makes you emotional and apprehensive of your decision yet that makes a good learning for you, and a few that makes life worth looking forward to and living. Vikash had his share of such moments as well. When he completed his Chartered Accountancy and made his mother proud. Vikash also recalls his daughter doubling his pride of being a father, “My elder daughter at a young age and on her own accord, took up charity and did her first ever bake sale in our community. The feeling of achievement in her was truly remarkable for me and indeed a proud moment seeing her work towards helping others.” For Vikash, the winning moment as a leader was when one of his team members told him - “Your trust and confidence is sufficient for me to take on new responsibilities and I know I will be super successful.” Containing his excitement Vikash said, “All I had done was to listen to the individual, encouraged and told that it’s OK to fail as long as you have tried – this taught me the power of empathy.” Vikash had to close down a development centre in the north of England, due to certain business reasons. What then appeared to be a simple and easy decision sitting in the Board room, turned out to be an exhausting experience on Vikash Sureka: An extraordinary leader moulded by experiences, expertise and empathy The10 Most DynamicCFOs to Watch in 2018 October 2018|42
- 45. the ground for him. “I had completely underestimated the disruption in people’s lives and other complexities. This was indeed an emotionally draining, yet a learning experience for me,” he said. Failure was never a deterrent for Vikash to take up challenges. There had been many instances in the past, but the one on top of the mind that he quipped with was the one at IBS when he was very new to IBS. The Board Meeting was set and Vikash was marked a copy on the invite as an optional attendee. He not only decided to be part of the meeting but to the surprise of everyone on the board, defended the company’s performance, despite the risk of failing amidst a strong Board. About the Company – IBS Software IBS Software is a leading provider of new generation IT solutions to the global Travel, Transportation and Logistics (TTL) industry. Founded in 1997, IBS is today a multinational corporation employing over 3000 professionals from 20 different nationalities spread across Americas, Europe, Middle East, Japan, Australia and India. IBS’ software products and customized solutions today manage the mission-critical operations of some of the largest airlines, busiest airports, major oil and gas companies, luxurious cruise lines, top hotel groups and tour operators world-wide. IBS currently owns the IP rights to 17 software products in the areas of airline passenger services, airline & airport operations, airline cargo & logistics, oil & gas logistics, travel & cruise management, hospitality distribution and ocean & surface transportation. IBS also offers bespoke software services in these business domains. IBS has 3 Data Centres for SaaS operations, in Ashburn, Sydney & Tokyo. Under Vikash’s guidance, the Company on-boarded Blackstone (the world’s largest private equity player) as a strategic investor in the Company. The Leader’s Speech to the Budding Entrepreneurs “It’s a cliché to say ‘if you aren’t changing, you aren’t growing’. In a highly connected and digital world the pace of change is very fast. The rapid changes are caused by emergence of newer technology, access to better information, changing global regulation, changes in government and alliances, etc. and the businesses have to constantly reinvent themselves amidst the chaos and adapt to the change. An organization that is constantly evolving along with its ecosystem significantly improves its longevity, market position and has a better chance at attracting talent.” “My advice to the budding entrepreneurs would be to stay focused, have patience for ideas to develop, trust your instincts, have well defined milestones and celebrate successes” Vikash Sureka CFO October 2018| 43