Introductory Talk in IFRS FDP by Dr. Sangeeta Pandit

A Faculty Development Program on IFRS was held by ACCA and Mumbai University in association with SIMSREE. Here is the introductory talk by SIMSREE's HOD of Finance, Dr. Sangeeta Pandit :

" Good Morning everybody!

With the notification of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in February 2015, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have now truly arrived in India. They are applicable and of great importance in preparing financial statements, auditing them and interpreting them. Their application will have far reaching impact and its ripples will be felt in Merger and Acquisition (M & A) Activities, joint ventures, private equity, raising of finance, tax planning, ESOPs and other strategic areas.

India, today, is an intrinsic part of the Global world and our regulators have prudently adopted 39 accounting standards formulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) called IND As which are substantially in sync with the global standards of today called IFRS. Applicability of IND As to companies depend on their Net Worth and whether listed or not. By 1st April, 2017 a large number of the Indian companies will have to mandatorily adopt IND AS. The biggest problem for our Accounting Bodies is that we are formulating standards based on IFRS which are evolving. We are trying to model our standards based on standards that are very fluid.

The move to IFRS will enhance transparency, enable international comparability and make our markets more attractive.However, there are concerns - the level of complexity is certainly one of them. The stress on fair valuation ushers in subjectivity that may make accounts not comparable defeating the purpose of having standards. IFRS are constantly getting amended, such frequent changes, disrupts the very measures of calculation. Companies that do not use public money do they really need such complex standards is a moot question.

IND AS brings about a paradigm shift in many ways. New concepts will have to be learnt like Revenue Recognition model, Financial Instruments definition, manner of preparing Consolidated Financial Statements and many others.

IFRS has put a higher responsibility on Accountants. They are now required to know market economies, be able to read transactions as per their substance and strategic impacts and above all have an unbiased and ethical approach while doing fair valuation.

Considering the importance and complexity of IFRS, we felt it fit to have a workshop on this topic.
I am very grateful, to Dr. Anil Patil for sparing his valuable time and being our chief guest. I thank ACCA for collaborating to make this event happen. A big thank you to our esteemed speakers, Dr. Richard Martin of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants who will speak about the global scenario of IFRS and Mr. Date, Corporate trainer and consultant, who will speak about the relevance of IFRS in India.

Hope at the end of the day, you all feel that it was worth the time you invested. My best wishes for a day of great learning and net working. Merry Christmas and good luck and joy in the fast approaching 2016.

Thank You."

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Manish Bansal

Unlike a quintessential lecture the session started with a content-full and insight-full video that spoke about the importance of investment and then the entire session revolved around the major learnings from the clip. Sir made those indirect learnings extremely lucid and fathomable with sharing his personal experiences and lessons, compiling which one can form an SIP “systematic investment program”

Lesson 1

Greed and Fear, these are the two major components of the market. “when people are greedy be fearful and when people fearful be greedy”. In short these two words indicate the temperament of the market, so when the market is greedy, flourishing, surrounded by good news, it’s the time to pull out your investments, as the line says it’s when you should be more fearful. But when the market is fearful, down, seeing a low that’s when you make investments and be greedy.

Lesson 2

“Rationale behind your investment”. Ask yourself why you want to put your hard earned money into something, have a strong reason backing your move. Do a thorough research before going for a particular company stocks. An astute investor knows where to put his money.

Lesson 3

“Start early” investments follow Fibonacci series. Hence law of compilation is what it grows on. The sooner you start the larger you amount will be at the end of the day.

Lesson 4

“Spend after saving than save after spending”. Saving should be the first priority and not spending when you receive your salary. Spend what you save after saving.

Lesson 5

“Don’t let sauce settle, keep stirring”. What it means is one shouldn’t let the money settle in a bank account because even a small amount of money counts. Keeping it in the bank may fold it twice over a decade but a good investment can fold it multiple times.

Lesson 6

“Don’t buy things you don’t need”. Do this and you may need to sell the things you need one day.

Lesson 7

“Compounding is the eighth wonder of the world”. As long as you don’t do anything stupid with your money, you would end up becoming rich provided you are discipline and patience.

And last but not the least “be a learning machine” add value to yourself every day because the biggest you have is you own reputation. 

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Batch Reunion 2010

The Batch of 2010 visited the Sydenham campus on 12^th of December to relive the memories and old days at a Reunion organized by the Alumni Committee on the occasion of completing five glorious years of graduation. The evening was graced by a lot of festivities, laughter and fun as the alumni plunged into the recollection of a plethora of memories that they shared with each other and the current students.

The evening began with the alumni sharing their experiences and how the institute had helped them develop in the two years that they had spent here. The nostalgia that the Alumni have towards the institute was clearly visible when they spoke of the institute and how they felt after coming back. As stated by most of the Alumni, it was like yesterday when they roamed the corridors on the Institute.

The evening progressed with the Alumni taking a stroll in the campus and remembering the moments that they spent there. The alumni also engaged with the students through interviews and conversations about the time they spent at SIMSREE. This was followed by the alumni being treated to a delicious cake. The Alumni indulged in a session of karaoke singing and expressed themselves vibrantly. They enjoyed the company of seeing their friends after a duration of five years as they regaled each other about how their lives have changed over the years.

Mr. Prathamesh Kini, an alumnus of the 2010 batch, concluded the event by congratulating the Alumni Committee for hosting such an enjoyable evening while saying that they would eagerly wait to come back to the institute for a ten year reunion. The Alumni then parted ways hoping to see each other soon.

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