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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Fiscus 2013: India and China – The New Torch Bearers of World Economy

5^th October 2013 is a date that all SIMSREE students will remember for a long time. Through FISCUS ’13 – the annual financial summit of the institute - it was an honor and a privilege to have with us the stalwarts of finance in the corporate world. The theme for this year was ‘India and China: The new Torch Bearers of World Economy’.

Mr. Seshagiri Rao – the joint Managing Director and group CFO for JSW Steel – was the Chief Guest. Mr. Atul Joshi – the Managing Director and CEO at India Rating and Research (a Fitch Group Company) – was the Key Note speaker for the event. The eminent panelists for the discussing the topic were Mr. Pramod Kasat – head of investment banking team at Investacorp and an alumnus of SIMSREE (batch of 1993); Mr. Tarun Sharma – Assistant General Manager at EXIM Bank of India and Mr. Nilay Rathi – General Manager (Commercial) at Century Textiles and Industries Limited.  The moderator for the discussion was Mr. Prashant Shetty – Director IDFC Capital and an alumnus of the Institute (batch of 1988).

The event, organized by the SIMSREE Finance Forum, was inaugurated by the traditional lighting of the lamp and the national anthem following which the Director of the Institute, Dr. Sandhya Dhabe, welcomed the esteemed guests to the Institute.

Mr. Seshagiri Rao, then addressed the batch. He touched upon the challenges that the developed nations, namely USA and Europe, faced of late and what led to the various financial crises in these economies. In the backdrop of the current turbulent scenario, he also spoke about the opportunities that lie in emerging economies and outlined the path that could be followed. With a rich experience spanning three decades in the steel industry and in the corporate finance and banking sector, he also shared with the students the challenges that India faces with regards to Steel manufacturing and how the future is full of fruitful opportunities waiting to be tapped in to

Mr. Atul Joshi brought to the event an insight to the economies of India and China from a Rating Company’s perspective. He first explained the students the ratings models followed for banks, corporate and the local governments. He also cited the disparities in the national and international ratings awarded to the institutions in India and its effect. Finally, he requested the students to have an optimistic attitude towards the future of the nation

The stage was then open for the panel discussion moderated by Mr. Prashant Shetty. All the panelists first spoke briefly on the subject. Mr Nilay Rathi shared with the students the challenges and opportunities that the Indian and Chinese economies face sighting the example of the textile industry. Mr. Tarun Sharma enlightened the students regarding the importance of exports for the development of any economy. Mr. Pramod Kasat elaborated upon the importance of investment, the differences between the Indian and the Chinese growth models, and the growth strategies to be followed. Among the wide array of questions raised by the audience were the ever increasing population challenges faced by the two nations, and whether it is a challenge or an opportunity, the political unrest between India and China, and how it may impact the economic ties between the two nations, the importance of trade fairs and the merits and challenges of the democracy in India and autocracy in China

Mr. Seshagiri Rao concluded the discussion perfectly by saying “India and China need not confront and have conflict, but they need to collaborate and cooperate”. The event was concluded with a vote of thanks from the SIMSREE Finance Forum Coordinators.

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SIMSREE ANNUAL FINANCE SUMMIT FISCUS'12

SIMSREE witnessed cynosures of the industry at FISCUS’12, the annual Financial Summit. The presence of Guest of Honour Dr. Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor, RBI sparkled the sombre milieu along with Chief Guest Mr. Ramesh Chandak Managing Director & CEO of KEC International Limited (KEC) and Keynote speaker Mr Nilesh Shah, Director Axis Direct. It was a lifetime opportunity to listen to veteran Dr. Subir Gokarn speak about “India: 6% Growth, The new Comfort Level?” He very succinctly put forward the analogy between Policy Makers and Managers while elucidating the ingredients of growth. He listed down the various macro factors that needs to be addressed for sustainable increase in growth rate. The intricate concept given by Dr Subir Gokarn was further explained in a very lucid manner by the Mr Ramesh and Mr Nilesh Shah.

Hon' Deputy Governer RBI Dr Subir Gokarn

In his addressal, Mr. Ramesh Chandak spoke about the impact of the Power sector which is one of the most critical growth drivers for a country. He started by talking about the recent major fallacies in the sector including the massive grid failure and Coalgate scam and its implications on the overall health of the country and its economy. He pointed out that in comparison with the global leaders, India stills lags far behind in the per capita power usage with a stark difference in the demand and supply. According to him, for addressing these vital issues we need an integrated energy ministry and a developed infrastructure to reduce distribution losses.

Mr. Nilesh Shah addressed students on the topic of benefits of capital market for growth of Indian economy. He emphasized the point that development of domestic capital market is the need of current economy to encourage entrepreneurship. He also said that we have a deep potential for capital market in India and it will start benefiting the economy if more people start investing in the debentures, equities, bonds, securities etc. instead of creating physical assets in terms of gold, silver and diamonds. Mr. Shah talked about the significant role that debentures would play for sustainable growth. He gave an example of how TUF i.e. Technology Upgradation Fund for textile industry played a major role in sustainable growth of the textile industry in India in the times of inflation.

What followed was one of the most engaging discussions that students of SIMSREE had ever witnessed. The panel discussion included corporate stalwarts like Mr. Gautam Patel, MD Zodius Advisors (Moderator); Mr. Ritesh Kumar Singh, GM & Group Economist Raymonds; Mr. Anay Khare MD-Corp fin-IB, Enam Securities; Mr. Sundarapandian Vishwanathan, VP Capex controlling Head, ACC; Mr. Sidharth Punshi, MD Investment Banking JPMC; Mr. Paresh Patel, Founder and MD Sandstone Capital and Mr. Manishi Raychaudhari, MD BNP Paribas Securities. Each of the panelists while talking about their area of expertise mirrored the sentiments of Dr. Gokarn. They stressed on the need to extend the reforms in retail and aviation industries to infrastructure and other major growth inducers for the economy. They spoke about how targeting untraditional markets for exports and disinvestment by the government to fund infrastructure development in the country can help the economy grow at higher rate and sustain it. The discussion and the  Question & Answer sessions that followed was carried on in a crystal clear manner that captivated the attention of novice in the field of management helping them to grasp the current trend of Indian economy.

Panel Discussion

Fiscus‘12 thus turned out to be a grand success owing to the relentless efforts of the members of the Finance Forum, the constant support and guidance of our Director, Dr. M A Khan and all others who contributed to this successful mega event.

Dr Subir Gokarn with SIMSREE Finance Forum team

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Finance Summit - FISCUS 2011

SIMSREE Finance Forum, the Finance cell of Sydenham Institute of Management Studies Research & Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) organized the Finance Summit “FISCUS ‘11” on 1st October at Indian Merchants Chambers (IMC), Mumbai. FISCUS ’11 brought together students and finance stalwarts on a common platform to discuss a vital issue in the field of finance. The list of speakers included eminent personalities from the world of finance.

Mr. Suresh Kotak

The Summit commenced with the inaugural speech of Mr. Suresh Kotak, Chairman, Kotak & Company. The Morning Session on “Financing the Corporate Needs of India Inc” was chaired by Mr. Gautam Patel, Advisor, Battery Ventures & Managing Partner, Citta Capital. The other Panelists included Mr. Manish Arora, Executive Vice President, Country Head-Product Development & Sales Effectiveness, Yes Bank, Mr. Bharat Sampat, CFO, DCB Bank, Mr. Sunil Sapre, CFO, CEAT, Mr. Vikram Gupta, CFO, Essar Shipping Corporation and Ms. Jayashree Ramaswamy, CFO, Dun & Bradstreet.

Panel Discussion- Morning Session

The Afternoon Session on “Developing the Indian Capital Markets” was chaired by Mr. B. Madhuprasad, Vice Chairman, Keynote Corporate Services. The other eminent speakers included Mr. Prashant Shetty, CEO, IDFC Capital, Mr. Rajiv Anand, CEO, Axis Mutual Fund, Mr. Sunit Joshi, Head-Capital Markets Group, SBI Capital Markets and Mr. Subrata Ray, Sr. Vice President, ICRA. There were Keynote Addresses by Mr. Viney Kumar, Executive Director, IDBI Bank and Mr. Sanjay Jain, Managing Director, head-Global Capital Markets, JM Financial on both the topics respectively.

Panel Discussion- Afternoon Session

All the hard-work put in by the students in organising the event paid off as FISCUS 2011 turned out to be a grand success. The event was enriched by the variety and depth of industry experience of the various panel members, panel chairpersons as well as the keynote speakers. FISCUS 2011 has certainly raised the bar and will serve as a benchmark for all the future finance summits as well as all the other corporate events organised by SIMSREE.

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