From delivering efficient finance processes to supporting business strategies, Neeraj Basur, CFO, Blue Star Ltd, is an adept who knows the breadth and depth of financial matters. He was previously associated with Max Bupa Health Insurance Co. Ltd. as the company’s CFO, where he built a high-performing finance team, with a focus on delivering effective finance and business strategies. Prior to this role, as the Senior Vice President - Corporate Finance at Max India Ltd., he was responsible for capital market transactions, private equity, deal structuring and new venture start-ups. He was also the Corporate Controller at HCL Technologies. In an exclusive interview with Corporate Citizen , Basur talks about his professional experiences and personal life, while sharing tips for young aspirants to succeed
In the last five years the CFO’s role has evolved and changed a lot. What we deal with today are very different from what it was fifteen years ago. Now the CFO is expected to play multiple roles—not only as financial officer but also to guide the business, in terms of strategy. We have to make sure that the business expenses do not go beyond the boundaries and limits, which are generally prescribed by the board. CFO is expected to play the role of conscience keeper in that sense, ensuring that the quality and standard of governance are of the highest order.
In a public listed company, CFO’s role is to work as a Key Management Person (KMP), as defined in the Companies Act. In case there is a serious default in terms of compliance, governance, regulatory atmosphere, and regulatory requirements then along with the directors the CFO can and will be also get called up. So, there is a huge amount of personal obligation associated with professional obligation. CFOs are now required to make sure that transparency and ethics with which the business are supposed to be run, is followed.
I have a few hobbies and one of them is to play musical instruments. I find that extremely de-stressing and I use it to distract myself when it gets too heavy in terms of work. The other thing I like to do is travel whenever it is possible, to the places close to nature. One has to be conscious about work and life and personal space, and it is quite possible. A lot of people complain that we don’t get time. Expectations will remain. You need to be flexible enough to be able to switch between your work and personal life. There will be situations where your official space needs priority and then one has to be flexible to sacrifice personal time. But it is possible to balance work and life.
I have done my post-graduation in Masters of Commerce and later completed Chartered Accountancy (CA) and Company Secretary (CS). For the last one and a half years, I am working as a CFO with Blue Star Limited, a leading air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration company. Before that I have worked with companies like Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited, HCL Technologies, Spice Telecom and Escorts Limited. As a CFO at Max Bupa, I worked with for six years and was involved in setting up the company from day one.
Dream about what you want to be and people you want to associate with, thirty years down. Having a dream and living that dream are two important elements of succeeding in the business world. Dream big and most important is believe in your dream, because if you believe, others will. Go for excellence and success will follow.
Learning is a journey which never stops, so having a learning mindset allows us to enhance our knowledge. Focus on upgrading and adding to your skills, because skills have a lifespan. Some skills might last longer, some may not. In this digital age, competition is big a challenge. In the first five-seven years of your job you will have the opportunity to set up a platform where you can keep adding skills. New skills help to maintain stability.
In his 2005 speech at Standford, Steve Jobs had said “Stay hungry, stay foolish”, which is a powerful piece of advice to the students. No matter how successful a businessman you are, your hunger to learn should never end.
Growth has to be nurtured just like a sapling that will grow into a tree. Be open to change, because change forces you to take risks, exposes you to vulnerabilities and the unknown. But change leaves you with huge amount of learning and potential. Don’t be afraid to take risks, because unless you are willing to walk an extra mile and push your limits, you will not grow.
The youngsters, so-called post-millennials or ‘Generation Z’, surprisingly are far more technology-driven. They are far more instant in terms of expectations and ability to deliver. They are impatient in terms of what they want to achieve. I can probably relate to them in some way because I also changed my first job after six years. My advice to them is learn, grow, help others (friends, colleagues or organisation you work for) and keep learning.
I have always been guiding my own team and other people that the first five to seven years one should not bother about the cost to company (CTC). These years you are investing in your skills because over a longer period of time the compensation difference gets neutralised
I am a firm believer of the philosophy that people join the company as a new entrant and leave it as a manager. Money could be a trigger but not a genuine factor. What typically happens in initial few years of one’s career is that if someone offers a better package, then one might change the job.
However, if one is equally hungry to grow, you would see a mentor in your manager, gain experience—that’s real investment. I have always been guiding my own team and other people that the first five-seven years one should not bother about the cost to company (CTC), CTC is a hygiene factor. Your friend my might be getting more money than you, but that should not bother you. Think that the first five-seven years you are investing in your skills, because over a longer period of time the compensation difference gets neutralised. So if people are willing to see that the compensation is hygiene, what is more important is learning the skill set. Eventually if people are willing to add to their competencies money follows.
As a leading company in the air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration space, Blue Star has been in the field for last 72 years. Our CSR activities are carried out through a trust within the company. Activities involve donating some of our products to institutions like schools and hospitals. For instance, our water coolers are a very useful product when it comes to providing clean drinking water to students in educational organisations. We also donate air conditioners to schools and hospitals. We have our own CSR programmes, which look after the requests which we keep getting throughout the year.
BY VINEET KAPSHIKAR
