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THE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

VISION FOR NEW INDIA & PROFESSION

Vision for New India

CA. Samir Seksaria
CFO, TCS
Financing our futures
& the Profession:
A Technological
Perspective
Technology has emerged as a game-changer in our field,
disrupting traditional practices, and opening doors to
innovative approaches. As Chartered Accountants, when
we embrace this change and leverage technology, we can be
a catalyst for growth and transformation. It is crucial for

F
or eons, humans have been
involved in trade. While
trade related practices
have evolved with the ages,
its pace accelerated with the
advent of technology. As a result
of this, having standard rules of
accounting and disclosure of
financial statements came into
play with ICAI spearheading this
movement. This is a testimonial
of the impact of ICAI since
we are celebrating the 75th
Chartered Accountants Day. Over
the decades, ICAI has partnered
in Nation Building with integrity
and excellence. This foundation
day brings an opportunity to
reflect on our achievements,
recognise the evolving era of
our industry and set our sights
on a visionary future. It gives me
immense pleasure to share with
you my thoughts on how we,
as chartered accountants, can
reimagine our futures as well as
that of our country by leveraging
technology.
Being a member of this premier
Institute and working with India’s
Top IT company TCS, has given
me a ringside view of how
technology can be leveraged
to provide massive benefits to
us to stay at the forefront of technological advancements,
equipping ourselves with the knowledge and skills
necessary to thrive in the digital era.
millions of people. All of you
might have heard of or even
experienced first-hand, the
smooth functioning of Passport
Seva Kendras today. Technology
driven transformation of PSKs
has given India the ability to
cut through bureaucracy and
empowered her citizens to
dream about hassle-free travel
beyond boundaries. The right
technology in the hands of the
right people can work wonders
as we have seen with the
implementation of Ayushman
Bharat or Jan Dhan Yojana.
Believing in the dreams of a
billion hearts
India’s vision for 2030 is strongly
linked to multi-dimensional
developmental goals. A key
infrastructure foundation
powering all these changes is
digital technology.
While multiple statistics can
be used to discuss the growth
levels and target audience,
one corelating story we see is
that of the education sector
booming in non-traditional
courses. We can safely treat
this as circumstantial evidence
indicating opportunities in new
and emerging fields.
The sponsoring stakeholders
(governments) have the
necessary vision and
willingness. The executing
stakeholders (technology
enablers and administrative
divisions) are aplenty and ready
to deliver. The consuming
stakeholders (citizens) are ever
ready. We have our task cut
out to be the custodians of
trust that these stakeholders
have in each other and be
valuable partners to the growth
unravelling around us.
Building on numbers and
beyond
The role of finance and
chartered accountants is fast
evolving to be at a strategic
layer. Preparing statements,
reconciliation, and even basic
audits are all hygiene activities
that are automated easily.

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VISION FOR NEW INDIA & PROFESSION
With technology becoming all
pervasive, there is massive data
generated at various points.
As people breathing numbers
day-in and day-out, we have the
2. Collaborate
logical thinking and assimilative
capability required to connect the
dots and draw inferences.
Embracing the below 4 Cs will
ensure that we will be value
enablers and not just bean
counters.
1. Cross skill
While we are all attuned to
the accounting standards
and keep abreast of the
developments in the finance
space, we should also nurture
skills of a different nature
to be able to contribute
holistically.
 Know Your Business
– When we go beyond
bookkeeping and
understand the context
of the businesses/
enterprises that we
service, we can tailor our
actions/ recommendations
appropriately.
 Keep abreast of
technology - Technology
can make our jobs easier
and our services easily
consumable for the end-
84 JULY 2023
user. We can subscribe
to podcasts and websites
that will help us to expand
our horizons.
Collaboration needs
conscious and continuous
effort; the lack of collaboration
can make teams work towards
conflicting goals.
 Network with
stakeholders - We have
various stakeholders
within and outside the
finance teams. We can
establish a good rapport
when we understand their
goals and the purposes
behind their actions.
 Be flexible when
feasible - We need to
have clarity of thought
and ensure buy-in from
stakeholders in the areas
of financial prudence and
risk management which
are non-negotiable. When
we have a framework
for constructive
business engagement,
it will provide certainty
and assurance to all
stakeholders when
they make business
commitments.
THE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT
3. Communicate
Communication is much
more than good language
skills and MS office skills.
This is an art that can be
easily mastered if one tries to
do so diligently.
 Effective Articulation –Like
great teaching, the measure
of effective communication
is also the ability to take a
complex topic and make
it appear simple. This is a
crucial skill to work on with
non-finance teams.
 Tailored to target
audience - Compliance
is half-done if the relevant
people understand
correctly the why and what
of an action. When we
are cognizant of other’s
priorities and limitations,
we can achieve better
collaboration towards
common goals.
4. Change Agent
When you think about the
4-quadrant maturity model
for how a function evolves,
being an operator or steward
comes naturally to most of us.
Being a strategist or catalyst
requires huge upskilling.
 Be a Catalyst - Being
a catalyst requires a
deep understanding of
the organization, and
a grounded attitude
to engage with the
stakeholders.
 For example, accounting
standards frequently require
valuations for accounting
transactions. Valuations
are complex and pose
challenges. When we focus
on innovations and arrive
at optimum valuations
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THE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT
within the boundaries of
professional scepticism,
we can bring tremendous
value addition.
 Be the enabler for
change – By the very
nature of our job, it is
easier for us to get a
holistic view of what is
happening; we know how
to look at numbers and
interpret what is working
or not working. We can
bat for impactful change
when we highlight our
insights to drive actions
needed.
 Change need not always
be for course-correction; it
could also be for charting
a new path. For example,
the profession can be a
leading agent of change
in implementing the ESG
reporting. ESG reporting
is beyond the annual
reports and compliance.
ESG data management
and reporting is metrics
intensive and data
intensive, where data is
required to be obtained
from sources across the
value chain. Chartered
Accountants are ideally
suited for this activity.
This dimensional shift is
easier said than done but we
are uniquely placed to seize
this position. We can truly
elevate our profession and
organizations; be a valuable
partner in crafting growth
stories.
Our future - imagined by us
and powered by technology
Technology has emerged as
a game-changer in our field,
disrupting traditional practices,
and opening doors to innovative
www.icai.org
VISION FOR NEW INDIA & PROFESSION
approaches. As Chartered
Accountants, when we embrace
this change and leverage
technology, we can be a catalyst
for growth and transformation.
It is crucial for us to stay at
the forefront of technological
advancements, equipping
ourselves with the knowledge
and skills necessary to thrive in
the digital era.
I would like to cite the example of
TCS Finance for having achieved
this nuanced positioning
brilliantly.
● Today, we are a ~$28
billion organization with 52
subsidiaries, and 6 lakhs+
associates working across
50+ countries. There was a
time when business teams
were engaged in closure
activities for almost 2 weeks
after the end of the quarter.
This effectively meant that
the business had only 83%
time to focus on the new
quarter. We looked into our
processes and partnered
with our technology teams to
simplify and digitize various
processes.
We have institutionalized
the book-closure process
for publishing the financial
performance to our business
units on day 1 after month/
quarter end for many years now,
and releasing the audited results
to investing public within an
average period of 10 days from
quarter-end. Business teams
have been enabled for financial/
operational planning and
execution for the new quarter
from day 2 after a quarter end.
This is a direct impact story of
finance leveraging technology
for improving organizational
performance.
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● When we look at employee
engagement, straight-through
processing of expense
reimbursement claims
has been a huge game-
changer. By leveraging OCR
to read expense bills and
ML algorithms and neural
networks to automate claims
processing, associates see
their claims processed in a
week instead of a month.
At the same time, this is
achieved on the strength
of automation and not by
increasing the number of
people processing claims.
● One last example I would
like to quote is from the
shareholders’ perspective.
We pulled off the first virtual,
paperless AGM globally
only because of the power
of technology. Be it share
paperless board meetings,
buybacks, or the dividend
distribution of our award-
winning annual reports, the
calibre of our finance team
has always been enhanced by
the right use of technology.
By placing business-enablement
as our core priority, and trusting
technology to be our friend, we
remain not only relevant but also
become a crucial constituent of
the TCS story.
I would urge you all to be open
to the possibilities that surround
you and seize the initiative to
do better for yourself, your
organization, and the nation.
May this journey of success and
learning continue for many more
years to come.

Author may be reached at
eboard@icai.in
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