Sreepadh Guruprasad | Ex ITC

Sreepadh is currently a PGP student at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Prior to this, he worked in ITC in the Corporate Planning team from November 2017 – June 2020. He is a Chartered Accountant and completed his articleship from EY. Sreepadh will be sharing his experience from working with the Corporate Planning team at ITC.

Interview

How did you recruit for this role? What would your advice be for potential candidates aspiring to get here? (recruiting strategy, cycle, process etc.)

• ITC typically recruits Chartered Accountants for its finance roles and hiring happens twice a year after every attempt.
• The process consisted of a group discussion followed by a personal interview. The group discussion focused on a business scenario wherein everyone had to express their views.
• The personal interview round was taken by the senior finance leaders and focused on a vast range of topics which tested technical skills, general awareness and past experience.
• The company generally has a policy to place its new recruits in the internal audit team for a period of 3 years and thereafter post them across various business finance roles. However, depending on the vacancies and profile of the candidate, the company can choose to directly place its new recruits in business/corporate finance roles. I got directly placed in the Corporate Planning team.
• One advice that I would give to the potential aspirants would be to have a sound conceptual understanding of the finance subjects (Accounting, Costing and Financial management) and be aware of the recent happenings in the economy.

What are the key skills that are required for this role?

The role involved appraisal of annual business plans of various businesses/categories and evaluation of key capital expenditure decisions across the company. The Corporate Planning team directly worked with the senior leaders at the Corporate/group level and end-deliverables were typically given to the members of operating management committee. In this context, the following skills are important for the role:

• Quick turnaround while also being time conscious
• Communication skills since it involved direct communication with senior management
• Business writing skills since the role also involved drafting investor communication documents
• People skills since it requires active coordination with people in various businesses

What is the typical feeder profile (typical previous work experience) for this industry in general and for your firm in particular?

Qualified Chartered Accountants with 0-2 years of experience are typically recruited. No specific experience is required.

Is there an education path that is preferred for getting a role in this industry?

Qualifying CA (typically first attempt) is the only education path. Securing a rank is not a pre-requisite.

What was your total team size and what is the typical team staffing on a case/deal?

The Corporate Planning team is a six-member team with each of them reporting to Head of Corporate Planning and Head of Corporate Finance.

What was a typical day at work for you?

The work at Corporate Planning was very dynamic due to the sheer number of businesses a team member had to handle. Every member of the team is expected to have a thorough understanding of the business he/she handles and is therefore expected to work with the business finance teams and the senior leaders of the respective businesses on a regular basis. While appraisal of annual business plans was a seasonal activity (between February to April), other tasks including evaluation of capital expenditure decisions, periodical performance review of businesses happened throughout the year.

What were your key responsibilities in different roles during your time at ITC?

In the Corporate Planning role, I had the following responsibilities:

• Appraisal of Business Plans: I evaluated the annual business plans of various businesses and my end deliverable was preparation of an appreciation note documenting key imperatives for the businesses going forward, a deep-dive into the financials of current as well as plan years and key strategies for driving growth & profitability during the plan period.
• Evaluation of capital expenditure decisions: I evaluated key capital expenditure decisions pertaining to various businesses and my end deliverable was preparation of an appreciation note documenting key imperatives for the project and financial justification of the project (IRR/NPV)
• Investor Relations: My responsibilities included drafting of quarterly press releases & MD&A and preparation of quarterly/annual presentation to the board of directors and investors.
• Other routine activities: Weekly/monthly reporting activities on various metrics/projects and periodical business reviews.

In all the above cases, the end-deliverable was given to the members of operating management committee and in some cases, to the Board of Directors.

What is the typical exit that people get from this role?

Typical exit options include strategic/business finance roles in other corporates.

What are the pros and cons about this role?

Pros

• Enables one to get a bird’s eye view of functioning of various businesses
• Great exposure and visibility since the role involves direct communication with senior management
• Enables one to sharpen their communication and business writing skills

Cons

The work sometimes gets very challenging and might involve long work hours

What were your typical work hours in a week (including weekends)?

Typically ranges between 12-13 hrs per day. However, during the planning season (February to April), work hours range between 16-17 hrs per day including weekends.

How do the responsibilities evolve as one grows in this industry into senior roles?

A stint with a particular team typically lasts for 3-4 years and post which, employees get an opportunity to shift to other roles/businesses within the company. ITC, being a conglomerate, offers a range of roles across various businesses including business finance, corporate audit, tax/accounting, procurement/marketing finance, category finance, deputation at ITC’s subsidiaries (as finance lead), etc.

What would be your advice for people aspiring for a similar role?

Since the initial posting may/may not be of one’s choice, having an open mind and willingness to learn is a pre-requisite since each role offers a vast exposure and potentially help to discover one’s true interests and passion.