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Welcome back to Count Me In,

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the podcast for management accountants
making an impact in the business world.

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I'm Neha Lagoo Ratnakar from IMA.
Today I'm speaking with Aparna Iyer,

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the treasurer and head of
investor relations at vPro.

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Aparna's career.

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Got off to quite a promising start when
she earned a gold medal for the highest

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score on the exams by the Institute
of Chartered Accountants of India.

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She's gone on to hold many roles across
the accounting and finance function at

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vPro, and along the way,

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she has constantly pushed herself out
of a comfort zone to keep learning new

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skills and developing her
empowering approach to leadership.

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We cover a lot of ground in
this fascinating conversation
from robotic process

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automation to the benefits of ambition
to how we might be working in the

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Metaverse sooner than you
think. Let's get started.

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Welcome to Count Me in, Aparna.

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It's such a pleasure to finally
meet you for this conversation.

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Thank you, Neha. It's
an absolute pleasure,

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and I'm looking forward to
this conversation, actually.

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Awesome.

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So let's start with an obvious question
that's been on my mind ever since I'm

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knew about you. You joined
vPro more than 19 years ago,

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and our generation is infamous
for job hopping, right?

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Tell us more about your long
and successful journey at vPro.

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You know Neha, I'll just tell
you briefly about myself.

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You know my father worked in a
nationalized banking in India,

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and I in, you know, all the way
up to 23 years when I joined vPro.

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I have not stayed in a city more than
two years because we've been always

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hopping schools, colleges,
you know, so for me, also,

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I'm quite taken by surprise that I
actually managed to spend 20 years

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you know, in one place.

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And I think the credit actually needs
to go to the organization. Because,

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you know, when I joined vPro, I
was very impressionable, you know,

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rearing to go. I think what vPro
really does well is, you know,

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it paces your career for you, right?

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I don't spend more than about
three years in a role give or take.

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And every three years there is always
something that's in the works for,

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you know, what next, how can things
get better, bigger? So in some sense,

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I've been truly you know,

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privileged and lucky that you know,

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I got an opportunity to work through
multiple roles, multiple leaders,

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and the sector itself has evolved
so much through these last

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you know, 20 years. So much more
complexity. So much more M & A. You know,

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we've had you know in the
last 10 years, you know,

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we've had so many new leaders join in.

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So the organization itself keeps changing.
There's so much to learn and there's,

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it's such a growing
sector that I, you know,

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I didn't even realize
that I had spent 20 years.

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The other thing that we
project does well, and,

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and is perhaps one of the bigger
reasons for me staying back is

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in vPro finance, we really build you know,

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we hire people from campuses and
then we build careers for them.

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So all my peers are pretty
much tenured in vPro,

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and we have like a shared
history. So the camaraderie,

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the collaboration is just you
know, off a very different level,

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which all of us thoroughly enjoy.
So I would say that you know,

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other than what the organization puts in,

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it's what my peers put in both in terms
of the kind of benchmark they set,

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how you know, enriching
it is to work with them,

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how it is to learn from them and, you
know, really contribute in the process,

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right? Like, work becomes fun when,
you know, it's just extended family.

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So I would say these are, you know,
two reasons why you know, it just work.

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And like they say, why fix
something that's not broken?

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Wow. And that's been quite a journey.
Thanks for sharing it with us,

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and I hope other companies are taking
note of these excellent practices.

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Yeah. Yeah.

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So what has been your biggest
challenge in your career so far?

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Neha? You know, I think every time
you take up a new role, you feel that,

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oh my God, this is just so much
more challenging than you know,

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what I've ever done. But, you know,

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truly I was most apprehensive about
was coming back to work after I had

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my daughter.

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And that I think would have been
perhaps the most challenging phase of

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my career, because I was just coming
back from a six month long break

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at where I was doing something
completely different, right?

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And somehow when I joined back, and I
never thought I would feel like that.

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I felt very low on confidence,

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and I wasn't sure whether this is what
I wanted to do. Is this the purpose?

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You know, I felt so overwhelmed you know,

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taking care of a young baby and coming
back to something very intensive at

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you know, in the vPro finance,
it was perhaps one of the,

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you know, phases where I really needed
help, right? From all my mentors,

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from the organization, from my peers,
from my reports. And thankfully,

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you know, that that phase, you know,

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lasted for about nine months
to a year where you know,

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I was just wanted to find my
confidence again. And, you know,

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once that happened, right? And
time, with time every quarter,

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it kept getting better. You know, all
us finance professionals live quarter,

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quarter, say quarter,
like they say, right?

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Three or four quarters under the belt,
I was feeling a lot more confident,

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again. So that I think was one of the
most challenging phases because, you know,

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I needed to find that balance and make
sure, you know, I was getting it right.

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So that was one point
where I felt you know,

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I really needed the
support of the ecosystem.

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The other part was when I, you know,

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took on something like treasury
and IR, you know, invest relations,

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the current role that I did,

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that I'm doing I took this on
three years back and you know,

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I'd not done treasury at all in the first,

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you know 18 years or first
17 years of my career,

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knew nothing about markets,
hedging investments, and, you know,

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we all are exposed to it as finance
professionals, but I've not done it,

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you know, with a KRI to
exceed a certain benchmark.

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Coming in and knowing when you know
that you are the person who's perhaps

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knows the least about that subject in
the team, and yet you are the leader,

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I think it poses very
different challenges. So,

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pushing myself out of the comfort zone,
being okay with the fact that, you know,

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for another six months,

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I'm going to be the person who's
gonna be least informed in a room,

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and yet I had to lead it, yet I
had to bring my perspective to it,

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yet I had to understand and
learn and, and work with people.

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So I think that was also another
challenging phase, right?

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But it's only a matter of time, you
know? You just need to apply yourself.

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So that's the other myth I busted, right?

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So a lot of them say they don't wanna
try different things because they're just

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so concerned that, you know,
how will they add value?

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What I really understood
about adding value is

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you, your, your vantage
point can be so different,

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and the value that you bring to the team
or you bring to a function can be so

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different. It may not always come
from the tried and tested path,

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You know the vantage point that
you'll have is very different,

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and you bring way different perspectives,

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and you can always add
value no matter what you do.

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Cause everything else is
just adjacent. So, you know,

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those are very good learnings for me.

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And it was challenging and I was
very unsure and anxious many times,

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but I think you had to give it some
time and, you know, you lace it.

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Wow. Thank, thank you for sharing your
personal story so close to your heart,

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and also finding your feet after
motherhood, but also in new functions,

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adding value with your
diverse perspective.

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Let's take a minute to talk about growing.

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We talk a lot about
future-proofing our careers.

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What do you think are the competencies
of future for the people in both

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leadership positions and also for our
listeners from accounting and finance

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profession?

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You know it isn't easy to future
proof your career, right? I think,

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and it is getting increasingly
difficult. You know,

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at least the first 10 years
of my career, it, you know,

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the world around me was not changing
at the pace at which it is right now.

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I think there is just so
much more information.

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There's so much more that some
a professional can do today.

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There are different ways
of learning but, you know,

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I think you know, to
each their own. But if,

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you know, I had a method
to this whole madness,

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it would be to just say that
you must allocate a dedicated

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time every week where you are reading.

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And it could be a finance journal.

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It could be something that
you've signed up as a course for,

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or it could be just
reading a very you know,

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it could be a newspaper that you
subscribe to, which you must absolutely,

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you know, absorb newer things, newer
perspectives, newer point of view.

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You must understand what's
happening in the world around you,

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in the world of finance. You know,

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you can pick up a topic like
mergers and acquisitions.

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You could look at corporate actions, you
could look at macroeconomics. You can,

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you know, taxation, You know,

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take a subject that's close to
your heart and make sure you read

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everything about it. Right. Other
than that, like I said, you know,

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so take out dedicated time. It could be,
you know, a Saturday morning, 10 to 12,

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or a Sunday morning, 10 to 12,

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when you really will just read you know,

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a good quality journal or
a good quality magazine,

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so that's something that's very, very
fundamental. And other than that,

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I think it's, you know,

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learning has become far
easier than it ever was.

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So you must get yourself
into online courses,

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right? And, you know, for
example you know my CFO,

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just in the lab, he's
constantly studying, you know,

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every year he adds a
course to his resume. Now,

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that's something that I'm
inspired by. I haven't done that.

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But there's so much you can learn. You
can take up a course on cybersecurity,

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you can learn what's
happening in the world of AI,

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what's happening in the
world of blockchain. There's
several courses available.

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So, you know, I would say that, you know,

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just like the way we
take care of, you know,

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ourselves every day by setting
aside, you know, time for, you know,

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walking or gyming or physical like
that, you have to find dedicated time,

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which you will put in honing
your professional skills.

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And nothing substitutes reading,

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nothing substitutes you know,

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keeping yourself informed of what's
happening in the world around you.

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And I think that's
something that's a basic.

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And apart from that, if you're
able to take out time and,

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you know, go ahead and enroll
yourselves in, you know,

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courses where you can keep yourself
abreast of, you know, all the changes in,

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in technology, nothing like that.

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Because everything today comes
with a package in a package with

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technology.

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Right? And although you called it basic,

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but it's such a powerful insight
that you just shared. I love it.

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Yeah. Yeah, you know, yeah,
it's basic, but, you know,

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getting basics right is often
the most difficult thing.

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Absolutely. Getting it
right and making it a habit,

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that's what eventually adds up.

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Yeah.

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Awesome. You used a few words,
like the technology related words,

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something that your company is great at,

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vPro works in the field of cloud
computing, cyber security, AI,

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all these hot topics, these
buzzwords that we keep hearing about.

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How can accounting finance people make
sense of these new technologies coming up

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every day so they can just let go of
the noise and focus on what's important

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and how can they best use
it in their functions?

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You know, all of them pretty
much start like buzzwords.

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And you know, it's very, you
know, when you look at it,

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it sounds vague at first,

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and you are really
wondering how can this ever,

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you know substitute what you're doing
today in your Excel sheets or in your ERP.

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But you know, as finance
professionals over the last 10 years,

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we've witnessed certain technology trends
that have proved us wrong. You know,

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life is no longer about, you
know, knowing Excel and ERP.

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Those are things of the
past, right? Today you know,

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let me take a simple example,
like data dissemination, right?

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Having a single source of truth,

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making sure the data that you have at
the central level becomes accessible to

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people who need it the
most in the business.

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Empowering business leaders rather than,
you know, having approvals come to you.

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How do you empower business by
setting aside budgets, right?

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So that people can decide where they
would like to spend rather than have every

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approval come to finance. So a lot of the,

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there has been a subtle shift in mindset.

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People expect you not
to be the controller,

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not just to be that person
who approves your bills,

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but they want finance to really move
the needle and actually participate

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wholeheartedly in
enablement and empowerment.

224
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And you know, for example,

225
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how do you like run a company
which is to lack 50,000

226
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insights like us. It's almost
like running a country.

227
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You can't do it using Excel
sheets and ERPs. Yeah,

228
00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:33,280
you need to democratize data.

229
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You need to make sure insights are
available for business leaders,

230
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as in when they need them. How do
you really go through that part?

231
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And what is a technology cycle?

232
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And the only way you can make
this happiness through technology,

233
00:14:47,321 --> 00:14:51,720
and I think we've all learned it,
and everything that we spoke about,

234
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whether it's robotic process
automation, whether it's AI,

235
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you know,

236
00:14:57,180 --> 00:15:02,080
all of that has really changed our
life today in the way we operate in

237
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vPro finance. And I'm sure it's true
for, you know, any organization,

238
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everybody's looking at
digitization, right? You know,

239
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we've done, you know, what
started as a pilot, you know,

240
00:15:14,361 --> 00:15:17,120
we started using artificial
intelligence for,

241
00:15:17,380 --> 00:15:21,560
you know forecasting
revenues. And you know, when,

242
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when that work, we grew in confidence
and we then extended it to other areas,

243
00:15:26,241 --> 00:15:28,520
right? How do you use you know,

244
00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:31,600
data analysis for fraud detection?

245
00:15:31,601 --> 00:15:36,000
How do you look at patterns and
learn from those patterns and

246
00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:39,560
identify payment behaviors
and therefore, you know,

247
00:15:39,561 --> 00:15:42,800
what could potentially be a
credit risk? So, you know,

248
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these are all things that, you know,
we've used very effectively. You know,

249
00:15:46,921 --> 00:15:50,640
how do you, you know, like, you know,
lot of shared services that we, run,

250
00:15:50,641 --> 00:15:55,040
whether it's for vendor payments or
it's for employee reimbursements,

251
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:59,440
you know, we extensively use chat
bots, right? Simple things, right?

252
00:15:59,441 --> 00:16:02,120
How to improve both the efficiency,

253
00:16:02,460 --> 00:16:07,120
effectiveness and the experience
at the same time in a large

254
00:16:07,121 --> 00:16:08,880
organization. Like, you know,

255
00:16:09,721 --> 00:16:13,040
we have to go back to using
technologies like this.

256
00:16:13,041 --> 00:16:16,240
So what is buzzword today?
Like, maybe Metaverse.

257
00:16:17,420 --> 00:16:20,520
I'm sure five years down the line,
Neha, when you and I are talking,

258
00:16:20,521 --> 00:16:23,800
we will be using Metaverse
for training. I mean,

259
00:16:23,801 --> 00:16:28,200
very clearly that's one place where
we will all learn, right? Maybe,

260
00:16:28,380 --> 00:16:29,560
you know, you know,

261
00:16:29,561 --> 00:16:32,960
we all meet in the metaverse and
we have our conferences there,

262
00:16:32,961 --> 00:16:35,960
we collaborate there, we've
got breakout rooms. You know,

263
00:16:35,961 --> 00:16:37,440
I think the technology is there,

264
00:16:37,441 --> 00:16:40,080
and I think the proof point
of the technology is clear.

265
00:16:40,081 --> 00:16:44,160
How do you use it is what I think
all of us are grappling with.

266
00:16:44,540 --> 00:16:49,360
And a lot of us have made
several strides in using

267
00:16:49,361 --> 00:16:51,240
blockchain for reporting in using,

268
00:16:52,801 --> 00:16:57,440
let's say RPA for ever
so many items including,

269
00:16:57,441 --> 00:17:01,880
let's say, reconciliations. You
know, anything that's you know,

270
00:17:01,881 --> 00:17:05,200
routine standard can be
easily automated using RPA.

271
00:17:05,201 --> 00:17:09,040
We've all used bots
extensively, so, yeah. You know,

272
00:17:09,041 --> 00:17:13,920
all these things that look like it
was far fetched are reality now.

273
00:17:14,340 --> 00:17:18,960
And we are adopting technology
at a pace because, you know,

274
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we've all seen the benefits it
has. So I'm very confident that,

275
00:17:23,761 --> 00:17:25,160
you know, we will continue to,

276
00:17:25,300 --> 00:17:29,630
you know adopt some of these
things that are buzzwords today

277
00:17:30,431 --> 00:17:34,510
in a big way. Again, five years
down the line, we will, like I said,

278
00:17:34,511 --> 00:17:38,830
we will be talking about technologies
like Metaverse, digital, how do you work?

279
00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:40,550
We are all working in a hybrid world.

280
00:17:40,551 --> 00:17:44,670
How do you work half in physical world
and how half in the digital world

281
00:17:45,591 --> 00:17:49,400
and I think some of those answers
will be provided by some of these

282
00:17:49,401 --> 00:17:50,234
technologies.

283
00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:52,450
So true.

284
00:17:52,450 --> 00:17:57,150
And I love your take that it's not let's
not get carried away by the buzzwords

285
00:17:58,150 --> 00:18:00,630
and thanks for sharing
some of the application,

286
00:18:00,631 --> 00:18:03,790
part of these new technologies
and how people can be using them.

287
00:18:04,070 --> 00:18:04,903
Right.

288
00:18:05,510 --> 00:18:05,720
All right,

289
00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:10,390
So let's pivot from these learning
resources to actually learning from you,

290
00:18:10,391 --> 00:18:11,630
your leadership experience.

291
00:18:12,060 --> 00:18:16,390
Tell us about your experience of building
and managing teams over the years.

292
00:18:16,730 --> 00:18:19,270
How do you make sure your team
is not just performing well,

293
00:18:19,369 --> 00:18:22,070
but also feeling well that
they're actively engaged?

294
00:18:23,670 --> 00:18:23,670
Neha,

295
00:18:23,670 --> 00:18:27,869
I must confess that it was much easier
when we were all only in the physical

296
00:18:27,870 --> 00:18:30,630
world, it was much easier to lead a team.

297
00:18:30,631 --> 00:18:34,430
It was much easier to know
the person because, you know,

298
00:18:34,431 --> 00:18:37,830
you make an eye contact, you
shake hands with someone.

299
00:18:38,100 --> 00:18:41,430
I think it makes a big
different difference, you know?

300
00:18:42,190 --> 00:18:44,990
Today when I pick up the
phone and I talk to someone,

301
00:18:45,410 --> 00:18:49,830
and when I cannot make that eye contact,
when I can't gauge the body language,

302
00:18:50,020 --> 00:18:54,630
I think the conversations become very
transactional. Very quickly, you move to,

303
00:18:54,631 --> 00:18:57,869
you know, how are you, okay, fine.
Now this is what we need to get done.

304
00:18:57,870 --> 00:19:01,550
How do we go about it? As opposed
to, let's say if I'd met the person,

305
00:19:02,180 --> 00:19:05,270
I would have perhaps realized
that the person's looking tired.

306
00:19:05,300 --> 00:19:07,030
I may have asked a follow up question.

307
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,990
We may have had an opportunity to
know something just beyond work,

308
00:19:11,991 --> 00:19:16,550
because I always feel that if you
really have to be a leader of a team,

309
00:19:16,551 --> 00:19:19,750
you need to know your team in
and out, right, inside-out.

310
00:19:19,910 --> 00:19:22,230
You need to know what's
happening with them,

311
00:19:22,231 --> 00:19:26,109
around them and how they're
feeling, Right? You spoke
about how they're feeling.

312
00:19:26,220 --> 00:19:30,390
I think that's very, very critical. We
are very challenged because, you know,

313
00:19:30,391 --> 00:19:34,790
we are all working in a virtual
world. And and therefore,

314
00:19:34,791 --> 00:19:39,030
I think there are some good habits
that all of us can you know, doubt.

315
00:19:39,031 --> 00:19:43,550
Maybe in the current times,
I make sure I always make,

316
00:19:44,140 --> 00:19:46,470
I give the person some
time to settle down.

317
00:19:46,471 --> 00:19:50,869
When we are doing a call on teams or
on phone where you make the person feel

318
00:19:50,870 --> 00:19:54,910
comfortable, talk a little
bit outside of work,

319
00:19:54,911 --> 00:19:58,350
understand what's happening. Are you
okay? Is this is a good time to talk?

320
00:19:58,351 --> 00:20:02,670
Are you fine? And
learning to trust, right?

321
00:20:03,310 --> 00:20:05,190
Because it becomes very, you know,

322
00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:08,750
it is anxiety even for the
manager because, you know,

323
00:20:08,850 --> 00:20:11,910
you really don't know whether
your team is productive enough.

324
00:20:12,210 --> 00:20:15,030
Are things happening at the
pace at which it should happen,

325
00:20:15,031 --> 00:20:16,790
especially when the
outcomes are not coming.

326
00:20:17,790 --> 00:20:19,910
These interventions become difficult.

327
00:20:19,911 --> 00:20:22,430
So you've got to do these
things very sensitively.

328
00:20:22,431 --> 00:20:26,270
You should not come across as
any time as you're not trusting.

329
00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,230
So these times it's very
difficult, but, you know,

330
00:20:29,231 --> 00:20:33,470
you've gotta check your natural
instinct and, and learn to trust,

331
00:20:33,510 --> 00:20:36,830
learn to be more patient and
learn, give people more time.

332
00:20:37,910 --> 00:20:41,910
But otherwise, you know managing teams,

333
00:20:42,830 --> 00:20:47,480
it generally, I mean is all about,
you know, for me, setting the agenda,

334
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:49,680
reviewing, and then, you know, doing,

335
00:20:49,681 --> 00:20:53,520
helping them in course
correction see if outcomes come,

336
00:20:53,670 --> 00:20:55,119
then it's your team's credit.

337
00:20:55,340 --> 00:21:00,320
But when outcomes don't come as
it's the job of the leader to

338
00:21:00,321 --> 00:21:04,600
step in and coach and make
those interventions and do
that course correction so

339
00:21:04,601 --> 00:21:07,440
that, you know, you can reach the goal.

340
00:21:07,510 --> 00:21:12,160
I genuinely believe that's how
you lead. You set the goals,

341
00:21:12,820 --> 00:21:16,880
you review it for how it's happening,
You give enough delegation,

342
00:21:16,980 --> 00:21:19,280
and when things are not working,

343
00:21:19,281 --> 00:21:23,440
that's when you step in and
you come in to help how,

344
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,880
you know otherwise that I'm
a pretty hands off leader.

345
00:21:27,900 --> 00:21:30,440
Wow. And while you were
answering that question,

346
00:21:30,510 --> 00:21:33,320
I was wishing that we were
having this interview in person,

347
00:21:33,321 --> 00:21:34,081
because you're right,

348
00:21:34,081 --> 00:21:37,800
there's so many things that get lost
when we can't see the non-verbals, right?

349
00:21:38,460 --> 00:21:43,080
And I love your mantra of success to
lead a team to being hands off and

350
00:21:43,081 --> 00:21:46,680
delegating as much as possible,
but being there when they need you.

351
00:21:47,150 --> 00:21:50,640
Yeah, yeah. You know, I once heard this,

352
00:21:50,641 --> 00:21:53,520
and I don't know if it's a true
incident, but that, you know,

353
00:21:53,521 --> 00:21:57,960
when there was a rocket launch that
was happening, and Abdul Kalam,

354
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:04,040
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was leading
that you know, rocket launch, and

355
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,800
Vikram Sarabhai was also there.
And they were all very excited.

356
00:22:10,801 --> 00:22:15,520
And the press was called. And,
and when it did not go as per,

357
00:22:15,940 --> 00:22:20,720
you know, schedule you know,
Vikram Sarabhai asked Dr. A. P. J.

358
00:22:20,721 --> 00:22:23,760
to just step back and said,
Okay, now you leave this place.

359
00:22:23,761 --> 00:22:26,720
I'll take the press conference.
And he took all the flack,

360
00:22:27,540 --> 00:22:31,000
and the next time when the
launch was absolutely fine,

361
00:22:31,050 --> 00:22:35,560
he just let you know, Dr. A. P. J.
do all the talking. And he said,

362
00:22:35,561 --> 00:22:37,600
now my job is over, I'm flying back.

363
00:22:37,601 --> 00:22:41,960
And I think that is an excellent
leadership, you know, lesson.

364
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,600
And that I think caught my eye.

365
00:22:44,601 --> 00:22:48,240
And I truly believe that
when the chips are down,

366
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,040
leaders can make a huge difference,

367
00:22:50,050 --> 00:22:54,520
because they need to own up and be
there and protect. If everything's fine,

368
00:22:54,521 --> 00:22:54,921
then,

369
00:22:54,921 --> 00:22:59,800
you know leaders can just
take a back seat and you know,

370
00:22:59,801 --> 00:23:01,960
let the team bask in their glory.

371
00:23:02,330 --> 00:23:06,119
So I think that's a very
important lesson that I learned.

372
00:23:06,970 --> 00:23:09,440
So true. And, and when you were
telling that story, it got,

373
00:23:09,690 --> 00:23:13,040
it brought goosebumps to me.
So thanks for sharing that,

374
00:23:13,041 --> 00:23:16,000
and thanks for holding that philosophy
close to your heart as you lead your

375
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:17,353
teams in vPro.

376
00:23:17,670 --> 00:23:18,503
Yeah.

377
00:23:19,750 --> 00:23:24,430
All right. You touched upon the
hybrid work life and how teams

378
00:23:24,810 --> 00:23:26,590
are working in this new environment.

379
00:23:27,130 --> 00:23:30,869
How has your life and work
changed in this new environment?

380
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,670
It is very, very difficult.
Like I said, you know,

381
00:23:35,671 --> 00:23:40,550
teams are all over the place.
And, you know having them engaged,

382
00:23:40,551 --> 00:23:43,190
especially young chartered accountants,

383
00:23:44,950 --> 00:23:49,400
young CMA graduates, people
who join us you know,

384
00:23:49,721 --> 00:23:54,400
they are the energy, right? They are
the backbone of this organization. And

385
00:23:56,170 --> 00:24:00,359
it is very tough for us that we don't
get to interact with them enough

386
00:24:00,650 --> 00:24:05,119
because they're all in their homes.
And, you know, very often, you know,

387
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:09,240
people are very shy. They don't wanna
come on videos, we don't wanna push them.

388
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,200
So I feel that, you know, the connect,

389
00:24:13,470 --> 00:24:18,400
especially with the young people
who are joining raring to go full of

390
00:24:18,401 --> 00:24:21,119
energy, who are ready
to observe, right? Like,

391
00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:25,760
just like how you say a kid
you know, the, you know,

392
00:24:25,761 --> 00:24:29,760
when when they're growing up
to the age of, you know, eight,

393
00:24:29,990 --> 00:24:32,920
they absorb everything
that's happening around them,

394
00:24:32,921 --> 00:24:35,560
and that perhaps mold you know,

395
00:24:35,561 --> 00:24:38,280
how their personalities are
going to be when they are late,

396
00:24:38,281 --> 00:24:40,160
let's say 20 or 30 years old.

397
00:24:40,190 --> 00:24:44,440
Much of that gets formed in the
first formative views of, you know,

398
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,200
for six years is similarly, you know,

399
00:24:47,201 --> 00:24:51,680
when someone's joining you fresh from
campus, you know, they are so moldable,

400
00:24:51,681 --> 00:24:54,480
right? So when they come in, we, you know,

401
00:24:54,481 --> 00:24:59,320
we'll be very happy to have them in a
vPro campus, mold them in a vPro way,

402
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,520
instill our values, instill our culture,
let them know what we stand for.

403
00:25:03,820 --> 00:25:06,800
And I think that's what
we perhaps miss the most,

404
00:25:06,801 --> 00:25:10,000
because we are not able
to perhaps put that bond,

405
00:25:10,190 --> 00:25:15,119
that umbilical cord of, you know,
what we stand for, right? And this,

406
00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:18,720
these are the vPro values. This is
how a vPro leader is, and this is how,

407
00:25:18,980 --> 00:25:23,560
you know we do business.
It has become much more,

408
00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,840
more tougher. But, but, you know, again,

409
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:32,480
going back to technology, thankfully,
at least we have you know,

410
00:25:32,481 --> 00:25:33,800
collaborative technologies.

411
00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:38,119
So we are using in our workplace where
we at least able to do everything

412
00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:42,520
virtually. We've all adapted
ourselves to having these, you know,

413
00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:47,640
chime in, HR sessions, everybody gets
their own tea, you know, comes together.

414
00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:52,960
We have more. So what has happened
is to compensate, you know,

415
00:25:52,961 --> 00:25:57,920
the lack of, you know working, co-working,

416
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,200
we all communicating, right?

417
00:26:01,201 --> 00:26:05,480
So everything gets communicated.
We have more calls, you know,

418
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:10,160
we make sure people have understood,
we make sure people have heard us.

419
00:26:10,161 --> 00:26:13,160
There are more emails, there are
more calls, there are more webinars,

420
00:26:13,161 --> 00:26:17,520
there are more training sessions that
people can take up at various times,

421
00:26:17,521 --> 00:26:20,840
you know, whenever it's
convenient. So, yeah, you know,

422
00:26:20,841 --> 00:26:24,800
there are more both pluses and
minuses. I would say for me,

423
00:26:24,801 --> 00:26:28,080
because I come from a traditional
law school way of thinking,

424
00:26:28,190 --> 00:26:30,720
I feel the minuses outweigh.

425
00:26:30,750 --> 00:26:35,680
I would really like us to at least get
to a more effective hybrid model as

426
00:26:35,681 --> 00:26:37,320
opposed to a hundred percent remote.

427
00:26:37,980 --> 00:26:41,800
But I do understand that
there are pluses, you know,

428
00:26:41,801 --> 00:26:45,400
there is better productivity. People
are staying with their families,

429
00:26:45,530 --> 00:26:50,200
so they're far more relaxed. You know,
they're less stressed because, you know,

430
00:26:50,201 --> 00:26:53,640
they have they don't have to
come here. They're not homesick.

431
00:26:53,641 --> 00:26:57,680
They're not running around for
you know, to do their chores.

432
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,240
They looked after. I think it's a win-win,

433
00:27:02,130 --> 00:27:03,400
if you look at it that way,

434
00:27:03,401 --> 00:27:08,320
they're able to work with a company
like vPro and yet be with their

435
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:10,119
families, which are in smaller towns.

436
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:15,880
But I worry that sometimes the exposure
that you get when you are in the line

437
00:27:15,881 --> 00:27:18,240
of sight, that'll be missed.

438
00:27:18,241 --> 00:27:22,040
And I genuinely don't know
how leaders, like, I mean,

439
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,960
today we have a leadership
bench who've all worked in

440
00:27:27,841 --> 00:27:29,800
only physical world. Now,

441
00:27:30,010 --> 00:27:34,600
if we were to continue like this for
another 10 years how will you produce

442
00:27:34,601 --> 00:27:38,160
leaders for tomorrow's vPro
or tomorrow's, you know,

443
00:27:38,161 --> 00:27:42,560
large organizations that I
think we have not yet seen,

444
00:27:42,561 --> 00:27:46,119
you know, those proof points
haven't been met, I think. Yeah.

445
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:50,800
So we'll all evolve and we'll have to
see how the future unfolds. For now,

446
00:27:50,801 --> 00:27:53,720
things are good. I think we
are okay with a hybrid model.

447
00:27:53,721 --> 00:27:58,040
We are asking our employees to come
in three times a week when they can,

448
00:27:58,041 --> 00:28:02,720
where they can. And I think
for now, that will do. But as,

449
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:04,760
like I said you know,

450
00:28:04,761 --> 00:28:09,680
time passes and hopefully we are all
with the pandemic is well behind us.

451
00:28:10,030 --> 00:28:14,840
I truly hope people do come back to
physical offices because that's where you

452
00:28:14,841 --> 00:28:18,520
really build culture, and you gain
exposure, you gain independence,

453
00:28:18,521 --> 00:28:22,480
and you know, you truly
can, you know, wait it,

454
00:28:24,700 --> 00:28:25,920
and magic can happen.

455
00:28:26,700 --> 00:28:27,369
Wow.

456
00:28:27,369 --> 00:28:31,240
Waiting for that magic and waiting for
the world to find that equilibrium where

457
00:28:31,310 --> 00:28:35,000
both remote and in office is accepted.

458
00:28:35,220 --> 00:28:39,160
And we find that right balance where
people are happier, but also productive.

459
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:41,000
Correct.

460
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:45,840
All right. So it, I have so much to ask
you, but then we don't have enough time.

461
00:28:45,850 --> 00:28:48,080
So time for one final
question for the day.

462
00:28:48,780 --> 00:28:52,170
If you wanted to leave our global
listeners with just one message,

463
00:28:52,270 --> 00:28:55,090
one takeaway from our talk
today, what would that be?

464
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:01,920
Hmm. Have a burning
ambition. Never you know,

465
00:29:01,921 --> 00:29:06,800
feel shy to raise your hand and go
for it, You know, chase your dreams.

466
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:08,313
Wholeheartedly.

467
00:29:09,630 --> 00:29:12,920
I think magic happens when you really

468
00:29:14,970 --> 00:29:19,030
put up your hand and say, I want
this, and I want this to happen to me.

469
00:29:19,031 --> 00:29:22,630
And then, and like they say,
the universe conspires. So

470
00:29:24,250 --> 00:29:25,900
I think ambition is key,

471
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:30,860
and it's important that you raise
your hand and ask for it and

472
00:29:31,370 --> 00:29:32,620
make the most of it.

473
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:37,700
Wow. I can't think of better parting
words than those. Raise your hands.

474
00:29:38,740 --> 00:29:43,160
Thank you so much, Aparna. This brings
us to the end of our show today.

475
00:29:43,420 --> 00:29:47,440
But thank you so much for your wonderful
chat and sharing your insights with us.

476
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,600
Thank you, Neha. Wonderful talking to you.

477
00:29:52,910 --> 00:29:55,400
This has been Count Me in imas podcast,

478
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,880
providing you with the latest
perspectives of thought leaders from the

479
00:29:58,881 --> 00:30:00,600
accounting and finance profession.

480
00:30:00,601 --> 00:30:04,000
If you like what you heard and you'd
like to be counted in for more relevant

481
00:30:04,001 --> 00:30:06,920
accounting and finance
education, visit imas

482
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:10,600
website@www.imanet.org.