Romancing the Balance Sheet ‘For anyone who owns,runs or manages a business’.

General Blog, IILM University

Anil Lamba’s book, Romancing the Balance Sheet, shines like a laser beam for anyone who owns, runs or manages a business. It is a self help book for the new business tycoons.

Romancing the Balance Sheet is a book with latest edition of 2013  written by Anil Lamba who is a Chartered Accountant, International Corporate Trainer and Financial Literacy Activist. This book is a well refined version of various online training sessions covering diverse aspects of Finance Management for all those who have faced challenging situations while experiencing finance for the first time. Anil Lamba is also known as author of the bestselling books like Balance Sheet va Finance Samjun Ghetana.

This book is divided into fifteen chapters and is further subdivided into six sections. Each section has been well explained by the author covering all viewpoints of problem solving that may arise at present or in future.

Section 1 talks about getting your basics right which states that even if you are a non finance person even then you can easily deal with financial statements and also it gives us a glimpse about what really profit is and how inventory impacts profit.Section 2 deals with the concept of managing our finances better.It mentions about two golden financial management rules ,the first rule being “Never invest your money without ensuring that the assets you acquire can generate a return which is at-least equal to the cost of your capital” and the second rule being “Invest your money in such a way that the assets will generate an inflow of funds before the liabilities demand an outflow”. Thereby Anil Lamba suggests that if a person goes by these golden rules he will be able to manage his finances better. In further sections Mr. Lamba describes how an individual can maximize his profit as we can see that in today’s era it has become important to get profits and also to maintain assets and liabilities in a business. Similar to this, Break even analysis is also an important concept which is a point where there is no profit no loss and hence its analysis is very important to carefully understand about the business.

During my course at IILM, I have covered this book in elective “Corporate Restructuring” in 2nd year which is a very good book of around 200 pages. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in managing or running a business. This book helps us not only to know about the balance sheet but also how to prepare the fund flow statement and maximize profits in our business.

 

GD-IILM

Group Discussions

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Why – Skills assessed during a Group Discussion

An employee in an organisation works with people and teams.  Many companies use Group Discussions (GD) in the selection process for management trainees or entry level managers.  Employers are looking for candidates who have potential to be executives and to lead a group of people, as also be a team player.  Furthermore, Group Discussions precede the face-to-face interview.    GD can be used to check many aspects of a potential employee :-

  • Thought process – clarity of thought, expression and aptness of language.
  • Persuasive Skills– The ability to analyse and persuade others to see the problem from multiple perspectives.
  • Communication and articulation skills – how good is the person at communicating with other people.
  • Interactive skills – how does a person interacts with other members a team. Emotional maturity and balance are essential for good interpersonal relationships.
  • Listening Skills – a willingness to accommodate others views.
  • Attitude, Personality, Confidence, Body Language,

How

During GDs a groups of 8-10 candidates are formed into a leaderless group.  For the purpose of discussions:-

  • They may be given a topic and are asked to discuss the same. Topics can be from a wide range of issues like current events, business news, sports or even abstract.
  • They may be given a case study and asked to come out with a solution for a problem.
  • They may be given a specific situation to analyse and discuss.

Tips for the Group Discussions

Here are some tips in order to be successful in a group discussion

  • When speaking in a GD, your job is to articulate your point of view in a way that is easy for others to comprehend.
  • Take initiative and start the discussion.
  • Structure your thoughts; take a position; support your point with examples, facts, statistics etc.
  • Speak clearly & confidently; maintain eye contact with the member as you speak; there should be enthusiasm in your body language
  • Listen attentively to other members; take notes; quote them wherever relevant to continue your discussion.

Group Discussions Resources

B. Com (Hons.) with Liberal Education-The Success Mantra

General Blog, IILM University

B. Com (Hons.) has always been an obvious choice for the XII class Commerce students. Moreover, students from Arts and Science have also taken up this course as an entry to the world of Commerce.

However, with the advent of Liberal Education, the scope of B. Com (Hons.) has further enhanced.

A student who takes up B. Com. (Hons.) programme at a Liberal Education university gets access to applied knowledge on new age concepts like Fintech, Environmental Accounting, Bitcoin and Blockchain. The programe also acts as a preparation ground for education avenues like CA/ CMA/ CS.

Moreover, the students can also opt for foreign education by way of Global Trek and get prepared for Higher Education options in a country of their choice. There is also the additional benefit of 6-8 weeks’ Summer Internship after the second year of graduation to make the students job ready and future-prepared. The programme also prepares the students to be well-equipped for areas like Financial Analysis, Stock Markets/ Financial Markets, Portfolio Analysis, Banking & Insurance.

Last but not the least, the students may also choose from a wide variety of electives like International Financial Reporting, Environmental Accounting & Reporting, Tax Planning, Risk & Insurance Management, International Finance, Financial Services & Capital Markets etc.

With access to such diverse areas of knowledge and increasing avenues for higher education, entrepreneurship and job prospects, B. Com (Hons.) with Liberal Education is certainly the right recipe for success.

Commerce students listening to Corporate Accounts & Finance professionals like Mr. Ashish Tiwari, Group CFO, TCI Ltd; Mr. Jayant Chandra, Manager RAC, PwC;  Mr. PreetKamal Singh Sodhi, AVP, ICICI Securities; Mr. Ravi Shingari, Group Head, Taxation & Accounts, Apollo Tyres Ltd and Mr. Siddhartha Khaitan, Finance Director, Mc Cormick Kohinoor India at the Round Table Conference at IILM University, Gurugram

Mr. PreetKamal Singh Sodhi, AVP, ICICI Securities & Mr. Siddhartha Khaitan, Finance Director, Mc Cormick Kohinoor India addressing the Commerce students at the Round Table Conference at IILM University, Gurugram

Table Stakes Questions in Preparing for an Interview

Blog Catgeory, Career Development (Placement), IILM University, ,

There are a few basic questions that any Interviewer will expect the Candidate to be prepared for. These are
(i) Tell me about yourself
(ii) Why this job, this company
(iii) Why should we hire you.

The tact to handle the question “Tell me about yourself” is to encapsulate ‘why you want to take up a certain profession’ and ‘how you are suitable for it’ in the answer for ‘tell me about yourself’. Further, instead of summarising your resume, you should highlight aspects not written there. Put yourself in the employer’s shoes – what would you want to know about the candidate if you were them ?

You should highlight your personality and bring out your strengths and abilities that you can support by giving examples. Connect your skills to the job description. Mention your past experiences and proven successes. Briefly mention hobbies, intellectual development and community involvement.

Few examples for people with no work experience:

  • I am Rishab Singh and I come from Karnal. My desire is to pursue a career in Sales. I am a very extrovert person and can easily connect with new people. I am a very good listener and tend not to be judgmental. I have the knack of bringing people together and resolving conflicts through logical reasoning. I believe that these qualities of mine help me in making people appreciating my point of view, as well as developing lasting relationships.
  • My name is Harminder and I have a passion for commercial aspects of business. I graduated in B.Com and an now pursuing MBA Finance. I believe that a thorough financial analysis helps in making good business decisions therefore I have carried out several academic projects to hone this skill. (https://www.roberthalf.com.au/blog/jobseekers/your-career-finance-10-skills-really-count).

Look up the skills that are required for your desired specialisation. If you do not have them, work towards honing these skills.

If you have carried out an internship, that becomes a very important aspect of your interview, and of ‘tell me about yourself’. When a company hires a paid intern, they certainly are trying to achieve something. You must understand the ‘aim’ of the internship (i.e. the problem they are trying to solve). Then you must tell how you contributed towards solving this problem using the use the STAR approach i.e Situation, Task, Action and Result. Here are a few examples :-

  • I did my internship with ABC company. The company was facing problem with drop in sales due to inefficient sales channel. The company had drawn own a new channel arrangement and my task was to make our retailers join the new channel arrangement. Though the new arrangement was resisted by most of the retails, in my tenure of 2 months I was able to achieve a 93% switch-over to the new model.

Keep these points in mind as you tell them about yourself:

• Rehearse your answers. Make sure you’re prepared.
• Don’t waste a lot of time memorizing them.
• Once you’ve done that, you’re sure to deliver a satisfactory response to the tell me about yourself interview question.

Some more resources on the internet:

Career Advice

Interviews

Answer to “Sell Me This Pen”

 

Opportunities in India and Abroad after B Com. (Honors)

Faculty, IILM University,

B Com.(Honors) has been one of the most sought after course among students after their XIIth  class. The attraction of B Com. never dies down because of regular and growing demand in job circuit for the graduates from this course.

The course is so popular among students because it facilitates entry to wide range of job profiles in areas like Financial analysis/ Financial Markets/ Financial Portfolio Analysis/ Banking/ Insurance etc. to name a  few.

Moreover after doing this course students can pursue higher studies like CA/ CFA/CS/ ICMA and many more and/or even go for foreign higher education like US-CMA, US-CPA, CIMA London etc.

IILM University, Gurugram is the right place to be for the present & prospective commerce professionals with centrally located lush green campus, state of the art infrastructure, faculty members with rich combination of Industry and Academic experience, International Collaborations, Corporate Connects and curriculum designed with inputs from industry ,  professionals.

Why-MBA-at-IILM-University

Why MBA at IILM University?

IILM University, , , ,

If you ask any aspirant why he or she wants to pursue MBA, the prompt response that comes is “package.” While it is fair to give the millennials credit for this response, they must stop for a moment and introspect as to what value they bring to the organization to aspire that “package”. As a faculty who sees the students sit for various processes year after year, I know for sure that MBA is not about package – it is not about a student’s ROI, it is more about their employability. While they aspire for the money from day 1 of their job, their returns to the organization begin only after a few months of training. And that too if they have the skill-sets required to do their jobs well. The responsibility of the MBA institution is to offer an exciting learning environment to the students, so that they become employable. The students in turn must make the most of the opportunities and exposure their institution offers them during their two-year tenure.

Flagship program
MBA is the flagship program of School of Management at IILM University Gurugram. Students have the options of both functional and sectoral specializations. Through internationally benchmarked curriculum with regular inputs from the industry experts, students at IILM study contemporary courses. These include Intentional Networking, Emotional Intelligence, Critical Thinking, Digital Innovation and Transformation. Online Certifications from institutions of repute are embedded in the curriculum. In each module, a guest expert is invited to share practical, organizational insights whereby beautifully adding to the concepts and theories done in class. We offer students international exposure through exchange programs and study tours abroad, thus giving them an edge over their counterparts.

Giving practical exposure
There is emphasis not only on academic and technical skills, but also the soft skills and life skills. Most of us faculty have PhD and a combination of academic plus corporate experience that contributes to a wonderful learning environment in the classroom. Our focus is on experiential learning with the help of latest tools and techniques using case studies, role plays, videos, field visits, projects, management games, classroom exercises etc. Using innovative pedagogy and emerging technologies, we strive towards a predominantly robust academic delivery to make the education process stimulative, interactive, reflective and creative. As a faculty, I have personally learnt a lot and progressed academically while delivering lectures to the post-graduate students.

Industry Connect
Strong industry linkages are a forte of IILM which facilitate excellent placement and internship opportunities. IILM boasts of highly successful alumni who are now working at very senior positions in multinational corporations. All students are given an opportunity to work on live projects that hone their reasoning and analytical skills.

Mentoring
Each student is assigned a faculty mentor who is involved in giving direction, guiding and ensuring personal and professional development. I am involved in mentoring the students and preparing them to take up meaningful roles in organizations. This increases my connect with them and helps establish a life-long relationship with my students. And that is why many of them start giving importance to their future “job role” over “package” at the time of campus placements.

Almost all events on campus are driven by the students, which enhances their organizing skills and improves their team skills. It gives them an opportunity to be independent in decision making and resource management. Campus life at IILM contributes to their holistic development and enables them to come out of their comfort zone, making them shed their inhibitions. I feel all these factors combine to increase the employability quotient of IILM students. They are groomed to be responsible professionals, ready to take on the challenges in organizations. MBA at IILM is a unique experience, and having seen it myself, I can surely vouch for the same.

Role of Liberal Education in Social Entrepreneurship – A Changing Perception

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As the Global village grows with modern technology, the higher education model is moving towards a liberal way to make a student evolve as a Corporate Achiever and Entrepreneur. The campuses are introducing Liberal education concept with entrepreneurship as a curriculum and bringing into them comprehensive leadership programs that cast students and faculty in entrepreneurial roles. Leadership studies in such schools give a role for one to provide an understanding for new initiatives that try to bring in both liberal education and practice of entrepreneurship under single gambit.

Understanding the basics of a liberal education are essential to the evolution of an ideal entrepreneurial mindset. Further, an Entrepreneurship aspect in one’s study is an in-depth inquiry that is engaging all departments of colleges. The study of entrepreneurship and the liberal education becomes complementary to the way of life of a student and college. The liberally educated student is open-minded, tolerant, intellectually curious, experimentative. The student values his or her own education for evolving themselves, to understand the natural world, human rights, cultures, and the common good. The liberally educated person is actively engaged with the world in all of its complexity, diversity, and dynamism. Such an individual is characterized by openness and curiosity and seeks to make a positive contribution to the future of humankind.

Social Commitment and Entrepreneurship

One of the most powerful developments in liberal education in recent years has been the emergence of service learning and civic engagement on campuses. As more liberal education universities encourage this kind of engagement, students become better to meet the challenges one face in society. This makes them understand and share new ideas, new technologies with new solutions. When coupled with a liberal education in campus, these off-campus, co-curricular learning experiences will prepare them well to take on responsibilities of leadership and to become the entrepreneurs we need in both our workplaces and our communities.

The social interest entrepreneurship education has evolved and has begun to spread to non-business disciplines where students in engineering and other streams are interested in becoming entrepreneurs. The burgeoning new field of entrepreneurship education includes not only business-related entrepreneurship but also social entrepreneurship. The more recent concept of social entrepreneurship resonates particularly well with the goals of liberal education. The social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector by Evolving, creating and sustaining social value, pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission, continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning, managing effectively with limited resources, exhibiting a heightened sense of accountability

Concerted Effort

Liberal Education university offers the opportunity for a holistic educational experience that is well suited to the needs of the potential entrepreneur. As a new entrepreneur needs to encounter a wide variety of perspectives, ethical norms and the development of critical thinking and communication skills makes one more evolved. Further, Liberal education gives the opportunity to become independent, interactive and active learners for charting their own way of life. The ideal liberal education models a process of continuous adaptation and innovation and it is becoming a “metaphor for entrepreneurship.”

As one connects leadership, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement, it yields powerful results that are greater than the sum of the parts mentioned. This enables the emergence of creativity to the core. This is the kind of academic leadership and entrepreneurship that one needs to create synergies between these discrete areas. Leadership programs for students, when combined with curricula that focus upon entrepreneurship and then coupled with extracurricular programs engage students with their communities resulting in producing liberally educated social entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs would be committed to addressing social problems through innovative solutions that are empowering and produce value-added outcomes.

IILM University celebrates World AIDS Day

Campus Life

AIDS to No AIDS

 

“The first step towards change is awareness. The second is acceptance.”

-Nathaniel Branden

World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, designated on 1st December every year since 1988. It is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. The day allows people to show their support for those living with HIV and to have time to remember those who have died from it.

According to the data of 2017, AIDS has killed 28.9 million to 41.5 million people worldwide, and an estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV, making it one of the most important global public health issues in recorded history. The world together is fighting against the HIV AIDS today.

Students of IILM University took an initiative to spread awareness on World AIDS Day! The theme was “AIDS to No AIDS”, where the students had displayed a big Red Ribbon which signifies “AIDS”. The red ribbon is the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV. Students placed a box full of small white ribbons along with red ribbon. The objective was to spread awareness and a message to the society. It was an opportunity to unite the students, faculties, and our entire IILM family towards this noble cause.

By the end of the day, it was overwhelming to see the red ribbon getting transformed into a white ribbon which signified that every individual is working towards eradicating AIDS by spreading awareness and information. World AIDS Day has already given us an initiative to change which we all need to accept.

Stay aware, stay blessed!

Dr. Radhika Madan & Arti Kumari MBA (Batch 2018 – 2020)

Was I Thinking Like Jeff?

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Was I Thinking Like Jeff?

I had my tickets to Switzerland early next morning and right now I was standing stranded at the countryside at least 50 Kms away from my familiar spot…

No person around, no language known, only the cover of setting sun…phewwww !! It did not appear to be adventurous at all at this point in time. Possibly I had missed the right bus 15 mins back.

With fear sinking in my eyes I tried reading the timings for the next bus which seemed to be the last of the day. I was pretty nervous and started looking for help around and there I spotted a man who looked like a techie farmer. I called him up using sign language and requested him to read the bus schedule. Of course, he was on his tractor then and looking at my plight comprehended the situation well. “Fantastic is the power of expression mankind has been blessed with…”

So this tall guy with huge built marched towards me crossing the road.

I was relieved when he said the next bus is about to arrive. Ohhh !! the sensations revived and fear on my face dimmed. In no time the bus arrived and I was the only one who boarded the bus, once again with augmented stress.

I had forgotten all the management lessons, risk aversions and contingency leadership learned so far. Before rationality could slip on a numb journey this guy stopped, parked the bus, took his keys and in no time drove off the sight.

Darn! It was worse than scene one. Tears filled my eyes hard pressing the edges to overflow.

It was horrible and I feared all the more. The only people I could see was a lady with a pig and a kid. She had a bus and a tent and possibly ran a circus show it looked like. Though she was just across yet our demographics appeared miles apart.

I was trying to ask for help and she looked cold. What the hell? But I did not stop. The darkness catching up made me restless and desperate for help.

And then came his kid who I thought would sync with my expressions but paused with an understanding that I was helpless. A hiatus and then another car zoomed in.

With all my energy I diverted my rescue request to him. And alas! his language was familiar. This was no less than a miracle to me. In no time he booked a cab for me and went off. The moment he disappeared my phone jerked and it’s battery fell apart. Ohhh Fish!

Was this the domino impact from worse to worst. I somehow tried fixing and figuring the Cab time.

After calling him twice I asked the lady to identify his location. 10 mins went off, 30 mins now and 42 mins slipped. I realized that he won’t come now. In despair, my thoughts stared at me to frighten me all the more. I was reminded of all the kind of losses I am going to bear now. 

My skin stitched tighter and my thoughts blackened.

And then I heard the sound of my Taxi which the gentleman booked. My breath picked the beat. I was delighted, with a twinkle in the eye and energies rushing back to pump my heart. 

How I got rescued to catch up with my Swiss journey was a remarkable experience. 

Today When I sit back and mull over it seems what I was a part of, the universe too painted the right vibes for me. My gut was cavernous. I looked forward determined and by no chance to be mislaid.

As quoted in CNBC, Dec 13, 2018, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos says ‘ you have to realize decision making isn’t one size fits all, some decisions must be made with the gut’  

‘To know the difference, ask yourself two simple questions:

 What are the consequences of this decision? And Is this decision reversible?’

And exactly the story I said here picked up its roots from the gut. I just love to revisit myself many a time to reconfirm my decisive thoughts.

Till then See you!

Getting A PPO

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How to earn a Pre Placement Offer (PPO)

An article from Economic Times, 2011 quotes 6 steps to land into a pre-placement after internship which are as follows:
Look like a professional: Swap sneakers for oxfords and denim for a suit.
Talk: Break ice with your colleagues. Plan ahead for your project
Brush up: On Excel and PowerPoint skills, a must for the corporate world
Take a Lead: But don’t go overboard. Preserve, do not pester
Know Your Company: Keep their vision in mind while working
Don’t be invisible: Be seen and heard. Let your work do the talking
Beat your Deadlines: Finish early to make a perfect presentation

Post looking at Quora, where many IIM and similar pedigree candidates have deliberated on clinching the PPO, here is the summary captured:

1-PPO is not dependent on a single factor. Apart from the work quality, several factors at play are:
-Vacancy: Signing up with the right kind of an internship will alleviate this issue though
-Market conditions: E.g. Telecom in bad shape may have least possibility of fetching a PPO

2-Deciding in the beginning the kind of output an intern needs to stamp from moderate to excellent will be a key drive for achieving a PPO. The following may be kept in mind to build a strong case for PPO.
a) Cover all the points given to you in the project brief. During presentation each point should be covered with details.
b) Collect information from market about the customers, stake holders, product, gap in the need satisfaction, identify opportunity to create a business opportunity.
c) How will you leverage the gap to build sustainable business for the company. Collect images from market, video interviews taken from stake holders to show that you have really put efforts, you have tried to go into deep to understand a problem, develop a solution for it.
d) Be entrepreneurial in approach, talk to other people in the same industry, visit plants, distributors, retailers, customers, prepare questionnaire, get feedback from customers. Present this data, support your recommendations with proper data & research. Give clear recommendations not more than three.
3- For consulting internships in particular and others as well, below needs to be kept in mind.
-Own your project: Once you are assigned a project, it is completely your responsibility. You need to own your project. This means that you live, eat and sleep with your project.
-Finish your project on time: Divide your project into smaller parts, and make a timeline for the entire project. Always ensure that you leave enough flexibility in the timeline to incorporate any unseen circumstances which are not in your control. It is extremely important to finish your project on time, and no excuse is acceptable.
-Keep your deck updated even the slightest of change must reflect to be at par
-Ensure that your mentor is always looped in.
-Be sincere: Right from respecting time to the culture of the company
-Be a part of the team and learn to bond well
-Don’t shy away from voicing your opinions: Nobody likes a person who just nods at whatever their seniors say. And nobody likes someone who does not have any opinion at all.

Also the below link from Mint Jun 17, 2017 profoundly explains how Amazon India converts 60 % of their interns into regular hires.
‘We are happy to bring interns for a longer period, not just two months… bring in professors who can co- create work with us. That is something we are focused on’, says Amazon India’s HR head Raj Raghavan

http://www.livemint.com/Education/2DNzY5vk2LYKqWXLoTYgvI/We-convert-60-of-our-summer-interns-into-regular-hires-s.html