A New Era of Management Accountants to Power Up Indian Businesses

The conditions in which businesses now operate are volatile and uncertain. ‘Business as usual’ no longer exists and the rules of the game are being transformed.

The role of management accountants has evolved over a period of time to become key players in business. It is for this reason that the CGMA Competency Framework was developed in partnership with CIMA’s joint venture partner, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), to equip Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs) with the skills necessary to navigate the ‘new’ business world.

CIMA felicitated new CGMAs at a convocation event on Wednesday, September 21^st, 2016 at J W Mariott Sahar, Mumbai.

At the event, a total of 144 new CGMAs celebrated their success and were presented with certificates by Andrew Miskin, CIMA President. Expressing his happiness, he said, “The day marks the culmination of the year filled with learning, networking, growth and career progress and signifies a step forward for our new CGMAs. The members rightfully deserve the certificates and acknowledgement that the convocation ceremony brings and it is both a pleasure and an honour to share this celebration with them. I am positive, that employers worldwide will recognize them for their financial expertise and business acumen which will further give a boost to their career.”

Management accounting, in the present complex industrial world, has become an integral and essential part of the business. Management Accountants guide and advice for effective and valuable influence over the quality of organisations’ decision making and performance management. In the current business environment, business leaders are struggling to make the right decisions. They find themselves battling against bureaucratic decision-making processes, soloed and short-term thinking, breakdowns in trust and collaboration inside the organisation and difficulties with translating the large volume of information into relevant knowledge. The solution to many of these decision-making challenges can be achieved through integrated thinking — cutting through silos to connect the relevant people and information from across the organisation. CGMAs join the dots in this way to enable them to see the big picture. It means that all of the relevant insight is available when making decisions.

Creativity and Design Becoming Increasingly Important for Businesses in India: Adobe Study

With the Government of India’s focus on resurgence of design, innovation and creativity led entrepreneurship (D.I.C.E), the last year witnessed a clear increase in the emphasis laid on design and creativity in businesses across the country.  This rise of design-led thinking and the incorporation of design approaches into business and strategic problem-solving is having a positive impact on the careers of creatives in India. Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse survey of more than 1,700 creatives across Asia Pacific (APAC) – including graphic designers, web designers, artists, web designers and more – discovered that 98 percent creative professionals in India believe that creativity and design thinking are more important to business in the country, which is higher than the APAC average of 89 percent. The report also found that Indian creatives have a higher desire to learn (83 percent) and feel motivated to finding new solutions to design led challenges (61 percent), which is higher (by 11 percent and 20 percent respectively) than their peers in APAC region.  

Overall, the findings of Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse survey highlight that creatives in India are today driving a bigger impact within their organizations. The study provides insights into the beliefs, difficulties and ambitions of the region’s creative vanguard, including graphic designers, UX/UI designers, web designers, photographers and film makers.

“Adobe has always been at the forefront of the changing creative environment, and it is encouraging for us to see how changing market dynamics and the Government of India’s DICE agenda are together furthering the progress of creative professionals in the country. Today, we are seeing businesses in India increasingly acknowledge the value of creativity in driving business results, and find several companies taking steps to involve creatives in their strategic plans as well as boardroom discussions. Going ahead, we expect more and more businesses in India embrace a design-led approach to problem solving and leverage creativity to deliver standout customer experiences. The results of Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse survey are a testament to this fast emerging trend and also provide an apt view into sentiment of creative professionals in India today,” said Kulmeet Bawa, Managing Director – South Asia, Adobe.

Given that using design as a tool has now become a business mandate to stand apart and reach out to consumers, creatives are no longer relying on their present achievements. To fulfil this mandate, creatives know they must automate the creative process with new skills, new tools and new digital technology. They believe that proficiency in technology and access to best-in-class tools, combined with intuitive creative excellence will be the deal breaker – with 96 percent of Indian respondents agreeing to this. Creatives in India cite that the most important skills over the next year would be to acquire UX/UI design (37 percent) and app development (20 percent).

Despite their increasing importance to business, creatives in India still stay up at night with uncertainties, just like the rest of the workforce. One of their main concerns is the fear they will lose inspiration and motivation (37 percent). Employers need to take note of this, especially since most creatives mentioned that they are very reliant on desktops (73 percent) for work. This suggests that a lot of creatives are still deskbound, despite the popular belief that creative ideas typically come from mobility and change. While the increased pace of business is putting pressure on creatives to churn out more creative ideas and content faster than ever (49 percent), 43 percent of creatives feel that they are not being sufficiently trained in new skills.

“The rapid growth of mobile devices and emergence of technologies such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are challenging creatives world over to create content faster than ever before. Today, businesses expect creatives to adapt to the market dynamics by helping designing for multiple platforms and a broader set of customers, create on-the-go, collaborate with team members across different devices and geographies, and measure the impact of their work on business results. We certainly see this as a big opportunity for creatives to contribute more and make a real impact to the business,” said Kulmeet Bawa.

Adobe’s 2016 Creative Pulse report included 12 percent of respondents from India and reached out to some of the biggest names creative professionals in the country, of which, 18 percent are film makers and 13 percent are UX/UI designers.

Free Windows 10 Migration Assessment Tool from VMware

Today at Microsoft Ignite 2016, VMware, Inc., a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, announced a new solution for customers to assess and implement their Windows 10 migrations. VMware’s SysTrack Desktop Assessment Service for Windows 10 is a free, cloud-hosted service by Lakeside Software Inc., and is the first step customers need to begin their migration process from legacy Windows systems to the modern, enterprise mobility management (EMM)-friendly Windows 10. Details on a customer’s existing environment are identified and quantitatively analyzed to accelerate the move to Windows. This enables customers to take advantage of VMware’s cloud-first Windows Management and Security model for a simpler, cost-effective and more secure Windows environment

“VMware’s End-User Computing portfolio makes us uniquely positioned to take a holistic view of an organization’s Windows environment and determine the perfect fit for existing devices in a Windows 10 world,” said Blake Brannon, vice president of Product Marketing, End-User Computing, VMware. “The SysTrack Desktop Assessment Service is a step-by-step process that gathers in-depth information for organizations to understand system performance and application usage patterns to give a clear picture on which physical devices can upgrade to Windows 10 and which can migrate to Windows 10 through a virtual desktop. Guidance on the optimal computing environment helps organizations lower the cost of delivering and managing Windows environments going forward.”

Windows 10 is poised to have a significant impact on organizations’ EUC strategies, creating a more secure, cost effective and unified computing environment with a better end user experience. As organizations embrace this new OS, they can use VMware AirWatch to manage the OS platform in a cloud-centric model that is more agile and robust than traditional configuration management tools. As organizations set on this Windows 10 migration path, VMware is committed to help them smoothly transition to the new OS.

The VMware SysTrack Desktop Assessment Service is a free, cloud-based service designed to examine end-user behavior, device inventory and configurations (PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones), software, web and network usage patterns. These insights empower IT administrators to gain a comprehensive understanding of their end-user environment as they evaluate Windows 10 migrations. The service provides not only an easier path to migrate to Windows 10, but it also offers customers necessary insights to move forward with a centralized management solution that lowers cost, increases security and compliance, and delivers a peak user experience across customers’ Windows deployments.

Features in the service include:

·         Cloud-hosted assessment to identify desktop candidates that are best fit for in-place migration to Windows 10

·         Detailed metrics and reporting around system mobility, device performance and application usage to more accurately tailor policies and management models towards EMM, VDI, DaaS or thin clients

·         Examine hardware and device configurations, application issues and user behavior to ensure a stronger management and security posture after migration to Windows 10

Twitter Initiates Talks With Major Tech Firms to Explore Selling Itself

Twitter Inc has initiated talks with several technology companies to explore selling itself, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the social media company grapples with its slowest revenue growth since going public in 2013.

Twitter has struggled to translate its high public profile into the kind of user growth that has propelled Facebook, which now boasts 1.71 billion customers. The company has also suffered from management turmoil since its earliest days.

CNBC reported earlier on Friday, citing anonymous sources, that Twitter is in talks with companies that include Alphabet's Google and Salesforce.com, and may receive a formal bid soon.

Twitter and Alphabet could not be reached immediately for comment. Salesforce declined to comment.

Twitter shares jumped more than 20 percent to $22.46 per share on Friday on the report of sales talks, marking the largest one-day rise since their first day of trading in 2013.

Twitter, which now has a market value of nearly $16 billion, has been a near-constant focus of takeover speculation amid persistently disappointing sales and user engagement.

Morningstar analyst Ali Mogharabi said Alphabet would be the best acquirer for Twitter since it has not yet been able to crack social media on its own despite several efforts.

“From a strategic standpoint, we think from it would be more beneficial for Alphabet as opposed to Salesforce,” Mogharabi said.

Morningstar estimates Twitter could be bought for $22 per share.

As rivals such as Facebook's Instagram and Snapchat gain traction with advertisers and social media users, investors have questioned how long Twitter could persist as a stand-alone company.

Co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to the company as chief executive in 2015, but his plan for reviving Twitter is at best seen as unfinished.

The company has struggled to generate revenue growth and profits, despite having some 313 million average monthly active users and a growing presence as a source of breaking news. It grew its user base by less than 1 percent in the second quarter.

Twitter missed Wall Street's sales expectations in both the first and second quarters of this year, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine, and has yet to produce a net profit in 11 quarters as a public company. As of the end of the second quarter, the company has an accumulated loss of nearly $2.3 billion since its inception.

As a result, Twitter shares have struggled to retain their brief upward momentum following the company's highly anticipated initial public offering in November 2013 at $26 a share.

The shares peaked above $74 just over a month after its IPO, but have been on steady downward trajectory since. From then through Thursday's close at $18.63, the stock had lost three-quarters of its value.  

Agencies

Tata Sky, Mindshare, Maxus Bag Gold Awards at the Ad Club Bangalore’s Big Bang Awards 2016

Ad Club Bangalore successfully concluded the 21st edition of its annual awards – Big Bang Awards for excellence in communication and mediaon September 23, 2016 at Jayamahal Palace, Bangalore. Among the Gold awardees include: Tata Sky for Client of the Year; Mindshare for Media Agency of the Year (Covers Digital, Mobile and Traditional Media); Maxus for Social Media Agency of the year; Stark Communications for Creative Agency of the Year; Saatchi and Saatchi Health for Healthcare Agency of the Year.

This year, the event wasn't just confined to awards night but was conceptualised in a manner to encourage the ideology of Connected India, which was the theme of the event. The evening commenced with eminent industry personalities- Nihaal Kashinath (Founder, IOT Bangalore), S Anand (Chief Executive Officer, Gramener) and Arunabh Kumar (Founder and CEO, The Viral Fever and TVF Media Labs) sharing their opinion and views as guest speakers on Internet of Things, Connected Data, and Connected Content respectively.

The program hosted some of the leading names of the communication and media industry and was a showcase of the impressive and outstanding work of organizations in this sector. With more than Seven Hundred influential figures in attendance, the night, besides being interactive and engaging, recognized the achievements of the recipients under the most coveted titles of the industry.

Stark Communications was named Creative Agency of the Year. Mindshare and Maxus were the biggest winners of the night bagging awards for Media, Digital, and Social Media Agencies of the year, respectively.  Saatchi and Saatchi Health won the Healthcare Agency of the Year. 

Tata Sky Won the Client of the Year Award winning across several categories.

Commenting on the awards program, Sanchayeeta Verma, President Ad Club Bangalore and Managing Partner, Maxus, South India and South Asia, said, “We had unprecedented interest and participation in Big Bang Awards this year and the effort was to have a meaningful and enriching event for our media, creative and marketing fraternity. I am happy that we were able to do so. Also, we had really interesting and spirited work which truly epitomised Connected India. Our heartiest congratulations to all the winners.”

This year Big Bang awards were presented under four major categories – Creative, Media (Including Data and Tech), Digital, and Health. The awards assessment involved an online jury selection process. On the panel, 56 senior Advertising, Marketing, Media, PR and Digital industry experts and thought leaders were deployed by Ad Club. “We are the only Indian Ad Club using a sophisticated Online Jury Process. Every jury member scores independently based on the facts presented in the Entry form. No jury member knows who else is in his group and the identity of the entrant”, explained, Arvind Kumar, Executive Director of The Ad Club Bangalore.

The Advertising Club Bangalore is one of the few ad clubs in India which has been successfully conducting workshops, seminars, professional talks, sports events and the BIG BANG awards for excellence in communication and media. The club uses a State-of-the-Art Online Platform in association with Global Best Awards of USA to receive, collate and judge entries online, on par with other International awards.  

DSCI Launches its First Global Cyber Security Chapter in Singapore

Data Security Council of India (DSCI), a premier body on cyber security launched its chapter in Singapore with the aim to encourage the exchange of information, sharing of knowledge and best practices on cyber Security.  The DSCI Singapore chapter among other things would be engaged in the following activities:

·         Building linkages with stakeholders in the government, industry, LEAs and academia 

·         Establishing channels of collaborations on policy deliberation, industry development and capacity building on Security Privacy and Cybercrime investigation, among others

·         Building community to bridge cyber security skills gap between India and Singapore

·         Exploring opportunities for developing niche capabilities in cyber security product space

Delivering the inaugural address, the High Commissioner, Vijay Thakur Singh congratulated DSCI said that “Cyber Security is a global issue and needs attention of all stakeholders. It is essential that countries become partners to address this issue collaboratively. In the light of recent affirmative steps by both the countries in strengthening bilateral co-operation and exchange of dialogue on issue of cyber security, these initiatives reinforces the vital role played by global thought leaders like DSCI in bringing the stakeholders together to address this common issue.”

Rama Vedashree, CEO, DSCI said “The formation of this chapter will be instrumental in building strong linkages between India and Singapore in the area of Cyber Security. We are working with governments across the globe to charter the way forward to address the issues in the cyber space, including the cross border data flows, Internet governance, privacy and others. I am confident the chapter will act as a catalyst for growth of a strong community in the region to address the evolving cyber challenges.”

On the occasion Madan Oberoi, Indian Police Service (IPS) officer presently deployed in Singapore, in his address said “In the globally interconnected society, it becomes important to engage stakeholders and share the best practices and benefit from the learnings of each other. The need of the hour is to create credible deterrence, which should be done by law enforcement agencies through successful prosecutions. DSCI Singapore chapter needs to engage different stakeholders like regulatory bodies, enforcement agencies, industry, think-tanks, Internet governance bodies, academia, research organizations and other stakeholders and encourage them to contribute to the common cause for making the cyber space safe, secure and trusted.”

Co-anchor of DSCI Singapore Chapter, Ajay Kumar, Regional Managing Director- Asia Pacific, Branch Transformation and Payments Solutions, Entrust Datacard, said “In rapidly changing digital eco-system, it’s important to engage with various stakeholders from government, financial services, academia and enterprises to share global best practices and use cases to protect trusted identities and transactions. DSCI Singapore Chapter would help to establish channels of collaborations on policy deliberation, development of the industry, exchange ideas and learning in Cyber Security space.”

DSCI has created and nurtured a network of over 4000 security and privacy professionals in India in with 12 chapters operating successfully in different cities in India. DSCI Chapters are directed by voluntary association of individuals – Anchor and Co-Anchor are appointed to conduct regular affairs.

Healthcare Provider Qyura Aims to Bridge the Gap between Patients & Medical Service Providers

Qyura, from the Spanish word ‘Cure’ aims to educate users on and about the available healthcare solutions around them, enabling them to make informed decisions in case of any medical requirement. Unlike any other e-healthcare provider in the market, Qyura is not just about doctor bookings or medicine delivery, but covers nearly every aspect of healthcare ranging from getting an X-ray done from the nearest diagnostic centre to calling for an ambulance in case of an emergency. Qyura is also the first and only provider in the category which networks hospitals and enables the users to make the right choice.

It is a platform that is designed to enhance revenues, reputation and operational efficiency as well as reduce expenditure for the healthcare service providers. The mobile application has been launched in three cities - Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore. Over more, users can avail all the services offered by Qyura through the website.

In a span of 60 days, Qyura has been successful in partnering with 2000+ medical service providers and boasts of names like SRL, Manipal Hospital, Apollo Spectra Hospitals amongst others.

Additionally, to expand fast and penetrate multiple markets quickly, Qyura will be entering into a Franchisee model. It will support its franchisees by offering them 360° marketing, tech and operational support. The emphasis would be on the philosophy of building up entrepreneurship and corporations through their designed network infused with the company culture.

Commenting on the launch, Siddhant Jatia, Founder and Director, Qyura said, “Healthcare in India is still a severely unorganized sector. Patients are subjected to indefinite queues, bad customer service, unequal pricing and most importantly, severe neglect in times of dire need. Moreover, critical information with regards to medical institutions, doctors, blood banks, emergency services - is fragmented, unclear and sometimes entirely unavailable. Qyura aims to organize the medical sector to allow patients to make informed decisions by becoming both a discovery platform as well as an opinion generating medium. Be it preventive healthcare, a person’s day today medical requirement or assistance at the time of emergencies, Qyura is the go-to place for everyone.”

The platform aims to offer booking assistance, reminders before appointments, letting the patient know if the doctor cancels and a gamut of impromptu calls-to- action which demonstrates the extra-mile to its users. The back-end team is extensively trained to offer solutions and assistance, and most importantly, to Dare to CARE.

The company will also be launching a pharmacy module, where medicines will be delivered at the user’s doorstep.