Vandana is a practising Insolvency professional with over 20 years of experience in the !nance sector. After starting in accounting and !nance roles in Philips Lighting and GE Capital, she assumed senior roles in Sitel and WNS, before her leadership roles in companies like BDO and PWC. Ms Garg is a Delhi University graduate who is a quali!ed chartered accountant and a member of the Indian Institute of Insolvency Professionals. She talks to Moneyedge about her career experiences and challenges, along with a look at the upcoming business developments and trends.

As a financial advisor to various organizations, I have worked in various sectors including Infrastructure, Transmission, Real Estate, Iron and Steel, Education, Textiles, Pharma, Electronics, Back-office operations etc. Among these, Real estate, Iron and Steel power and infrastructure were the worst affected sectors in the last 4 to 5 years and many companies have gone into Insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) due to varied reasons. Before IBC, there was no common platform that could revive the companies and, therefore, many companies were restructured in the last decade. However, restructuring failed due to a lack of commitment for revival from various perspectives (including lenders and borrowers).

One does have to mention that during the COVID-19 induced lockdown, MSME units were again hit badly and the economy was almost at a standstill for the almost entire year 2020.

I started my career in 1997 and have played roles in corporate enterprises such as PWC, BDO India, Philips India Limited, Varrenyam Financial Services LLP, WNS Global Services, GE Capital and Sitel India Limited. I have always liked to deal with challenges and look for ‘out-of-the-boxʼ process improvements, something that urged me to become an Insolvency professional. Though I have already done around 60+ restructuring cases, becoming a resolution professional was a different ball game altogether. As a Resolution professional for Jyoti Structures Limited, I gained experience in running a company with a debt size of INR 8,000 crores and dealing with multiple stakeholders simultaneously. I must admit that it is extremely challenging to be a resolution professional. Everyone tries to push the professional to the corner and highlight faults, with hardly anyone to fall back on for the professional. It is surely a roller coaster ride and I believe lawmakers need to implement a better-defined system in place and design protective guidelines for professionals like us. Nevertheless, there has to be a first time for everything, and we were the first ones to experience the effect.

Business and industry are evolving, largely thanks to technological advancements. One of the several game-changers in the days to come to include the use of Artificial intelligence in all sectors. The acceptance of cryptocurrencies will also impact businesses. Concepts like design thinking will transform product and process designing, while Online Platforms and Faceless Banking too are going to be massive in the business world.

I would sum up my areas of expertise in four major categories,which are,

• Turnaround expertise
• Restructuring and revival Business planning
• Distressed Assets Funding
• Act as a mentor to organisations to support business decision making.

I believe the next wave of development would be entirely technology-driven, which will cut across sectors. Technology will not only simplify tasks and processes, but it will also bring new and different kinds of marketplaces, jobs, regions and industries to the forefront. Technology will help amplify the entire gamut of services and products lines. At the present rate of development, the kind of change coming up in the next 5 to 10 years could be beyond imagination. Many present-day professions would become redundant as new skill sets will be developed over time. Technology will minimize human intervention in almost all services or products imaginable.

Some of the key synergies that we expect from our association with Moneyedge would be,

• Can act as an Aggregator,
• Can provide an online platform for processing and appraisal of proposals,
• Financial and Legal Due diligence of prospective clients,
• Mobilization of funding proposals for Stressed Assets funding,
• Provide various advisory services to the SME sector including fundraising.