Corporate Strategies to Control Borrowing Cost – V.P Nandakumar

Another critical responsibility of the Finance team in connection with reducing borrowing cost is to improve the credit rating of the company. This has to be done by proper presentation of the case to the credit rating agencies. There’s no doubt the credit rating exercise is primarily driven by numbers, but the final call takes into account many subjective factors where the presentation matters, and where the CFO and his team can really prove their mettle.

In this context, it must be mentioned that Information technology has been a key driver in reducing costs in recent days. Finance professionals are increasingly required to be both tech savvy and have an understanding of the IT processes. With their grasp of the financial fundamentals and key role in management decision-making, tech savvy CFOs can better help the company lower its costs and ensure optimum allocation of resources. The CFO can now act as an enabling partner in the business who provides insight and analysis to support the CEO, and ensure that business decisions are grounded in sound financial yardsticks.

Finally, it may be said, the traditional finance skills of analysis, reporting and control and budgeting that defined the functions of the Finance professional is becoming outdated. The role of the modern day finance professional goes beyond technical expertise to one that is increasingly strategic.

V.P. Nandakumar
(V.P. Nandakumar is MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd. Views are personal.)

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