Sriram P

Providing assurance on controls to all entities and businesses in retail, digital services and media through a team of 100 plus professionals. Reliance retail covers a wide spectrum of formats and channels. It covers grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, jewels, pharma, beauty, home and living and toys. It operates out of 18000 plus stores and 400 plus warehouses and runs jiomart, jio mart digital and ajio as its online channels. JPL provides telecom connectivity to the country and has the largest user base. It also provides software and solutions to a range of enterprise consumers. Media business has news and entertainment with channels like cnbc, tv18 group and the newly acquired disney hotstar in India. It has the digital and TV rights for IPL. Currently spearheading the move to build analytics to provide real time assurance and pivot to a workflow enabled real time alerts to address any deviations across the consumer businesses.

Chief Internal Auditor and head of Risk for Asian Paints and its Indian and International subsidiaries. Heading a team of 30 members, including 13 qualified professionals. Coverage includes 17 operating entities across the globe. • Reporting to the chairman of the Audit Committee and the MD & CEO. • Responsible for internal audit of the Company and the group comprising subsidiaries in the Indian subcontinent, MENA region, South east Asia and pacific islands. • Responsible for investigating any whistle blower complaints received. • Preparing and carrying out a risk based audit plan. • Improving the control environment in the Company and implementation of action items arising out of audits. Enterprise Risk Management: • Member of the risk management committee of the Board. • Keeping the risk register updated for the company and group • Monitor implementation of risk treatment plans • Carry out comprehensive PESTEL watch and take pro-active steps Initiatives: • Implementing IT tools for managing entire life cycle of audit. • Cutting edge tools for analytics with machine learning embedded in it. • Building resilience for the organisation with respect to info security, fraud, statutory compliances, reputation risks, fire safety and HR related risks.

Responsible for preparation of financial statements, shared services centre and overall accounts in the Company. Preparation of financial statements: • Responsible for monthly MIS, quarterly and annual financial statements for the company and the group. • Formulating accounting policies for the company. • Preparing, analysing and reporting profitability across business verticals and product categories in the Company. • Ensure compliance to statutes with respect to transactions with related parties. • Handling statutory and cost auditors • Managing retirement trusts: Managing investments and accounts of retiral funds comprising provident fund, gratuity and superannuation. Shared services centre: • Leading a team of 70 people who handle all vendor invoices and payments for the company and all subsidiaries/ associate companies in India. • Responsible for statutory compliance, ensuring compliance to internal policies and procedures and to highlight areas of cost reduction. • Ensuring adherence to SLAs and functional overheads budget. Initiatives: • Implementing standard costing module in SAP to determine the standard cost for all manufactured items. • Automating invoice processing without human intervention using digitally signed PDF invoices. • Implementing profitability analysis in SAP for determining the profits of business lines and product categories.

• Head of Internal Audit and Risk reporting to the MD / CEO and the Audit Committee. • Responsible for internal audit of the Company and the group comprising subsidiaries in the Indian subcontinent, MENA region, South east Asia, pacific islands and the Caribbean. • Responsible for strengthening fraud prevention and detection and for investigating any whistle blower complaints received. • Preparing and carrying out a risk based audit plan. • Partnering with business for improving the control environment in the Company. Enterprise Risk Management: • Identifying and articulating along with the leadership team the key strategic and business risks for the Company. • Built the risk management practice by adopting the ISO 31000 framework. • Took the ERM practice to all levels in the management through workshops and built the operational register bottom up for all functions in the Company. Initiatives: • Setup the whistle blower mechanism for the group with phone lines in all the countries with operations. Carried out awareness workshops across the group about the whistle blower mechanism. • Set up the data analytics practice within the Company leveraging SAP for India operations and Microsoft Dynamics for operations in international subsidiaries. • Strengthened the process of self audits and self certifications using data analytics. • Prepared the framework for IFC and ICFR for the Company in compliance with the requirements of the Companies Act and guidelines issued by the ICAI. The framework for IFC was in line with the principles of the COSO framework. • Implementing GRC solution from SAP covering SOD violation and its remediation. • As a member of the operating council of the Company assisted the executive council in implementing the Company’s plans. Worked towards strengthening people review processes, projects related to sustainability, improving agility and innovation in the Company.

• As head of this special function created was responsible for mapping, reviewing and redesigning business processes within the Company. The scope cut across processes in Asian Paints and its subsidiaries as well. Initiatives: • Set up the shared services centre of the Company. Primary responsibility is towards ensuring making prompt payments after ensuring compliance to internal policies, procedures and statutes. • The centre is also responsible for simplifying and standardising processes across the Company and also driving automation of various underlying processes.

Information technology: • Responsible for implementing SAP in 2000 as process leader for the Manage Assets team covering the entire life cycle from capital budgeting to retirement/ disposal of fixed assets. • After successful implementation and pan India roll out of SAP, was the only functional member who was co-opted to the IT function for carrying the implementation forward. • Responsible for supporting all finance and accounts related processes including procure to pay, financial closing, taxation and fixed assets. Was also responsible for supporting the project team in carrying out and tracking capex and equipment maintenance in the Company. • Championed the changes to the underlying systems due to changesin statutes like education cess changes and VAT implementation. • Was part of the project management team to implement Microsoft Dynamics - Navision at our international subsidiaries - implemented in 17 companies across the globe. Played a key role in managing the change and transition from legacy system to the new software.

I was responsible for conducting internal audit for all manufacturing locations in the company. The role included studying processes, identifying risks and controls, assessesing the effectiveness of the controls and auditing compliance. The role also included co-ordinating with a panel of external internal auditors for scheduling audits, reviewing and releasing reports of audit conducted by them. Was also responsible for compiling all observations for presenting to the audit committee of the board.

Audit Manager with Price Waterhouse. Conducted statutory audits, internal audits, due diligence and tax audits as per Indian statutes. Was responsible for managing a team of 2 - 5 members on each assignment.

Statutory and tax audits of large organisations like Hindustan Lever Limited, Mahindra and Mahindra, International General Electric. Independantly handled audits of large manufacturing plants of the above organisations even during articleship.