Question the commitment before approving the headline
My contribution to a board
I would help directors examine the obligations and timing behind a proposed use of money. In a rental business, a deposit receipt, a future disposal estimate and a bill still appearing in an ageing report can each be mistaken for something more immediately useful than it is. My contribution would be to ask what the company can reasonably commit, which assumptions could change that view and how customer treatment enters the decision. I would bring this experience alongside directors with clinical, technical, legal and broader commercial knowledge, without assuming finance settles every question. I have not served on a board and would need to learn the receiving company's responsibilities and business model. The role should strengthen collective oversight of management's recommendation. It should not make me an additional treasury approver or give me authority over equipment release, clinical care or the preparation of the company's accounts.
Judgement in practice
01
A funding recommendation must show the obligation inside the balance
The deposit case began with ₹4.8 crore cash that appeared sufficient for a ₹2.8 crore purchase. After the internal ₹1.6 crore deposit reserve and ₹1.1 crore scheduled commitments, the relevant discretionary figure was ₹2.1 crore. At board level I would ask whether management's proposed use of money leaves the company's obligations and downside sufficiently visible. I would also ask who owns the reserve policy, how it is reconciled and what would justify changing it. The board should understand the consequences of deferral as well as the risk of proceeding. That does not mean imposing our particular reserve on another company or declaring that every deposit has the same legal status. The receiving business needs its own contractual, accounting and funding assessment, with appropriate advice and a clear management recommendation.
02
A headline arrears figure does not prescribe a fair collection action
The ₹2.4 crore collections report contained ₹60 lakh requiring correction after verified equipment collection and ₹50 lakh on agreed instalments. A board considering customer treatment should ask how management establishes that its collection categories are current and appropriate before action. I would look for evidence of the handover between service and accounts, the approval of corrections and the treatment of unresolved exceptions. Directors need not inspect every rental account themselves. They should understand whether the system makes an inappropriate demand more likely and whether management learns from corrections. I would avoid interpreting the remaining ₹1.3 crore as certain recovery or treating the review expense as proof of a financial return. The useful oversight question is whether the company's account and proposed action remain consistent with the evidence and agreed terms.
My first year on a board
I would start by learning the proposed company's asset cycle, customer terms, funding arrangements and assurance responsibilities. With the chair, I would arrange discussions with management and the advisers relevant to the committee role. A small number of completed investment and customer-account cases would help me understand how evidence travels into a recommendation. I would review earlier forecast changes and corrections before proposing new measures. My initial contribution might be to clarify one recurring capital decision or the ownership of a customer-account exception, rather than design a reporting programme for the whole business. Twenty-four days is a provisional annual allowance for preparation, induction, meetings and travel, subject to employer consent and the actual calendar. A major transaction or incident could require more time. I would ask experienced directors for feedback on whether my questions improve oversight while leaving execution with management.
Conflicts and their management
Raqvuli's relationships include equipment suppliers, service partners, customers, investors and potential financing counterparties. I would disclose relevant connections and my employee-trust interest before receiving confidential material from a proposed board. The company would need a specific independence and committee-eligibility assessment supported by qualified advice. I would not carry customer accounts, supplier prices or fleet plans from my employer into another company's deliberations. A conflict that repeatedly excluded me from the central decisions for which I was recruited could make a seat unsuitable even if a single matter could be managed through an agreed process. I would also clarify that a board contribution is not an informal accounting engagement or a route to my employer's commercial relationships. Disclosures would need updating as the businesses and my own interests changed. The question is practical capacity to contribute responsibly, not simply completion of an initial form.
My independence statement
My employment, employee-trust interest and relationships with equipment suppliers, customers and investors would need review for any proposed appointment. Financial experience alone does not establish independence or committee eligibility.
Board and committee exposure
Presented to the Board or a committee
Raqvuli Care Equipment
Board finance and fleet-investment reviews
April 2021–present
Presents funding alternatives, rental-account issues and financial reports as the invited CFO; neither a director nor a committee member.
Governance learning and readiness
IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Not yet registered
Registration in the IICA Independent Directors' Databank remains an uncompleted step in my preparation. Applicable preparation and appointment requirements remain to be established and completed; I claim no exemption.
Learning with the company secretary about the difference between management recommendations and collective director responsibilities
Reviewing how audit and risk committees use evidence without becoming the finance department