Presented to the Board or a committee
Perqavni Home Textiles
Invited financial planning and commercial-exposure reviews
April 2021–present
Presents financial accounts and commitment choices as CFO; no statutory directorship or committee membership.
Hormazd Qervnashi · Chief Financial Officer · India
The financial questions I would bring to a board
My contribution to a board
I would help a board examine the obligation behind a financial result that appears straightforward. Retail cash can arrive before goods are supplied, a business order can consume capacity before an invoice is raised, and a rebate can require a purchase whose selling outcome remains uncertain. My experience is in making those distinctions usable by management, including correcting a presentation I had endorsed. As an outside member I would ask how the board knows which stage a reported number describes and which commitment a proposed decision creates. I would not use the seat to approve individual customer orders or rewrite the receiving company's accounting policy. Directors need suitable professional advice and a clear account from their own executives. My contribution should improve the board's questions and its understanding of the decision, while leaving finance and commercial teams responsible for preparation, negotiation and execution.
Board and committee exposure
Committee contribution
| Capacity | Committees |
|---|---|
| Ready to join | Financial reporting and commercial risk · Working capital and investment review |
Capacity and preferences
- Time available
- 24 days per year
- Current directorships
- 0
- Sectors
- Consumer retail businesses · Branded goods with shops and business-account channels
- Company type
- A consumer enterprise with an experienced separate chair and clear commercial approval authority
- Company stage
- Strengthening the financial account of growth, customer commitments or purchasing decisions
The seat I am pursuing
I would consider one first non-executive appointment in a consumer business where directors want stronger financial challenge of commercial commitments. The receiving chair should be experienced and should explain how my contribution complements existing directors and advisers. I would initially join a suitable financial-risk or investment discussion as a member after completing further preparation, rather than claim immediate readiness to chair a statutory audit committee. My invited CFO presentations do not establish board-service experience. The company should assess my qualifications, time, relationships and suitability for the actual role. I would value a seat that asks how a transaction changes the company's obligations and expects management to answer with evidence, while preserving its authority to negotiate, execute and account for the decision. The first measure of usefulness should be the quality of that collective judgement, not the number of operating recommendations I can make.
Judgement in practice
A reconciled component did not make the combined headline meaningful
The voucher presentation added ₹40 lakh received to ₹27 lakh later redeemed from the same cohort. Both components could be checked, but the ₹67 lakh interpretation was still wrong for the sales claim it supported. I would ask directors whether management explains the stages behind a prominent performance figure, especially when the result is used to justify another programme. Our statutory ledger was already separate, so the response concerned the internal account and its audience rather than a published restatement. The board should also hear that I approved the original presentation. A useful oversight question is whether the reporting culture can correct a senior sponsor's account without turning the explanation into a search for a junior person to blame.
A concession required an additional commitment before it could become useful
The proposed supplier rebate would have been ₹30 lakh after purchases reached ₹10 crore, but crossing that threshold required an extra ₹1.4 crore of merchandise. I would ask directors to see the expected selling period, stock capacity and downside alongside the concession. We declined the threshold-only purchase while continuing normal demand-based ordering. That choice did not earn the rebate or create ₹1.4 crore of profit. Directors should understand what management gives up and what uncertainty it retains, including the possibility that some goods will be purchased later. My contribution would be to keep the incentive from replacing the commercial case for the underlying transaction, without assuming that every bulk purchase is financially unsound.
My first year on a board
I would begin by understanding how the receiving board gets its financial account and which commercial decisions most often arrive as apparent exceptions. With the chair and CFO, I would follow one significant commitment from its proposal through approval and later review. I would ask where prepayments, pending orders or supplier conditions sit in that account, and whether the board sees a change of meaning when a measure moves between reports. Twenty-four proposed days must include learning the actual business, meeting preparation and time for unexpected financial questions. I would seek feedback on whether my interventions clarify the decision or pull directors into execution. By the end of the first year, a useful contribution might be a more explicit explanation of a recurring commitment, even if no immediate improvement in profit can be attributed to that change. I would also revisit an earlier board question to learn whether it helped management rather than merely lengthened its papers.
Conflicts and their management
My finance role exposes customer balances, credit terms, purchasing incentives, financing discussions and the intentions of our owners. An outside appointment needs review for connections involving Perqavni, its founders, growth investor, employees, commercial partners and competitors. I would disclose relevant interests before receiving confidential papers and obtain appropriate advice on eligibility, independence and committee participation. Having no shares does not make those relationships disappear. I would not bring our supplier terms into another company's purchasing debate or use its board papers to improve my employer's negotiating position. Recusal may address an isolated matter, but repeated exclusion from the decisions for which I was appointed could make the role ineffective. A realistic time assessment and any required employer consent are also necessary. I would decline an appointment whose value depends on confidential information I cannot properly share or on divided responsibilities I cannot resolve.
My independence statement
I hold no Perqavni shares or statutory appointment, but my employment and commercial knowledge still create relationships requiring assessment before any outside role.
Governance learning and readiness
IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Not yet registered
Preparation and registration for a prospective independent appointment remain unfinished. Presenting financial papers as an executive is not director service.
- Studying directors' financial oversight and the limits of an executive finance perspective
- Preparing to assess committee responsibilities and conflicts involving customers, suppliers and investors