Know which resources the business can actually use

I am Sylvia Orzaveli, chief financial officer of the fictional Lunqeri Learning Stores in Belagavi. We sell books, stationery and art supplies through thirty-eight shops. Our working managers and other employees own the company, which makes a discussion about cash personal as well as commercial. I grew up in Margao and began in office-supplies accounting. Learning to follow a payment from its record to its purpose led me into treasury, then retail control and eventually the CFO role.

The company employs 870 people and recorded ₹362 crore revenue with ₹21.6 crore operating profit in the financial year ending March 2026. I lead forty-three finance colleagues through five managers within ₹6.9 crore annual function expense. Working-manager shareholders own 74% and other employees 26%; my own 0.6% is included in the manager holding. I report to CEO Neel Tazvori and present to the board chaired by Rekha Delqani. I do not hold a statutory directorship, and a finance recommendation is not authority to commit the company's capital.

My recent work has concerned resources that looked clearer in a summary than they were in practice. Some books in our premises belonged to suppliers. An acquisition's adjusted earnings excluded costs we would still incur. A term-deposit proposal offered more interest while our cash plan required access sooner. A shareholder distribution would have paid me more personally while leaving less liquidity in the business. In each case I had to explain the relevant distinction and the price of the alternative. Finance was useful when it made a deliberate choice possible, including a choice that disappointed its own shareholders.

Current focus

Making ownership, continuing costs and cash timing explicit in the financial recommendations placed before employee shareholders and directors.

Conversations I welcome

One first outside non-executive role after preparation, employer consent and a company-specific assessment of conflicts and capacity.