Good Corporate Governance is the need of the hour. History has proof enough to demonstrate that when companies have ignored compliance, the society has felt the brunt of it.
Saswati Mishra, our next pathbreaker, Global Portfolio Lead at Law Debenture (UK), works for subsidiary management handling global corporate compliance for all their entities .
Saswati talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about how a module on Corporate Law changed her career trajectory towards Corporate Governance .
For students, be curious about all the paths that are available to you and also think about what actually excites you. Choosing the right career is very important as it decides how your life will be for a very long time
Saswati, can you share how your growing up years were?
I do not want to sound cliché, but I come from a modest background in Patna, the capital city of Bihar in eastern India. Raised in a typical middle class family, my father worked in a Bank until his retirement. He now spends time working with the community around him. My mother, a homemaker with a flair for many skills, has always been the quiet strength behind our family. I have an elder sister who, like many firstborns, has always been the intelligent, responsible one—setting the bar high .
My dad has a Bachelors’ degree in Humanities and my mother has done her intermediate in Science. Education was always a priority in our household and thus I went to two of the city’s most reputed schools – St. Karen’s High School and St. Joseph’s Convent High School. I was not very active in extra curricular activities, however, I did take part in Elocution and signing competitions at various events.
While growing up, like most Indian families, I grew up thinking the only career options were engineering or medicine. I was not particularly studious, and was sort of a dreamer. I did not think, like other kids, nor did I have a career ambition. The only thing I ever dreamt of (and still do) was to make it big, be popular. As a kid I wanted to be a fashion model because when I was growing up, we witnessed a surge in fashion modelling in India and it looked like something to me as the way to be famous and be in the limelight. I come from a family where good education is considered directly proportional to success in life. Thus, I had to be at least a decent student. When I was in St. Karen’s High School, I started getting fascinated by medicine professionals and so wanted to become a Dentist. When I was in St. Joseph’s Convent High School pursuing humanities in my Higher Secondary, I was introduced to Economics which I was really interested in and was also good at. So then, I wanted to become an Economic Professor. Looking back, I wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking I was a fickle-minded kid.
What did you do for graduation/post graduation?
My graduation and post-graduation are both in Business Administration. I did my Bachelors in Business Administration from St. Xaviers’ College, Kolkata and did my Masters’ in Business Administration from University of Liverpool Management School, Liverpool, United Kingdom. I am also a Qualified Company Secretary of India and Chartered Secretary of UK & Ireland.
What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and unique career in Corporate Compliance?
I owe a great deal to my graduation years for shaping my career path. I left Patna for higher education. I was accepted at St. Xaviers’ College, Kolkata for Bachelors’ in Business Administration (BBA). Those 3 years opened my eyes to the inner workings of businesses, and I found myself genuinely fascinated by how companies operate. I remember how much I enjoyed reading annual reports for our projects. Reading the reports had become my favorite pastime. One of my professors told me about Compliance Officers, legal teams and their roles and responsibilities which included finalization of annual reports. Though I was super impressed, I certainly was not thinking of it as my career. See, when I was pursuing BBA, it was all about being good with numbers, I was thinking about joining the finance team of a company. Though I was not good with numbers, I was forcing myself to like and be good in financial management. However, destiny had other plans. I had a module on Corporate Law and for the second time in life (first being studying Economics in St. Joseph’s Convent High School), I was happy being a student – I could understand what was being taught and I was really good at it. I was getting good marks and I was sad when the module was over.
It was almost the end of my graduation when I was talking to one of my friends who told me that he is also pursuing Chartered Accountancy and told me everything about it and I got pissed again because it was all about numbers. He then also told me about Company Secretaryship and what he explained made my day. I went to the Institute of Company Secretaries’, Kolkata branch to pick up a brochure and I felt I am in my type of amusement park.
I called my parents and told them that I want to pursue Company Secretaryship and honestly, they were confused because just a week back I had told them that I was preparing for a Masters in Business Administration. Also, they did not understand what Company Secretaryship is, but they still agreed and that was the start of who I am today.
How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path
A part of the Company Secretaryship course was to do a 15 months Management Training to get practical exposure into the life of a Company Secretary. After sending lots of applications, I was selected in Srei Equipment Finance Private Limited and I was working with the Company Secretary of the Company. As the Company was a group company of a publicly listed company, I got the opportunity to work for a publicly traded company and get the exposure to the Non-Banking Financial Company business as well. I was handling board meetings, Committee meetings, Annual General Meetings, meeting board members, handling stakeholders, doing regulatory filings and liaising with the regulators, and not to forget working on Annual Reports. I had got my calling and there was no turning back.
How did you get your first break?
One thing about the Institute of Company Secretaries of India alumni is that they are extremely helpful. I got my Management Training and my first job through the Institute’s alumni. When I was about to complete my Management Training, I had also qualified as a Company Secretary. So, it was time to get into the real world and I was looking for a job. One of the alumni referred me to ARSK & Associates, a Chartered Accounting firm in Kolkata. I interviewed and thankfully got selected. It was a Chartered Accountants (CA) firm, so it was mainly CA work and I was doing compliance work for many client companies. It came as a boon for me. From the very first day, I got the opportunity to work directly with the 3 Partners of the firm. I learnt so much from them, whether it be stakeholder management or handling work load or being a successful Company Secretary. I owe so much to that organisation.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
I would say my biggest challenge was to explain to people back at home what a Company Secretary does. It was easy with my immediate family. However, it was always a challenge with others. I mean I was a minority as I was not doing anything in the Science or Commerce stream.
For a qualified Company Secretary, there are 2 career paths – one being an in-house Company Secretary and handling corporate compliance of that company and/ or companies in the group structure. The second is one can be part of a professional services firm and handle corporate compliance of multiple entities for different companies. I did my training as an in-house Company Secretary, then my first job at the Chartered Accountants’ firm was that of a professional service firm which means I had to handle a lot of companies and adapt to the different working styles of companies.
When I left the Chartered Accountants’ firm in 2016 to move to Hyderabad, India, I again joined Granules Omnichem Private Limited, as Company Secretary. The Company is a group company of a publicly listed company- which means I was again in an in-house role. Shortly, I had to relocate to Delhi, India and joined Ernst & Young (EY). I was back at a professional firm.
I always had this challenge in deciding whether I am better as in-house Company Secretary or in a professional service firm, as both were attractive to me. But a year in EY and my 3 years of experience being in the Chartered Accountants’ firm, cleared my doubts. As a Company Secretary, being in professional service was my calling. While both paths have their own advantages and disadvantages, whatever path taken, life as Company Secretary is always interesting.
Where do you work now?
Things change when you least expect it and it was definitely true for me. I was in a comfortable and stable position in life with a job I adored, but Covid happened and I was forced to confront my long term goals. This also brought back one of my childhood dreams of settling out of India. I was back to being the clueless child – did not know how but wanted to settle out of India. I started researching and talking to people and decided to pursue a Masters from the United Kingdom (UK). The decision was made but acting on it was difficult. For a work lover like me, being on career break was a huge decision and additionally my family is in India. I was hell scared of breaking this news to my parents but I had to have the conversation. I was confident of their reaction but still called them one evening and broke the news. While writing this also I am reliving their reaction because that was not what I had expected. When I told them my plans of pursuing Masters from the UK and probably settling down there – they said ‘Wonderful. This is one of the best decisions I have taken and that I have their support’.
That was happily shocking but fast forward in 2022 I left India and landed in the UK and started with my Masters in Business Administration. I was simultaneously also looking for a job. For the first time in my life, I was not confused. While most of my cohorts were trying to change their work stream, I knew I had to continue what I am good at – Corporate Compliance.
After a number of interviews, I finally landed at Law Debenture as a Global Portfolio Lead. In this job profile I work for subsidiary management where I handle global corporate compliances for entities across the globe.
What’s a typical day like?
A typical day in my job profile is to ensure that all mandatory annual corporate compliances (such as board meetings, shareholders’ meetings, financial statement filings, annual return filings) based on entity type (company or branch or representative office) are complied with. Additionally, we also handle corporate compliance related to entity’s event driven changes such as director change, name change, closure, restructuring. It is a very interesting work profile and I love it as my inner Company Secretary self is satisfied working with corporate compliance related processes. But then, the job is also about project coordination, stakeholder management which always keeps me on my toes. I am working with counsels and clients from different jurisdictions and thus I should be mindful and respectful to different working styles but also retain my Company’s core values. I love stakeholder management and, in this job, I get to interact with different stakeholders- external and internal which I believe develops one as an individual as well.
How does your work benefit society?
When one thinks about my job, one may not be able to understand the impact of the work on society. However, thinking about it, good governance is the need of the hour. History has proof enough to support that when companies ignored compliance, the society felt the brunt of it. Timely corporate compliance is a cornerstone of good governance. What I do, supports the implementation of internal controls, risk management, and ethical leadership which is a key element of a well-governed organization.
The work I do includes ensuring that companies comply with local and international laws, which helps uphold the rule of law and ethical standards in business operations. This reduces the risk of fraud, corruption, and malpractice, contributing to a fairer and more trustworthy economic environment. We ensure that businesses operate within legal frameworks, which fosters investor confidence and economic stability. This, in turn, directly and indirectly can encourage foreign direct investment, job creation, and sustainable development.
Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!
Over the 11+ years of work experience I have had, I have handled a lot of different types of work – from incorporating entities, to undertaking compliance based due-diligence for entities, to addressing Board of Directors and senior management on various compliance topics. I understand how our work makes an impact in a company and I feel proud of every such work that I have done.
To quote just once, I would have to say the first Annual General Meeting I attended as part of the compliance team of a reputed and well known publicly listed company in India. As part of the compliance team, there are a lot of responsibilities to ensure a smooth convening of Annual General Meetings. A lot of logistics and compliances have to be in place to ensure timely completion and posting of notice, agenda and annual report, collating proxies, keeping all registers ready for the meeting. On the day of the meeting, stakeholder management becomes crucial – everyone attending the meeting will have different questions or will need different kinds of assistance and we have to ensure we manage all such expectations, keeping attendance of members and proxy and helping them get seated and then when the meeting starts, we need to ensure law with respect to voting and ballot. All resolution discussions have to be noted so that the minutes can be prepared adequately. The task does not end with meetings but extends to completion of meeting compliance.
It may sound tedious, however, being a Company Secretary, is one of the best feelings when you can say that you have successfully handled an end to end Annual General Meeting. This meeting holds a lot of importance as every stakeholder waits for this meeting for different reasons and to be able to successfully convene this meeting for a publicly listed company is a proud moment and that being my first Annual General Meeting as part of the Compliance team is one of my most memorable memories till date.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
My career journey has shown me that the governance profession is not just about compliance but also about leadership, integrity, and making a meaningful impact, and more importantly, it gives me a sense of pride in my work. One should always be able to enjoy his/her work, as without that it becomes a task.
My advice to students will be to be curious about all the paths that are available to them and also to think about what actually excites them. Choosing the right career is very important as it decides how your life will be for a very long time. If you do not foresee yourself enjoying something, then probably it is not worth choosing that as your career. There are a lot of opportunities available, thus it is better not to just follow the herd but also think of what you want. To be able to choose the right career, it is important to talk to as many people as possible or take advantage of organisations such as https://theinterviewportal.com/, a website taking this beautiful initiative to make students be aware of all such possibilities.
Future Plans?
My future plan remains the same– TO MAKE IT BIG
I will be happy to be connected with people who may need further guidance on Governance Profession.
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