The Eastern India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has recognised a Shillong-based chartered accountant Shruti Pradhan for her contribution in the field of accountancy.
It was this year that ICAI recognized seventy-five women from Eastern India for their contributions in the field.
Since 2010, Pradhan has been working hard to usher in financial literacy in the state – especially amongst entrepreneurs.
Shruti said that in her fourteen years in Meghalaya, wherever she goes, be it towns or villages, she sees mostly women engaged in small businesses and local livelihoods. “It could be a small corner shop, a tea and “jadoh” stall or every-day supplies – they’re mostly run by women”, she states. “The problem is that a lot of them are not officially recognised as part of the workforce.”
About her journey as a Chartered Accountant, Shruti recounts, “If I remember correctly, when I came to Shillong in 2010 there were eight chartered accountants in the entire state.”
“There were no women CAs and people were not that enlightened about this important aspect of their lives. There was a need for financial literacy. For the indigenous people in Meghalaya, while tax exemptions are a benefit, there is a sense of ignorance when it comes to savings and investments.”
Shruti identified this huge gap that exists in terms of financial literacy and funds management and decided to do something about it. She started by participating as a financial expert in workshops organized by various government departments and private organisations. This marked the beginning of her professional relationship with the entrepreneurial community in the state. She works as an advisor with many entrepreneurs, but she is especially proud of her association with women led enterprises. Over the course of her career, Shruti has consulted extensively with government agencies within the state and outside to ensure best practices are set up for financial management of flagship programmes at various levels.
“Whatever career a woman chooses, she will be multi-tasking.” Shruti points out. “Every working woman puts in double the effort, because her work does not end at the work place, it continues as the primary caregiver at home. And because of how our upbringing wires us, we feel this need to prove our worth which a man does not.”
Shruti strongly believes that every woman should be given an opportunity to be financially independent. She works very closely with women entrepreneurs in the state because she believes that they are more motivated and have little or no room for failure.
“No matter what community you belong to, men get more second chances than women.” Shruti says, “So when a woman starts something, she will give it her all.”
In her experience working with entrepreneurs in the state, she firmly believes that there is this immense resource that has been tapped and that can be propelled forward with knowledge in terms of marketing and financial literacy. There are Self Help groups all over the state that are bringing many products to the table but depend on the government to take it to market. And while the state government has created avenues for these products, it is just a starting point. “These groups must now scale up and choose to be less dependent on the state when it comes to market linkage.”
“While the government has filled critical gaps and built an efficient ecosystem, these self-help groups must now come together as recognized legal entities – Private Limited or LLP units.” Shruti says. “They need to delegate and have a marketing team in place. Someone from among themselves, not an external agency because they need to have more control on pricing and any partnerships they enter.”
A lot of what Shruti has to say comes back to financial literacy. Engaging a financial advisor is one thing, but being aware of how money is being spent, saved, invested, and reinvested is something that needs to be a part of the day-to-day operations of an enterprise. “Every rupee needs to be accounted for. Financial responsibilities cannot be dumped on to a third party. They need to invest themselves in the management of funds and intelligently bridge the gap between producer and consumer to ensure that everyone involved gets a fair deal.”
The Meghalaya government has identified entrepreneurship as the leading means of employment for our youth and our women, but there is still a long way to go. There is so much to learn and so many aspects to consider. Sometimes someone comes along to lend a helping hand. To many entrepreneurs in the state, Shruti has proven to be that someone.
This year under the banner of “Udaan – Celebrating Womanhood, ICAI (Eastern India Regional Council)” Shruti is recognised for their contributions to the State as a professional and the extra mile she travels to encourage women to strive towards financial independence.
