The activities of financial record keeping, reporting, and statutory compliance that used to characterize the post of the chief financial officer have been greatly expanded upon in recent years, leading to a major expansion of the CFO's responsibilities. Even though this task is still an essential component of the function modern CFOs have additional responsibilities, including the use of their expertise and awareness of their firm's financial status to steer the strategic direction of the company and move the organization ahead. Given this, companies need an experienced CFO like Vivek Jain because contemporary CFOs are expected to take on responsibilities beyond those traditionally associated with financial management.

Vivek Jain is an accomplished financial expert and a leading Chartered Accountant, having graduated with his course in January of 2000. Vivek also has a leadership management certificate from the Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow. In 2000, Vivek began his professional career in the paper sector, and he quickly shifted to the alloy and steel industry in Hyderabad. Vivek now serves as Lumiq's Chief Financial Officer.

Below is an excerpt of Vivek Jain’s exclusive
interaction with CEO Insights magazine.

How has your journey been so far into the finance domain and what drives you today?
The twenty or so years I've spent honing my skills in the financial sector have been invaluable to my professional development. I have significant experience working in a wide variety of financial roles, from entry level to executive, particularly in medium to large sized manufacturing companies. In a recent career shift, I began assisting in the preparation of risk analytics, their control matrix, yearly financial reports for a variety of business units, broadening my exposure to new areas of expertise and providing me with invaluable experience.

Plans for expanding a company, whether they're a few years off or many, pique my interest. Indeed, I want to spend more time in this field, where I help businesses plot their course for the future. By streamlining the process of assessing risk and maximizing possibilities, I want to make a positive contribution to the company. Moreover, I oversee the organization's finances to make sure they're being used effectively.

What were the major challenges you have encountered so far in your journey? What did you learn from them and how did you overcome them to emerge as a successful professional?
I have a strong conviction in the need to continuously develop my skills while showing patience and empathy to our company's internal and external stakeholders. I feel that the key to success is learning how to adapt to new circumstances and then using the most effective response available. My motto is to aid firms in locating the optimal answer to their problem.

How would you define Lumiq as an organization and its position in the market?

Lumiq provides a variety of powerful tools to help create long term strategies for expanding a company's operations. Because of our inhouse experience, our engineers can easily adopt converging technologies and create unique AI engines. We provide state-of-the-art services to major financial institutions, insurance firms, and NBFCs of all sizes.

When compared to other IT companies, we stand out due to the exceptional service we give our customers in the areas of data analytics and business consulting. We promise rapid outcomes tailored to the requirements of the organizations we serve, and our data engineers are dedicated to making that happen.

As a leader in todays dynamic environment I am committed to acting with the utmost integrity professionalism, and sincerity at all times

Reflect on the roles and responsibilities you undertake at Lumiq. How do you leverage your vast industry experience and skills to craft suitable solutions for the company?
I am responsible for overseeing the whole spectrum of my company's financial skills and understanding. Increasing the company's return on investment is possible via careful planning of my day-to-day tasks and the rapid adoption of new technologies and ways of doing things. By keeping up with white papers and publications written by industry power players, I can effectively integrate their strategies into whatever job I do. Furthermore, I am encouraging today's youth to have a strong foundation for digitization and enterprise development by encouraging them to multitask.

How do you keep up to date with changes in financial sector trends to steer your organization towards the future?
Keeping up-to-date is made possible through constant self-education, conversation with, and input from my colleagues in the field. I can stay abreast of developments and emerging technologies in the financial industry through my participation in conferences and seminars, as well as my reading of publications and the use of network platforms.

Share a piece of advice/suggestion to the budding leaders who would like to set a benchmark in their career especially in finance operations.
As a leader in today's dynamic environment, I am committed to acting with the utmost integrity, professionalism, and sincerity at all times. In my opinion these are the most important characteristics of a person to have when looking for some one to assist you and in your business expansion plan. Keep abreast of developments in the field of finance throughout the globe and the newest technologies.

Using the most up to date methods in finance I take great pride in building highly efficient and expert
teams and seeing them thrive.

Vivek Jain, CFO, Lumiq
Vivek began his career in the Paper Sector back in 2000, and he quickly shifted to the alloy and steel industry in Hyderabad. He worked there for close to 13 years, during which time he accumulated a wealth of knowledge in several areas of finance. Later that year(2013), Vivek relocated to Delhi, leaving his position as Finance Head at energy solutions industry pioneer Jakson Group. Vivek is now employed with LUMIQ an AI/ML data base IT firm.