During his session in which he switched from English to Hindi, he reinstated the importance of success and happiness among business entrepreneurs. He drove the message of positive thinking and work ethics using examples that ranged from PM Narendra Modi to Rahul Gandhi, a Havell ad to a clip from the Bollywood blockbuster Munnabhai MMBS. In doing so, he connected with his audience.

Some quick take-aways from his interactive session were:

- to work with a sense of commitment not compulsion

- to think of targets to be achieved as important and not difficult

- to learn, not blame

- to add strength not nuisance

- to live life by choice not chance

He stated that over 90 per cent of business failures can be  attributed to bad finance management. And this happens due to a widely-prevalent view that finance management is the responsibility of those in the finance department alone. The truth is that much of what happens in the finance department is accounting-related. Finance management or mismanagement is the result of the actions of everybody in the organisation.

He added, "The salesperson's decision as to the price to be quoted to a potential customer, or the credit period to be allowed is not a sales decision alone. It has a financial implication. The materials manager decides the volume of inventory to be maintained. But his decision has to be influenced by the impact on the working capital of the organisation. The size of the bench- taken by the HR person of an IT company - has a financial implication. Unless the actions of a large percentage of employees are financially intelligent, a business will get into trouble." In this sense, he said there is no such person as "non financial".

He highlighted the two rules of financial management; and then he urged the audience to develop sound financial acumen to enhance business profit and growth.

Rule 1: Investment in assets must generate a return, which is at least equal to the cost of capital.

Rule 2: Assets must bring a cash inflow before liabilities demand an outflow.

He used simple case studies which have been based over two decades of experience in training and consulting in finance.

The author of the book, Romancing the Balance Sheet; and a practicing Chartered Accountant with degrees in Commerce and Law and a Doctorate in Taxation; concluded his session with a cry that businesses should make most efficient use of the working capital, and understand how an increase in sales actually impacts a profit.