Centre For Financial Studies (CFS)

Centre for Financial Studies (CFS)

SPJIMR’s Centre for Financial Studies (CFS) is a unique platform where academic experts, finance professionals and policy makers work together to inform industry practice and public policy.

About us

India’s premier Management School SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) has set up the Centre for Financial Studies (CFS) with the intention of bridging the gap between industry and academia. Situated in the heart of India’s financial capital, Mumbai, SPJIMR has unparalleled advantages including access to world-class faculty, a deep and long-standing industry connect and an illustrious student and alumni network. Finance at SPJIMR is one of the core specializations offered and ranked within the top 50 in the latest QS Global rankings. SPJIMR is uniquely positioned to house CFS, having access to industry and the agility to engage.

Vision & Mission

Vision

The vision for CFS is to be the knowledge partner to the industry in the area of finance and to establish itself as the authoritative source of research, policy advice and education. It will provide a platform for collaboration between experts from academia, industry and policy makers and contribute to chronicling and disseminating knowledge of practice in India.

Mission

SPJIMR’s Centre for Financial Studies aims to:

1) Undertake research projects that have relevance for the industry and for policy making.

2) Create a community of practitioners, trained in financial services matters, through high-quality training and executive education modules.

3) Partner with industry to address practice related challenges.

Area of Focus

At CFS, we have identified five areas of focus – Accounting, Governance and Risk, Financial Inclusion, Fintech and Policy and Regulation. The Centre will conduct and encourage research in these areas, and disseminate the research outcomes widely by publishing in journals and through seminars and conferences. The research findings will also be used to inform practitioners and policy makers. The Centre will further aim to build skills of practicing managers by offering specialized executive training programs, conducted by top-class SPJIMR faculty and visiting global scholars.

Accounting: CFS seeks to engage with developments in financial and non-financial reporting practices in local (Indian) and international contexts through a range of activities. These include: (a) thought leadership through policy engagement (b) development of a robust accounting research eco-system through academic and practitioner collaborations, and (c) dissemination of curated knowledge sessions in partnership with professional /industry leaders.

Governance and Risk: The issues of Governance and Risk have been witnessing special attention in the light of recurring events of losses in financial and non-financial companies. CFS will aim to conduct analysis and research in various areas within governance, on contemporary topics that include: (a) linkages between corporate governance and performance for commercial and not-for profit sectors, (b) impact of regulatory changes on entrepreneurial risk taking environment, and (c) role of institutional investors in enhancing firm-level social and financial outcomes.

Financial Inclusion: CFS will engage in the study of various initiatives and policy measures being implemented to enable ‘access to’ and ‘usage of’ basic financial services by the un/under-served sections of the society.

Partnering with practitioners in this domain, CFS intends to: (a) document case studies of businesses that are innovating in delivery of financial services for the base of the pyramid population, (b) study the impact of behavioural interventions on financial inclusion, and (c) think through mechanisms to deepen usage of digital financial services.

Fintech: Fintech has emerged as a specialised area integrating cutting edge technologies with traditional finance. In the area of Fintech, CFS we will focus on studying new technologies in Payment Systems, Block chain applications in lending and banking, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Applications in Text Mining, Behavioural Finance and Credit Scoring among others.

Policy and Regulation: CFS aims to participate in the intellectual processes underlying the evolution of the financial sector policy and regulation. It intends to do so by a) Creating a bipartisan platform for stakeholders in policy to come together, discuss and debate, b) Developing evidence based policy research and alternatives, c) Pooling and analysing data and perspectives, and d) Becoming a pre-eminent think-tank for objective discussion on important sector policy issues.

Way-Forward

The Centre plans to have its own Fintech Lab with state-of-the-art computing capability to facilitate research and analytics. The finance faculty at SPJIMR is a mix of academic researchers and experienced practitioners with excellent connect to both the industry and policy makers.

Driven by its mission to influence practice and promote value based growth, SPJIMR has built deep and direct connects with both the industry and the social sector. This along with its sizable alumni across sectors including SMEs, will enable CFS to engage meaningfully with the wider eco system of finance.

Centre Head

Prof. Neeraj Swaroop is currently a faculty of SPJIMR, in the Areas of Finance and Marketing. Prior to joining SPJIMR, he has spent over 35 years in industry, across Banking and Manufacturing (FMCG) companies. His last role was that of Regional CEO for South East Asia for Standard Chartered Bank. Currently he continues to be engaged with the industry through Non Executive and Advisory roles. Mr Swaroop holds an MBA degree from India’s premier business school, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Contact Details

Prof. Neeraj Swaroop

Head of Centre for Financial Studies

Telephone: 022 - 61464208(direct)

Email: neeraj.swaroop@spjimr.org

Ms. Mrunmai Brid

Centre Coordinator - Centre for Financial Studies (CFS)

Telephone: 022 - 61464265(direct)

Email: cfs@spjimr.org