Deepankar Sanwalka, Senior Partner at Grant Thornton Bharat (GT), speaks with ET Edge Insights in an exclusive interview. Addressing the topic of ‘Value Creation’, Sanwalka has been in the business for over 27 years since having received his certification in Chartered Accountancy. His journey covering financial technology, auditing, and strategy has led him to Grant Thornton Bharat, which he aims to build into ‘the most valued firm’ by 2030.
He breaks down the topic of value creation for customers, employees, and stakeholders by speaking about the various strategies employed by Grant Thornton that set them apart from others. “We have pivoted our concept of value creation on three levels — people, value and financial metrics,” states Sanwalka.
People are key and the company strives to add value to the lives of its people on both personal and professional fronts. For customers, GT wants to be judged by the value they deliver and not by the hours they spend on the project. The “GT Way”, as the concept has been named, emphasises listening to consumers instead of selling to them.
The third rung, which is financial metrics, measures growth in terms of profitability. Bringing all three aspects into their open-office culture where everybody shares desks, GT aims to promote open conversations and collaboration at both micro and macro levels. “We have done away with the concept of subordinates and superiors. At GT, we have coaches and every coach is a mentor for employees,” he added.
Sustainability is at the top of GT’s priorities, whether internally or externally. While the company is striving to be net-zero by 2040, they are also ensuring that every action, be it CSR or value addition to clients, is sustainable. As an Indian multinational company, GT is striving to add value to their clients so that they too become multinationals in their own right.
Climate change resilience, digital, global competitiveness, trust and transparency, and sustainable avenues are some ecosystems that GT is actively trying to support. “In each of these five areas, we have begun to ask ourselves, how are we creating impact?” he says. Learning and development is also something GT is passionate about as an organisation as they believe that the more you give to your people, the more they give back. “We want to create a workforce that is ready for the future,” Sanwalka signs off.