Dr. Apurva Joshi lives, breathes and stays true to this life mantra in her personal and professional life. As the Head of Technology and Due Diligence at Riskpro Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd, Apurva has contributed a lot in making Riskpro among the Top 10 Forensic Accounting firms in India.
Incorporated in India as a Private Limited Company in 2008, Riskpro has offered successful risk management services to many corporate offices.
Let’s get to know more about the company and its success story from Dr. Apurva Joshi.
Please provide a brief overview of your product / service
Riskpro ( riskpro.co.in ) has built a simple product to identify the heightened risk individuals and entities in India. We are one of the first companies to offer the intelligence-as-service model. We have identified 27 different parameters to identify the heightened risk individuals. Our data is used in Regtech for checking the non-compliances as well as to identify the heightened risk entities and their nexus. Riskpro was established in 2008. It’s one of the niche risk management firms focusing on Governance, Risk and Compliance services and solutions. We offer the blend of technology and human network to assess the risk involved in transactions.
What inspired you to build the above product/ service?
In the year 2013, when we were doing the job of due diligence, we saw an exponential growth in the services we offered to our banking clients. We were not able to manage the volume to get information manually, so, I had to rely on the market sources. Some of them were found to be not genuine or authentic. We wanted to build credible information to be provided to the clients based on which they could take informed lending decisions. This vacuum in the market inspired us to build a product that would connect the dots and provide the information or the reasoning for the conclusions.
What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?
As the organizations grow, they are required to comply with the various different of different countries. Compliance costs are growing mammoth. Public domain information is not enough for the compliance investigations and the risks associated with the notorious elements of the society creates reputational risk for the financial institution. That’s the reason investors and bankers always need additional inputs about the compliance, risks, reputation, market intelligence, integrity, assets of the companies to take the informed decisions about lending or investing in the company. Making clients realize the value in our technology solutions was one of the most challenging aspect. Through Riskpro Technologies, we help financial institutions to automate the compliance, to develop tools around our proprietary database and to facilitate continuous monitoring of the impact of heightened risk entities in the financial institutions.
How did you overcome initial mindset challenges?
In the initial days we offered the clients reports which were based on the product we built. We believed in educating our clients, letting them know that preventive side is better than rectifying the incidences of frauds/misappropriation. This activity helped build our clients’ confidence in the services that we offer.
According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?
Integrity, Consistency and Staying Updated with current know-how are three quintessential qualities an individual must have to achieve success. Integrity makes your client keep faith with your work and results. Consistency in delivering the right and useful results helps build your reputation in the industry. Since we operate in the knowledge industry, it is very essential to acquire knowledge continuously and distribute the knowledge to your clients.
What is your life mantra?
I believe in being the type of energy that no matter where I go, I always add value to the spaces and lives around me. I believe in giving back to the society in whichever form I can whenever possible and go back to bed with the clear conscience.
Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?
For a business model like ours which is into risk management, forensic audit/fraud investigations, we use a tool called Biznexxus. Biznexxus is the nexus building tool which is helpful for banks, investors, decision makers. It helps establishing nexus between the companies incorporated in India to the influential people, negative list people.
Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.
I like meeting people and I am a good listener, I like to hear stories of successful professionals and learn from their experiences. This not only inspired me to be productive, but also inculcated an attitude to share knowledge and contribute to the welfare of the society.
Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.
Sometimes I overthink; sometimes I tend to be over cautious. I think I should go with the flow more often.
What are your plans for next 3 years?
In next three years I would aim to have presence in at least 3 continents with more talent on board.
If you get a chance to start your career again what would you do differently this time?
If I get a chance to start my career again I would invest more in People- good people with good skillsets rather than depending on Technology.
What are your top three getaway destinations ?
- Switzerland (I absolutely love this country. It’s my dream to have a home nested in the hills of this country.)
- Dubai
- Kokan
Share a quote that inspires you the most.
There have been many quotes that inspire me till date and motivate me to do more. Some of these are “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached”; “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”