Sethurathnam Ravi Highlights Why Experienced CFOs Are the Backbone of Successful IPOs in India

Delhi, India May 31, 2026 (EMWNews.com) – Sethurathnam Ravi, Founder of Ravi Rajan & Co. LLP and former Chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), has highlighted the growing importance of experienced Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in steering Indian companies toward successful public listings. Speaking on the evolving finance leadership landscape, Sethurathnam Ravi pointed to India’s complex multi-regulator environment as the key reason why CFO quality now determines IPO outcomes.

India’s regulatory framework for public listings spans multiple bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). Managing compliance obligations across all these regulators simultaneously requires finance leadership with hands-on experience in capital markets, not merely accounting or compliance expertise.

Experience at the Helm of an IPO

According to Sethurathnam Ravi, the process of bringing a company to a public listing from assembling anchor investors and coordinating multi-regulator due diligence to managing disclosures and maintaining board confidence demands a CFO whose judgment has been tested across similar situations. A finance leader encountering this environment for the first time is unlikely to navigate it without costly delays or setbacks.

“To get a company into an IPO, to get anchor investors, to get everything together, only an experienced hand can take that,” said Sethurathnam Ravi.

The CFO’s Evolution Across Three Decades

Sethurathnam Ravi traced the transformation of the CFO role through several distinct phases. Finance leaders who once focused primarily on regulatory compliance and audit functions have progressively taken on financial reporting, enterprise risk management, and now strategic co-pilot responsibilities alongside the CEO. This evolution reflects the growing complexity of Indian businesses and their increasing exposure to global capital markets.

The CFO to CEO career transition has also become more common in Indian listed companies, a trend Sethurathnam Ravi attributes to business awareness, the ability to connect financial data to commercial strategy. CFOs who develop this perspective across functions are increasingly considered strong candidates for the chief executive role as organizations scale.

Governance Concerns in Family-Owned Businesses

Sethurathnam Ravi also drew attention to a specific governance challenge present in many of India’s family-owned enterprises. In a number of such organizations, the CFO’s bandwidth is absorbed by managing internal family dynamics and resolving disputes rather than building the institutional governance structures that capital markets require. This dynamic becomes particularly problematic when a company is preparing for a public listing or undergoing a generational ownership transition.

With SEBI’s continued tightening of related-party transaction norms and disclosure requirements, boards that treat the CFO function as an internal fixer rather than a governance leader risk delays or adverse observations during the regulatory review process.

About Ravi Rajan & Co. LLP

Ravi Rajan & Co. LLP is a professional services firm founded by Sethurathnam Ravi, former Chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange. The firm advises boards, promoters, and institutional investors across governance, audit, and capital markets strategy. Sethurathnam Ravi brings decades of experience spanning regulatory advisory, corporate governance, and finance leadership across India Inc.

Reference: https://www.bwcfoworld.com/article/ipo-readiness-increasingly-depends-on-experienced-cfos-amid-governance-complexity-608505