Best small and medium enterprises 2013: How We Did It
The scale of the annual Business Today-YES Bank Best SME Survey and Awards gets bigger with every passing year.
BT Editor Chaitanya Kalbag (extreme left) with jury members (from left) Ajay Seth, Abhay Pandey, Sushil Muhnot, Sanjay Agarwal, Vikas Gambhir, Anil Bhardwaj and Arun Maira <em>Photo: Aditya Kapoor</em>
The scale of the annual Business Today-YES Bank Best SME Survey and Awards gets bigger with every passing year. We received an overwhelming 410,000 applications from SMEs across the country for the 2012 survey, the fourth such. BT's knowledge partner, YES Bank carried out the survey between October 2012 and January 2013 and analysed the data, while accountancy and advisory firm Grant Thornton India validated the numbers and processes.
The SMEs were divided into two categories - small, or companies with net sales of less than Rs 50 crore in 2011/12, and medium, or those with net sales between Rs 50 crore and Rs 200 crore in the same period. In the first phase, we weeded out those companies which had been in business for less than three years, or did not have audited financials, or were not making a profit. This reduced the number of companies to 156,000. We then analysed the companies on the basis of their growth in turnover, net worth and profit after tax as well as profit after tax margins and return on equity.
Based on this data and relevant parameters for different categories, we chose 5,312 companies for the second phase. The shortlisted companies were asked to provide audited annual reports, and additional financial parameters were introduced to assess their growth, liquidity, leverage and operating performance. In addition, site visits and background checks were carried out on them. Based on this analysis, three finalists were shortlisted in each category.
The final winners were chosen by a jury chaired by Planning Commission Member Arun Maira. Other jury members were Ajay Seth, Chief Financial Officer of Maruti Suzuki, Abhay Pandey, Managing Director of Sequoia Capital, Sushil Muhnot, Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India, and Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises. The jury meeting was moderated by BT's Editor Chaitanya Kalbag along with Sanjay Agarwal, Senior President and Business Head, Business Banking, YES Bank, with Vikas Gambhir, Director, Business Risk Services, Grant Thornton, providing support.
The SMEs were divided into two categories - small, or companies with net sales of less than Rs 50 crore in 2011/12, and medium, or those with net sales between Rs 50 crore and Rs 200 crore in the same period. In the first phase, we weeded out those companies which had been in business for less than three years, or did not have audited financials, or were not making a profit. This reduced the number of companies to 156,000. We then analysed the companies on the basis of their growth in turnover, net worth and profit after tax as well as profit after tax margins and return on equity.
Based on this data and relevant parameters for different categories, we chose 5,312 companies for the second phase. The shortlisted companies were asked to provide audited annual reports, and additional financial parameters were introduced to assess their growth, liquidity, leverage and operating performance. In addition, site visits and background checks were carried out on them. Based on this analysis, three finalists were shortlisted in each category.
The final winners were chosen by a jury chaired by Planning Commission Member Arun Maira. Other jury members were Ajay Seth, Chief Financial Officer of Maruti Suzuki, Abhay Pandey, Managing Director of Sequoia Capital, Sushil Muhnot, Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India, and Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises. The jury meeting was moderated by BT's Editor Chaitanya Kalbag along with Sanjay Agarwal, Senior President and Business Head, Business Banking, YES Bank, with Vikas Gambhir, Director, Business Risk Services, Grant Thornton, providing support.
