Dive In! Case Study for Finance Student

Sahil Kumar runs "Dive In!" a sports equipment store at Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. He started the store 17 years ago and now has 50 employees including his daughter, Sunidhi (who works part-time in the store while doing her PGDM with Finance specialization). Dive In! sells equipment for 20 different sports such as cricket, hockey, swimming, basketball, tennis, etc.

Sahil's business has boomed in recent years, and he is looking at new ways to take advantage of his increasing business opportunities. Although his formal business training is limited, Sunidhi will soon graduate with her finance qualification and join him. Sunidhi is interested, but she is also considering other career opportunities in finance.

Currently Sunidhi is leaning towards staying with the family business, partly because she thinks it faces a number of interesting challenges & opportunities. She is particularly interested in further expanding the business and then incorporating it. Sahil is intrigued by her ideas, but he is also concerned that her plans might change the way in which he does business. In particular, Sahil has a strong commitment to social activism, & he has always tried to strike a balance between work & pleasure. He is worried that these goals will be compromised if the company incorporates & brings in outside shareholders.

Sahil & Sunidhi plan to take a long weekend off to sit down & think about all of these issues. Sunidhi, who is highly organized, has outlined a series of questions for them to address:

a) What are the various finance opportunities open to a Finance post-graduate?

b) How is the finance function organized in a corporation?

c) What are the primary responsibilities of the finance staff in a corporation?

d) What are the current trends & challenges in Financial Management?

e) What are the primary goals of a corporation?

f) What is an agency relationship? (or agency problem?)