The last day of National Conference 2010 saw an interesting lecture by Gautam Doshi, group managing director of Reliance ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group).

Organised jointly by the Direct Tax Committee and Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the two-day event discussed new legislations like the direct tax code and others, and their implications on professionals.

Speaking on the topic 'Business reorganisation', Doshi elaborated on the various drives by which companies opt for restructuring. "Restructuring is an art and not a science. The art involves creating assets, when there isn't really one."

Citing the example of reverse restructuring, he said that Reliance Industries did it in 1978 with My Nylon industries. He also explained how regulations, tax and consolidation lead to business restructuring.

"Some companies opt for restructuring and acquire other companies for commercial advantage. After the acquisition, the company can claim to be a leading player. It helps in the listing and positioning of the company. On the other hand, some companies opt for restructuring for better segmenting or to enter new segments. For example, 'Vivanta' by Taj Group can be termed as its restructuring to enter a new segment," added Doshi.

Speaking about recent trends in restructuring, he saidthat till now, most of the restructuring was within the proprietorship of the company or of partnership itself. "Now, a major trend of restruction has emerged wherein the company form of business restructures itself into a partnership firm. However, there are certain conditions for this, such as the turnover of the company should not exceed 60 lakhs annually.Hence, the whole trend of conversion of business models has emerged."