The field of genomics is relatively new and expanding; it uses methods stemming from molecular biology and biochemistry to understand and explain biological information in chemical terms. Health and diseases are inextricably tied with such information, making genomic technologies a means to potentially improve human health in significant ways.

Leveraging the unique and profound ways in which Genomics can be utilised to improve human health is HaystackAnalytics, which is building state-of-the-art genomics technology for accurate and personalised clinical decisions. Its innovations make genomics to work for clinicians, hospitals and labs with scalable, affordable and easy to onboard solutions. Dyatha Moraes, Head of Finance at HaystackAnalytics is an alumni of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has been charting the financial growth of the company with her vision and sharp focus.

Women Entrepreneur India engages in an exclusive interaction with Dyatha Moraes where she discusses the company’s growth, its journey and her journey as well. Here’s the snippet from our interaction with Dyatha.

Take us through your early educational journey and prior industry experience that you bring to the table.

Since my childhood, I have been good with numbers and it was not long before I realised that I love mathematics. In college, my proficiency in accounts honed in on the fact that my journey with Finance has started. I pursued my studies with Chartered Accountancy and after its  completion I joined Reliance where I had a wonderful experience. However, after about a year, I took the calculative risk of joining a startup at Holachef as a Manager. It has been seven years now since my career took off and since the start I have worked with several startups and I have only good things to say about my professional journey.

Tell us about the various responsibilities you have shouldered.

I worked closely with the management where I used to prepare the financial numbers and reports which need to be reported to the investors. I used to lead the end-to-end due diligence of the company. Additionally, during fundraising I ensured a smooth merger of processes and accounts. When Holachef got taken over by Ola, I took care of the reviews of internal systems of finance with an internal control setup in place taking care that there are no leakages or misses. Currently, I am responsible for preparation of financial statements, profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flows and then having all of them audited by auditors. I also work in tandem with various department heads and coordinate about the budgets. I have also been involved in negotiations with vendors to ensure cost-effectiveness so that we can implement various business strategies.

What are some of the most pressing challenges that you encounter?

The biggest challenge we face are the changing Government policies and regulations as they keep reforming. Staying updated in this context is extremely crucial. Second is paperwork, as understandably with finances, there is a lot of data and paperwork involved. Also, we need to stay current with the new technologies which bring forth many changes in the softwares that we use. Essentially, we have to be very scrupulous about maintaining accuracy and efficiency in the financial information.

“I believe there is no one universal style of leadership. I would advise the younger generation to find their own style, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses”

What has been the driving force behind your success journey? How do you stay updated with the latest trends in the industry?

I have been fortunate enough to have many talented and visionary managers who have also been my mentors, they have taught me how to lead. Their example has fueled me to make my own decisions and stand by it. They have taught me how to single handedly lead teams without ever micromanaging. This has invariably taught me to be motivated and to evolve as learning is constant.

Staying updated in a continual thing, and it involves a lot of reading - right from articles, newspapers to also attending webinars. We need to stay abreast about the various regulation and policy changes with not only finance in mind, but business and industry in general. Income tax updates is another important feature. I also have some contacts who generally inform us about recent changes. But fundamentally, you have to constantly read to know how things are transforming.

What would your advice be to young women who also aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

I believe there is no one universal style of leadership. I would advise the younger generation to find their own style, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. Do not try to fit into a mould, or into someone else’s shoes. The first requirement of a leader is to lead oneself. Additionally, it’s also very critical to have a vision - a clear vision will help you to carve out your path, your way

Dyatha Moraes,  Head Of Finance

Dyatha Moraes is a financial professional who graduated from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. She is an experienced Finance Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the e-commerce, transportation, F&B industry. She is skilled in Financial Reporting, Budgeting, Analysis, Risk Management, Banking, and Accounting