Credibility measures in the offing for MBA coaching industry

Independent audits may soon become common

The coaching industry for MBA aspirants is on the verge of getting more credible. Independent audit of the success claims made by companies may soon become common.

Triumphant Institute of Management Education (TIME), a Rs 40-crore company that draws most of its revenue from coaching sessions for MBA aspirants, plans to appoint an audit firm to certify its success claims.

P Viswanath, one of TIME's promoters, said the company had decided to approach an independent auditor to certify its success claims. While the company has not yet contracted any audit firm to do the same, an internal decision has been taken to go ahead.

TIME, for instance, has said that one-third of the students who were taken into the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) in 2004 were trained by it. When the claims by the entire industry are put together, the numbers often don't add up.

Viswanath said the broad term of reference to the independent auditor would be to check if TIME's claims are true.

If one company in the industry begins to get its claims audited, the rest of the industry may be forced to follow.

The coaching industry for MBA aspirants is not regulated by the government. It's driven by the market where word-of-mouth publicity has a significant impact on business.

About 65 per cent of TIME's Rs 40 crore revenue earned last fiscal came from the MBA coaching segment. Other segments include the Indian Institute of Technology entrance. Viswanath felt this segment could be a key growth area for the company. MBA-related , however, is likely to be the company's mainstay. On the agenda is a coaching segment for GMAT (exam required to qualify for an MBA course in the US).

TIME has set itself a revenue target of Rs 100 crore at the end of fiscal 2007, two-and-a-half times the current revenue.

The company's branch growth is driven by the franchisee model. The network currently covers 90 learning centres across 59 cities. Viswanath said the aim was to increase the number of learning centres to over 100 in a year, provided the company gets the right people to open branches, he added.