Much scope for accountants in Sri Lanka

By Lalin Fernandopulle

Chartered Accountants are no longer number crunchers. Today, they are business managers who control the entire budget of the business and cash flow of institutions, said Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), President, Sujeewa Rajapaksa.

He said Chartered Accountants have a major role to play in adding value to business and achieving success.

They are no longer considered a number crunching sector confined to maintaining accounts on income and expenditure. Accountants have a much larger role to play in achieving business excellence. Proficiency and discipline have been instilled in them to steer corporates to achieve their goals and expand businesses. “Sri Lankan accounts are recognised the world over for their managerial and professional skills that have helped business organisations achieve higher echelons,” Rajapaksa said.

He said that there is much scope for accountants in Sri Lanka today.

There are opportunities for accountants, finance managers, tax and financial consultants and auditors. Chartered Accountants are well paid and recognised in the country as key drivers of businesses.

“Many chartered accountants who were abroad have returned and are contributing to the growth of businesses and economy of the country,” he said.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka recently launched a series of initiatives with local and foreign resources to uplift accountants in the public sector. “ICASL members hold key positions in corporates here and abroad. Many of them are chairmen, Chief Executive Officers or managing directors of institutions. A large number of accountants in the financial sector are members of ICASL,” Rajapaksa said. He said that there are around 1,400 accountants and about 200 auditors in the public sector who need to improve their professional capabilities and standards to provide an efficient public service.

Setting up a Public Sector Accounting Standards Committee and publishing Public Sector Accounting Standards are some of the major initiatives launched by ICASL. “We have also set up the Public Sector Accounting Faculty with members of the Institute of Public Finance and Development Accountancy to enhance financial reporting practices in the public sector,” Rajapaksa said.

ICASL, a professional accounting body in Sri Lanka has over 4,300 members of of which around 30 to 40 percent are employed abroad.

The institution has a student base of about 41,000 and around 50,000 have partly completed the chartered accountancy program. The BSc Applied Accounting is a three to four year program. The institution awards MBAs from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. ICASL was set up in 1959 as the sole organisation in Sri Lanka with the right to award the chartered accountant designation. The Institute also sets accounting standards in the country.