CIMA and Janashakthi announce Pinnacle awards

After winning ‘Young CIMA star of the year’ in 2006, doors opened for 26-year-old Mahesha Amerasuriya. “It was one of the most significant achievements of my life”, she said at the press conference held to launch the CIMA –JANASHAKTHI Pinnacle Awards 2007. For Mahesha, co-winner of the Gold award, the award meant a number of job offers and increased recognition of her work. The Young CIMA Star award is one of five awards presented at the ceremony which is scheduled be held on Wednesday April 2, 2008. There will also be the Management Team of the year, Business Manger of the year, Chief Financial Officer of the year and The Business Leader of the year awards presented.

The awards ceremony, which began in 2003, is built along the main principal of recognizing business leaders of all levels. “It helps our members to reach the pinnacle of excellence in their respective field” were the words of CIMA president, Aruna Fernando. The awards and their recipients are a symbol of the role CIMA plays in the business arena, as an institute that produces leaders. He also emphasized on the extra drive and determination, beside their talents, that CIMA members have shown.

CIMA’s continuous striving for professionalism and excellence is not unlike that of their partners in the venture, Janashakthi Insurance Co. Ltd. Having been with the awards since their inception, Janashakthi is “pleased and proud to be associated with CIMA”, according to Prakash Shcaffter, Managing Director of Janashakthi. “CIMA is more than just an accountant’s fraternity. They are in most cases the driving force behind businesses”, he said addressing the media.

This year’s organizers have taken the awards ceremony on a different path with their theme. In the words of the institute’s president, “this year’s theme rotates around the grand ancient splendour of Sri Lanka”. Each award is to be represented by monuments of historical importance. For instance, the Young CIMA Star of the year is connected with the ‘Sandakadapahana’ and the ‘Muragala’, to symbolize prosperity and guardianship respectively. The prestigious “Business Leader of the year’ is portrayed by the ‘pathiripuwwa’, the elevated area where the King discourses with his subjects. This is to signify leaders who have made a considerable contribution to the business world as well as the society.

Daya D.K. Gamage, Chairman of Daya Group of Companies, after going through a tragic childhood losing both his parents at a young age, set up his company through sheer will and determination. The award, when he received it in 2006, was more than an accolade, it was for him recognition of the hard work he had put in to make something of himself.

The awards are open to all CIMA members to apply for. The ‘Chief Financial Officer’ and ‘Business Leader of the year’ awards however, which have only Gold awards, are open competitions. Any non-CIMA member can apply. Entry kits are now available at the CIMA Sri Lankan Division on Elvitigela Mawath, Colombo 5. (TR)