CA Sri Lanka promotes 2015 accountancy curriculum in Kandy
View(s):The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) recently unveiled its newly launched curriculum in Kandy, which it says is part of efforts “to propagate the importance of a relevant and globally recognised professional qualification in accounting”.
The event took place in the presence of the Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, Governor of Central Province and a host of corporate leaders, principals and teachers, the institute said in a media release.
The new CA Sri Lanka curriculum which will come into effect from next year came under high praise by the participants who termed the new curriculum as a ‘radical overhaul’ of the entire structure. Shamil Peiris, Group Finance Director of Central Finance Co. PLC addressing the event said that it was no secret that the old curriculum generated Chartered Accountants who were very good in financial reporting, account reconciliation and other core competencies.
“However, in practical real life business situations, we saw that sometimes there was lack of judgement, attitude, soft skills and knowledge in other important areas such as risk management, HR, marketing, import/export, forecasting, modeling and economic implications on business. Communication skills are a problem to many and as a result their full potential cannot be unleashed which is indeed a pity,” he noted.
“But we have witnessed today by way of a radical overhaul in the entire structure of the curriculum,” Mr. Peiris said of the new curriculum which aims to produce a new breed of chartered accountants who will utilise their unique financial knowledge to spearhead businesses across all sectors from 2020 and beyond.
He said he saw a future where there will be a pool of talent for employment with hardly any of the deficiencies that one sees today. “Accountants will fit into the entire management team like cog wheels in a Swiss watch. I can see a drastic reduction in the time taken for new graduates to be fully productive. I can see our graduates moving up rapidly in the organisational structure crossing the departmental boundary lines as if they did not exist,” Mr. Peiris emphasised.
CA Sri Lanka President Arjuna Herath; Chairman – Education and Curriculum Development Taskforce Manil Jayesinghe and Chief Executive Officer Aruna Alwis were also present at the Kandy event.