The public sector deprived of Chartered Accountants owing to meagre salaries, says the speaker
The public sector is deprived of the services of qualified Chartered Accountants owing to meagre salaries paid to public servants,the speaker of Parliament Karu Jayaruriya said. Mr. Jayaruriya, who was the Chief Guest at the ceremonial induction of the 23rd President of the Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo this week said a right to Information bill will soon be presented in Parliament along with the establishment of nine independent commissions.
He revealed that by establishing a Public Sector Accounting faculty an MOU was signed with the Public Sector Accounting Body in London to offer a joint qualification which will help enhance professional standards with assistance from the World Bank .”In parliament we have been able to expedite the presentation of Public Accounts within a period of six months after the expiry of financial accounts,”he said. The Speaker added that the public sector financial management has enormous potential for development and was seeking professional advice from Chartered Accountants.
However it was difficult to attract their services owing to poor salaries paid to public servants. But in exceptional cases we get treasury approval to pay them more he said adding that there were around 1400 accountants and 200 auditors in the public sector who need further improvement and standards to provide a better service to the public. The out going President of the Chartered Accountants Association Arjuna Herath said 30 per cent of their membership work abroad and was considered as best accountants.
“The feedback we have was that the Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka was the best professional institute of the country and the World bank has ranked it as the best professional body in the region and classified it as international class. However he said the proposal to create a separate body for the public sector accountants in Sri Lanka will stifle the profession and was counter productive .
The newly elected President of the Chartered Accountants Lasantha Wickremasinghe said that steps would be taken to ensure that all members of the Chartered Accountants Association comply with the ethical and professional standards needed to safeguard the profession. He said the association will support whole heartedly the measures adopted by the government. The Chairman of the International Federation of Accountants’ SMP Committee Dr. Giancario Attolini was also present on the occasion.