New hospitality course for accountants
Tourism is set to be the second highest foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka this year with expected earnings of US$ 3.5 billion with the number of arrivals topping 2.2 million.
John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs, while addressing the launch of the Certified Hospitality Finance and Management Accountants (CHFMA) at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) auditorium in Colombo this week, indicated that the tourism industry is growing rapidly and expects to move from third place to second place in the foreign exchange earning slot by the end of 2016.
The new course has been formulated jointly by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) and SLITHM.
Mr. Amaratunga predicted that the tourism industry is growing so fast that it would reach the expected targets ahead of schedule and to ensure this sustainability it is essential that the industry is equipped with competent professionals and thus the introduction of CHFMA is a timely initiative.
Prof Lakshman R. Watawala, President, CMA in explaining the Hospitality Finance and Management Accountants Programme said that CMA, SLITHM, and the National Training Institute for the Hospitality Industry signed a MOU recognising the need for a professional qualification in Finance and Management Accounting for this industry and to jointly conduct the CHFMA programme.
He said that this course will be conducted for all those currently employed in the hospitality industry at different levels in the financial accounting and cost and management accounting areas. It will provide an opportunity to obtain a professional qualification specialising in the hospitality industry to develop the knowledge and skills in the accounting field and progress in their career.
The course syllabus consists of four stages -Foundation, Certificate, Diploma and Professional, he pointed out and said that the membership requires completion of CHFMA examinations and a three year practical experience is required as per the practical training guide.
Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Trade, was also associated with the launch ceremony.