Technology impacting the accountancy profession globally
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) is a global body that consists of over 10,000 members spread across 60 countries including Sri Lanka.
“We certainly consider ourselves to be a global body where the strength of our membership is in Asia, the centre of the business community. We focus on Post Graduate qualification in accounting that emphasises on the strategic side of business that contributes to the aims of our organisation,” said Prof. Brendan O’Connel, ICMA President who was in Sri Lanka to honour recipients including four eminent persons from Sri Lanka and four others from Australia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Philippines who were inducted into the global hall of fame of ICMA for their contribution to the accounting profession.
Chief Guest on the occasion was Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy while the special guests were Bryce Huchesson, High Commissionaire for Australia in Sri Lanka and Prof. Janek Ratnatunga, CEO of ICMA Australia and former Chair of Business Accounting at Monash University.
Prof. O’ Connell said that there was confusion among people whether ICMA was linked to Chartered Institute Management Accountants (CIMA). “ICMA is a body that specialises in Post Graduate qualification whereas CIMA does not. Persons who complete CIMA are eligible to do post graduate studies with the Certified Management Accountant so that they can hold senior positions in the business industry,” he said.
Referring to the Hall of Fame Awards, he said many distinguished personalities in the accounting profession both locally and abroad attended the ceremony. “It was significant in terms of the numbers and profiles of personalities who attended the ceremony.” Asked whether the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) syllabus was aligned to the ICMA syllabus, Prof. Brendon said the CFA qualification was more suited for those who aspire to become stock brokers whereas ICMA was focused on management accounting, for persons who aspire to hold senior positions in the business world.
Responding to whether ICMA syllabus includes auditing as practised in other accounting professions, he said ICMA does not include much auditing but was more involved in managing businesses by providing financial information for management purposes.
He said the accounting profession in Sri Lanka is very well developed with a long history that makes it different to other countries in the region. “Accounting professionals in Sri Lanka have senior positions in the business sector and are highly respected.”
Referring to women in the accounting profession, he said many Australian women today were engaged in undergraduate accountancy studies. Many women in the western countries too are now studying business and accountancy than ever before. A few years ago it was a male dominated profession but the situation is changing fast. He said the Australian economy has had a positive economic growth during the past 25 years and business was doing pretty well.
He said the Australian Prime Minister’s visit to Sri Lanka last week clearly shows the strong trade and people’s links that exist between the two countries. He said technology is driving significant changes in the role of traditional accountants and their functions. This was happening in Australia and people have to be better qualified today to work in a modern technological environment than before. This had resulted in loss of employment especially for bookkeepers whose functions have been replaced by automation. Accountants in the future will be more involved in decision making than preparation of financial data. It will be a value added role than it was in the past.
Prof. O’ Connell has 30 years of experience in the accounting field working in many international banks in the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia before becoming the Professor of Accounting at the RMIT University in Australia.