CA Sri Lanka’s CPD Academy introduces virtual classrooms for face to face digitalised learning
View(s):In a novel concept aimed at helping the country’s professional community enhance their knowledge on a variety of topics, the CA Sri Lanka CPD Academy under the guidance of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Committee has introduced a series of virtual classroom sessions to help professionals including business leaders stay at the comfort of their home or office and develop their knowledge on a range of topics.
The CPD Academy has conducted several virtual classroom sessions to date including on ‘Current status of the Corporate Tax Applications in Sri Lanka,’ ‘IFRS 16 is here; are you ready?,’ and ‘Capital gain tax.’
Commenting on this initiative Mr. Jagath Perera, President of CA Sri Lanka stated that the face to face digitalized learning is an excellent platform for busy professionals who wish to enhance their knowledge and competencies, but are unable to attend conventional classroom sessions and forums where physical attendance is required. “We aim to collaborate with other international professional organisations and offer a wide variety of online programmes through the CPD Academy in the future,” he said.
A unique feature of the virtual classrooms is its easy accessibility and convenience for non-residents as well to also take part in these sessions.
Another benefit of the virtual classroom is that it allows members of professional bodies including CA Sri Lanka to achieve the necessary Continuous Professional Development (CPD) hours from the comfort of their home or office or even while on holiday.
Mr. Heshana Kuruppu, Chairman of the CA Sri Lanka CPD Committee stated that within just a few months, the virtual classroom sessions have witnessed an increased demand from resident as well as non-resident members as the virtual sessions allow CA Sri Lanka members from any part of the world to join the classroom.
“We expect to run virtual classroom sessions regularly and we request our members to direct their areas of interest to the CPD Academy for future consideration,” Mr. Kuruppu further stated.
The platform which is used for the virtual classroom enables participants to register online, participate in sessions online via an interactive platform, ask questions, share their work and interact with other participants. The CA Sri Lanka CPD Academy has also introduced a host of other online features, including where members can watch video recorded sessions and answer multiple choice questions (MCQs) at the end and obtain CPD hours. In addition, members can also refer articles of the CA Sri Lanka official magazine ‘The Abacus’ as well as other magazines which is available in the academy, read articles, answer MCQs and obtain CPD hours. Members also have the ability to check, update their CPD hours, send inquiries and submit suggestions via the CPD online tool from wherever they are.
The CPD Academy operates under the CA Sri Lanka Business School. The CA Business School offers a range of courses relevant to professionals in accounting and finance, including an Executive Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma and a globally recognised MBA from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.
The CA Business School has also been instrumental in partnering with globally reputed business schools such as INSEAD, DUKE CE and Euromoney Training to offer internationally recognised programmes for Sri Lankan professionals.