Financial Times

Chandra Jayaratne slams accountants for inadequate focus on CSR
Chandra Jayaratne, former chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and managing director of Eagle Insurance Ltd. said last week that chartered accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) have an inadequate focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) accounting.

The time has come for a re-look at the accounting and related standards in the context of CSR. His comments came while he was addressing a gathering of 550 chartered accountants at the silver jubilee annual conference organized by the ICASL.

He also stated that as practiced in western countries, impact assessment reporting and social audit should be introduced in local financial reporting if Sri Lanka is to improve the important of CSR while the corporate community should bring CSR as a corporate objective. If private enterprise is to transcend new horizons in the future and grow profitably and not allow environmental and social issues to threaten to destroy its very existence, committed CSR action must begin at the earliest and be implemented with commitment and accountability, he said.

Jayaratne said he regretted to say that accountants and the accounting standards have failed to recognize the important of CSR. He asked how many chartered accountants recognize the important of corporate social responsibility when they prepare management information systems or report financial information or express an audit opinion. He said that none of the accountants recognises the important of CSR.

He emphasized the need for recognizing the rights of the community while citing the practice adopted by the Tata company of India, where the company gives due place for the rights of the community. He stressed the importance of considering external environment factors when formulating accounting standards or forming an audit opinion.

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