Incorporation - The Hon. Minister of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs & Marketing Development tabled in Parliament on March 18 2009 the Bill for the Incorporation of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka.

The Bill approved by Parliament and the Institute of Certified Management Accountants Act No. 23 of 2009 was given assent by the Hon. Speaker on April 20 2009. This created history in the accounting world where Sri Lanka after 50 years since the incorporation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, introduced a new Professional Management Accounting Institute.

The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka was incorporated by Parliament Act No. 23 of 2009 under the Ministry of Trade Marketing Development Co-operatives & Consumer Services on the initiative of the Minister Hon. Bandula Gunawardhana.

Launch of ICMA Sri Lanka was held on June 2 at the Taj Samudra Hotel under the distinguished patronage of Hon. Ratnasiri Wickramanayake Prime Minister and Hon W. J.. M Lokubandara Speaker of Parliament.

The launch was officially conducted by Hon. Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and in his speech he mentioned the importance of the Management Accounting Professions and said Sri Lanka is now on par with the other South Asian countries India, Pakistan and Bangladesh with both Chartered and Management Accounting bodies.

He also stated technical support received from CMA Canada assisted ICMA Sri Lanka to be of international standard. The importance of management accounting, financial accounting, and strategic management accounting for employment in industry, commerce or government sector as business professionals was also stressed.

The need for Management Accountants to assist in economic development in the outstations has been made possible by the setting up of ICMA Sri Lanka which will provide the course at an affordable rate, around 1/10th of that of a foreign course and would thereby save valuable foreign exchange going out of the country due to the exorbitant fee charged by foreign bodies.

The decision to conduct the exam in Sinhala and Tamil medium upto Intermediate Level will enable many Advanced Level students to follow a Professional course in Management Accounting. This will be a big boost for the rural students and the outstation schools. He also stated that the government will give all support to ICMA Sri Lanka which has now been incorporated by an Act of Parliament and received the government recognition.

The Hon. Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara stated that after 50 years a new professional management accounting body was being setup by an Act of Parliament. This new body will increase the skilled man power and meet the needs of changing job market especially in the present financial and economic crises. Many Advanced Level students who cannot enter University will now have opportunities to undertake a professional management accounting course which will enable them to obtain a job either in the public or private sector, without much difficulty. As the National Management Accounting body in Sri Lanka CMA could play a major role assisting in the economic development in Sri Lanka especially in rural sector.

Background - The Society of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka was set up with the technical support of CMA (Canada) and Financial Sponsorship of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Approval was granted by the Ministry of Trade in the year 1999 to set up the Society of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka and this was by Gazette Notification. The CMA has signed Memorandum of Understandings with all the Professional South Asian Management Accounting Bodies the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of India, Institute of Management Accountants of Pakistan and The Institute of Management Accountants of Bangladesh.

An MOU was also signed with the Department of Accounting of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura and the Open University of Sri Lanka.

Governing Council - The Governing Council of the existing body will continue for a period of four years before elections are held. The Governing Council of 8 Members are all Senior Chartered Accountants and also some of them are members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK . The President of the CMA is Professor Lakshman R Watawala a Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Founder President of AAT Sri Lanka, Founder signatory to the setting up of the South Asian Federation of Accountants and a Past President of SAFA, a Past President of the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka and was also the Founder of CMA Sri Lanka and has contributed immensely for the development of the Accounting Profession in Sri Lanka.

The new Governing Council after 4 years will consist of a President, Vice President and three members elected by the membership. The Minister of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs & Marketing Development will appoint three members from the following..

(a) The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka or his nominee who is a member of the Council

(b) The Governor of the Central Bank or his nominee

(c) The Dean of the Faculty of Accounting of the University of Sri jayawardenapura or his nominee.
CMA professional

qualification - Those sitting for the CMA exam specialize in Management Accounting, Financial Accounting and Strategic Management to become Business Professionals suitable to fit any industry, commerce or service organisation. CMA's as Strategic Management Accounting Professionals catering to the Business Sector are different from other professional bodies who equip their members to pursue careers as Auditors, Accountants or other Financial Specialists.

The exam if of 4 stages and consist of a Technician, Intermediate, Professional 1, Professional 2 and Case Study. The Case Study can be taken only after completion of Professional 2. In the examination if a student obtains the minimum pass marks in a subject then a pass is given for that subject and subject passes will be given upto Professional 2 stage.

Exams are held in March and September each year. The exams are conducted with the assistance of the Department of Examinations.

Meant for -

1 School Leavers after A/L and those awaiting entrance to universities
2hose having part qualifications of professional exams ICASL/CIMA/ACCA/AAT/Bankers/Marketing/
3 Part qualifications of HNDA/HNDC
4 Part qualifications in Degrees/Accounting/Commerce
5 Graduates, HNDA/HNDC

Those who have full/part qualifications in other professional exams and degrees are entitled to apply for exemptions.

Those in Employment - CMA program is also specially meant for those in employment in the Public or Private Sectors and want to progress in their career by obtaining a Professional Qualification. They could prepare for the exams using the study texts or follow lectures at the registered educational institutes. They also have the flexibility of training where the training could be carried out during or after the exams without disturbing their exams.

Mature entry is applicable for students who have two a year period of accounting experience in the public or private sector.

Affordable - The CMA program is affordable and the cost is less than 1/10th the cost of foreign exams. Scholarships are also provided to those who seek assistance. The registration, annual subscription, exam fees, study material are all fixed at a very reasonable prices.

Opportunity to obtain a University Degree - The CMA has signed an MOU with the Open University of Sri Lanka for students who complete the intermediate exam to register for the Bachelor In Management Sciences (BMS) degree program. This will provide a Bachelors Degree for CMA students in addition to their Professional qualification.

Membership - Those who have completed all four stages could apply for membership provided they have completed three years of recognised practical training and on approval will be termed Associates of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants and use the designation ACMA. Fellows are those who have minimum of 5 years senior experience and are eligible to use the designations FCMA.

Membership will consists of Fellows (FCMA) and Associates (ACMA) . As at 2009-04-24 the Institute had a membership of 1668 comprising of 532 Fellows and 1136 Associates.

Members of Institute will be termed Certified Management Accountants (CMA). As per the Act no other body could use the wording CMA without the express permission of CMA Sri Lanka.

Recognition - The CMA qualification will enable passed finalists and members to get exemptions in
CMA Canada, CGA Canada, ACCA, ICASL, CIMA, CPA Australia, Deakin University Australia and provides opportunities to go overseas.

Head Table at the Launch of ICMA Sri Lanka held on June 2, 2009 at the Taj Samudra.
From L to R Ms Leisha de Silva Chandrasena, Chairperson, SLT & Mobitel - Principal Sponsors
Mr. Suren Amarasekera, CEO, Mobitel Ltd.
Mr. Lalith R. De Silva, Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Marketing Development.
Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala, President, CMA Sri Lanka, Hon. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Prime Minister, Hon. W. J. M. Lokubandara, Speaker, Hon. P. Radhakrishnan, Deputy Minister of Vocational Training.
Hon. A. M. M. Naoshaad, Member of Parliament.