An impressive line-up of prominent business leaders and foreign experts will steer the technical sessions of the 34th National Conference of Chartered Accountants organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) which will be held on the 25th and 26th of October 2013 at the Water’s Edge.
This year’s conference, which will revolve around the theme ‘Innovate to Grow’ will comprise of six technical sessions over a period of two days.
The inaugural session on 25th October will be on ‘Innovation in Action’, which will focus on the evolution of the manufacturing sector, stemming from innovation and how innovation could help Sri Lanka take itself to the next level in terms of manufacturing.
The session will be presented by Mr. Rohan Pallewatte – Executive Chairman of Lanka Harness Co (Pvt) Ltd., while the panelists for the inaugural session would be Mr. B R L Fernando – Chairman of CIC Holdings and Prof. Ajith De Alwis – Project Director of the Coordinating Secretariat for Science Technology and Innovation (COSTI) Sri Lanka.
The second session will delve on ‘Leading Innovation’ which will be presented by Dr. Young-Tzung Shih – Senior Manager of 3M Corporate Research Laboratory, Singapore who will highlight the role of leadership in driving innovation.
Mr. Jayantha De Silva – Vice President of IFS South Asia and Managing Director of IFS Sri Lanka together with Mr. Deepal Sooriyaarachchi – Commissioner of Sri Lanka Inventors Commission will provide their insights as the panelists during the session.
The third session on ‘Conquering New Markets’ will look at the increasing importance of open innovation in companies’ involved in international marketing, and the role of policymakers in creating a conducive environment that promotes innovation.
The session will be presented by Mr. Samantha Kumarasinghe – Chairman/Managing Director of Natures Beauty Creations Ltd., while the panelists of the session will be Ms. Sheamalee Wickramasingha – Group Managing Director of Ceylon Biscuits Limited and Mr. Dinesh Saparamadu – Chief Executive Officer of hSenid Software International (Pvt) Ltd.
The first day of technical sessions will conclude with the fourth session which focuses on ‘Creative Social Networking’, which will be presented by Dr. David R Hardoon – Associate Director (Advisory Services Advanced Analytics) of Ernst & Young (Pte) Ltd., Singapore.
His session will focus on the important role played by technology and online collaboration tools in modern day innovations while also paying attention to the challenges and risks involved in dealing with these tools. The session will be boosted by two well versed panelists, Mr. Rohan Jayaweera – Sri Lanka Country Consultant for Google Asia Pacific and Mr. Earl Bumotad – Digital Consultant of Momentus (Pvt) Ltd.
The second day of technical sessions will kick off with the fifth session on ‘Manage Risks in Innovation’ which will be presented by Mr. Adrian D Perera – Chief Executive Officer of RAM Ratings (Lanka) Ltd., while the panelists for the session will comprise of Mr. Krishan Balendra – President (Retail) of John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Ms. Deepthie Wickramasuriya – Head of Business Systems & Services of AHL Business Solutions (Pvt) Ltd., and Goodhope Asia Holdings Ltd.
The fifth session will focus on the role professionals play in the innovation process and particularly in managing risk aspects.
The conference will conclude on 26th October with the sixth and final session which will be a discussion forum focusing on ‘Service Innovation.’ The session will be boosted by a well versed team of expert panelists including contemporary industry leaders who will provide insight to the audience on how to identify how innovation impacts various sectors of the service industry, including the financial services.
The panelists will comprise of Mr. Asite Talwatte – Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake – Chairman/CEO of Aitken Spence Maritime Logistics & Cargo, Mr. Hiran Cooray – Chairman of Jetwing Hotels, Mr. Dushan Soza – Managing Director of WNS Global Services (Pvt) Ltd., Mr. Reeza Zarook – Chief Executive Officer of Anything.lk and Ms. Manohari Abeyesekera – Head (Strategic Business Development Unit) of Hayleys Group.
