Two of Sri Lanka’s leading corporate leaders, Dinesh Weerakkody and Kishu Gomes have given their thumbs up for the new curriculum launched by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka).
Mr. Dinesh Weerakkody, Chairman of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC and Mr. Kishu Gomes, Managing Director/CEO of Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC believes that the new syllabus will help create a new breed of chartered accountants for 2020 and beyond who will stay very relevant during changing times while helping them achieve their full potential with the right amount of technical competence and business acumen.
Sharing his views on the newly unveiled curriculum by CA Sri Lanka, Mr. Weerakkody emphasized that chartered accountants play a significant role in both the private and public sectors, and to keep the momentum going, their professional development needs to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.
“I understand the new syllabus will equip CA students with the necessary IT and soft skills in addition to financial knowledge. Thereby boosting their standing as globally recognized finance professionals with multi-disciplinary skills,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gomes stressed that chartered accountants today work in all good business organisations across all industries and increasingly participate in strategic and operational decision making which requires the skills to effectively collaborate with other business units and functional leaders.
“I have looked at the contents of the new syllabus and I find it to be one which is geared to offer the right technical competence, while equal importance has been given towards business acumen which is needed to make the best decisions and execute them to win in the market,” he said.
Gomes added that with the right technical competence and business acumen, chartered accountants can help the organisations achieve their full potential.
The revised curriculum which aims at developing chartered accountants to partner business through financial leadership consists of three vital elements, encompassing knowledge, skills and qualities, giving future chartered accountants the ability to utilize their astute knowledge in decision making through sound financial reasoning while being cohesive to economic, industry and business circumstances.
