03rd January 2024: Mr. Heshana Kuruppu, a distinguished Sri Lankan Chartered Accountant and the President-Elect of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), has been elected as the new President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) for the year 2024. His appointment takes effect on 01st January 2024, initiating Mr. Kuruppu's twelve-month leadership tenure at the helm of this prestigious regional accounting body in South Asia.
Assisting Mr. Kuruppu in his leadership role will be the capable Mr. Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan, who has been appointed as the Vice President of SAFA.
Mr. Kuruppu brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, with a distinguished career spanning over 24 years and having played a pivotal role in various capacities, serving as a Council Member of CA Sri Lanka since 2012. Additionally, his contributions extend to regional level, having chaired committees and served as a member of various SAFA committees.
Mr. Kuruppu's leadership journey includes the role of Vice President of SAFA in 2023, as well as serving as a technical advisor to the SAFA Board from January 2022 to December 2022. He also served as the Chairman of the Committee for Improvement in Transparency, Accountability and Governance of SAFA in 2020 and 2021.
A highly respected figure in the field, Mr. Kuruppu's professional background includes serving as the Group Finance Director at David Pieris Group of Companies, a leading diversified group in Sri Lanka. He holds the position of a board member across several Strategic Business Units (SBUs), covering Automotive, Finance, IT, and Electronics.
Mr. Kuruppu is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and holds a B.Sc. Accountancy (Special) First Class degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He furthered his education with an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), Colombo, and a Master of Financial Economics from the University of Colombo.
As a founding member of SAFA, CA Sri Lanka contributes to a network comprising eleven accountancy bodies across South Asia, including from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, and Afghanistan. SAFA, has taken the lead to chart a new course for the accountancy profession in the region. This body which was set up in 1984 boasts of a membership exceeding 475,000 accounting professionals affiliated with the regional member bodies.
