Press Room

32nd National Conference Inaugurates

32nd National Conference of Chartered Accountants inaugurated amidst Sri Lanka’s corporate glitterati
The much awaited 32nd National Conference of Chartered Accountants was inaugurated today evening (20th October) at a gala ceremony at the Waters Edge, Battaramulla under the auspices of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.
Mr. Rajapaksa addressing the large gathering spoke on ‘Expectations from the Private Sector and the Leadership Required for Economic Resurgence.’

This year’s landmark event was given a further boost with the participation of World Bank’s Chief Financial Management Officer Mr. Tony Hegarty who delivered an enlightening keynote address on ‘Government and Public Sector Role in Sustainable Economic development’ to a packed house.

The annual conference has built a reputation over the years as a business summit which deals with broad economic and business issues apart from its emphasis on core finance related topics. Held under the thought provoking theme ‘Quest for Balance’ this year’s conference will consist of six technical sessions running over a period of two-days.

The economic and technological transformation over the last few decades has been phenomenal. Our world, country, work places and roles are changing at a pace never seen before. Yet there are many aspects that have been overlooked. Balancing these complex and sometimes conflicting issues has become the greatest challenge ahead of us. With this perspective, the national conference will be a platform to explore and reflect on this stimulating theme ‘Quest for Balance’.

This year’s conference is aimed at providing an enriching experience and a learning opportunity at both a technical and a broader level. Over the three days of the conference, participants will explore means of achieving sustainable economic and business growth, in an increasingly challenging environment. The practical issues in the implementation of IFRS will also be examined. The conference will also discuss the complex and diverse roles of CFOs today and the skills needed to balance the demands made on professionals in a world of changing dynamics.

The two-day long technical sessions which will be held on 21st and 22nd October, will feature some prominent Sri Lankan business leaders and renowned foreign speakers who have been specially flown to Sri Lanka to share in their knowledge and expertise on a wide range of subjects as paper presenters during the sessions.

Asian Development Banks (Sri Lanka Resident Mission) Country Director, Ms. Rita O’Sullivan will inaugurate the technical sessions with her presentation on ‘Quest for Balance – Our World: People, Planet and Profit.’

Her session will be followed by, Former Assistant Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, who will speak on ‘Quest for Balance – Our Country: Vanity, Sanity and Reality.’
Eminent business personality Mr. J.M.S. Brito, the Deputy Chairman of Aitken Spence PLC, will examine the varied expectations of investors and other stakeholders at the third session of the conference titled, ‘Quest for Balance - Shareholder: Risk, Reward and Responsibility.’

Mr. Brito’s session will be followed by the fourth session which will be presented by Executive Director, Finance and Operations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Mr. Robin Fieth who will speak on the role of the CFO today in ‘Quest for Balance – CFO: Drive, Support and Comply.’
The fifth session will see a detailed presentation into International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which are being fast adopted by many countries today. John O’Grady, Partner / Asia Pacific Area IFRS Leader of Ernst & Young will speak on ‘Quest for Balance - IFRS: Theory, Practice and Transition’.

The 32nd National Conference will come to a conclusion with the sixth and final technical session which will feature Widely acclaimed international speaker Ms. Avril Henry, who will shed light on how to organizations facilitate and benefit enormously from good work- life balance, at the conference’s sixth and final session ‘Quest for Balance – You: Role, Rhetoric and Reality.’

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Business School 2011 Convocation

Business School confers graduates with MBAs and Postgraduate diplomas at 2011 Convocation
It was an evening of great accomplishment for 135 graduates who were conferred with Masters Degrees and Postgraduate Diplomas by the CA Business School at a gala event held at the Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo recently.

For 74 professionals, the 2011 business School Convocation will go down as an important day in their life as they were conferred with Masters in Business Administration, from the University of Southern Queensland, while another 61 graduates were awarded Postgraduate Diplomas in Business and Financial Administration conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

The evening was further boosted with the presence of Prof. Allon Layton, the Dean of Business and Law and Pro Vice Chancellor at University of Southern Queensland who flew specially to Sri Lanka from Australia to grace the occasion as the Chief Guest while Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, Mr. Kishu Gomes was the guest of honour.

Chairman of the business School, Mr. Yohan Perera in his welcome address disclosed that 250 students were following the USQ MBA conducted at the Business School.

He noted that the business school was also exploring opportunities to launch other programmes with USQ.

Mr. Perera emphasized that apart from its courses offered at the Institute, the Business School has also recognized the need of the corporate sector and conducted various high level programmes such as the recently concluded leadership programme with INSEAD and various business valuation workshops with AMBA Research.

“This is just the beginning and we will strive to continue to assist the leaders of the corporate sector with more thought provoking programmes in the future,” he added.

The Institute’s President Mr. Sujeewa Mudalige in his speech emphasized that the Institute and USQ has enjoyed an extraordinary relationship for almost ten years.

He noted that good times were ahead for post war Sri Lanka which is seeing huge opportunities following the ending of the war.

“When countries in the West are struggling for survival, Sri Lanka has been insulated and have not been affected by the crisis facing US and EU countries,” he noted.

He added that optimism and enthusiasm was mounting following the announcement by President Mahinda Rajapaksa that Sri Lanka has discovered gas off Mannar. “For you graduates, these are huge opportunities, the time is here for you to dream big,” Mr. Mudalige said.

Chief Guest Prof. Allon Layton in his address declared that USQ’s partnership with the Institute was the most successful partnership it enjoyed. “We are happy to partner with CA Sri Lanka, our partnership with the Institute is successful in every dimension and we are happy to partner with a country which has everything going good for it,” he noted.
He added that USQ was happy to partner with CA Sri Lanka to contribute to the development of the country by providing the required qualifications for professionals in Sri Lanka.

Guest of Honour, Kishu Gomes commended the Institute for taking the initiative to generate truly qualified professionals to the country.

Addressing the graduates, he said, “the world is going to be a more challenging place to live, there will be greater challenges ahead and if you are to achieve your life aspirations, you have to take on these challenges to succeed in your ambitions.”

The evening was wrapped up with a vote of thanks delivered by the Institute Vice President Mr. Sujeewa Rajapakse who urged the graduates to continue to study despite the completing of their Masters Degrees and Postgraduate Diplomas.

“Study and learning are part of a lifelong journey, and you should not stop your knowledge gathering exercise but continue in this endeavor.”

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