The 45th National Conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) was inaugurated on October 14, 2024, by the chief guest, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha, at Monarch Imperial, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte. 

 

This year’s national conference will focus on the need to take a bold step towards embracing global dynamics, technological advancements, generational diversity and governance in pursuit of excellence. It will offer an exciting line-up of insightful technical sessions, making it an important platform for thought-provoking discussions, collaborative problem-solving and inspirational insights to help professionals, including business leaders and c-suite executives, navigate the volatile economy.

 

The three-day mega event, renowned as Sri Lanka’s largest annual business summit, will revolve around the timely theme ‘Marching Beyond Margins’. The conference will feature an exciting line-up of influential local and international speakers who will steer the technical sessions, providing delegates a unique opportunity to learn, share and explore the latest advancements in their respective fields, apart from deliberating current and future challenges across the professional, business and economic landscapes. 

 

The conference, which will consist of five technical sessions, will see over 2,000 attendees from Sri Lanka and abroad. The conference’s first session is titled ‘WorldWatch: The Global Perspective’, which is on the importance of understanding global macroeconomic forces and the broader geopolitical landscape. This session will cover, local and global industry dynamics, sustainability, and energy transformation and circular economy, commercial, governance and compliance aspects of genetic technologies, AI in healthcare covering communicable and non-communicable diseases and pandemic preparedness, genetics, and personalised medicine. It will feature Marie Antonia von Schönburg, Chief Delegate, Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka, Ravi A. Fernando, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Global Strategic Corporate Sustainability (Pvt.) Ltd, Yvonne Zhang, Director, WorldClimate, Deloitte Southeast Asia and Prof. Neelika Malavige, Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Charit Pethiyagoda, former Head of Commercial Partnerships Asia, Middle East and Africa, Illumina (Singapore) (Pvt.) Ltd and Ajit Patil, Co-Founder/Managing Director, DeepTek.ai. 

 

Technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, electric vehicles and other innovations are revolutionising industries and the second session titled ‘TechTracks: Pathways to Progress’ will bring together experts such as Oshada Senanayake, Chief Operating Officer, Digital Transformation, Brandix Apparel Limited, Bhanuka Harischandra, Chief Executive Officer/Founder, Surge Global, Geethaka Fernando, Head of Group Digital Transformation, Hayleys PLC, former Head of IT Governance and Performance, Rolls-Royce, Prabash Galagedara, General Manager, Data and AI Product Development, Quantium Telstra  and  Channa de Silva, Chief Executive Officer, LankaPay Private Limited, who will share their perspectives on this important topic. 

 

The third session will focus on ‘Generational Mosaic: Diversity in Dialogue’, emphasising the need for Sri Lanka to bridging generational gaps to unlock synergies that optimise organisational performance. Elizabeth Faber, Global Chief People and Purpose Officer, Deloitte, Kaushali Kusumapala Country Director Sri Lanka and Maldives, The Coca-Cola Company, Dr. Upuli Warnakula, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University and Cabin Crew/Instructor, SriLankan Airlines, Bhoomi Harendran, Brand Ambassador, Emerge Lanka Foundation and Executive Director, National Transgender Network and Nalaka Hewamadduma, President/CEO, Nalaka H Consulting Inc., Educator, Author and Coach will be the speakers of this session.

 

Caron Sugars Governance, Risk and Controls Advisory Partner, KPMG Australia, Radish Singh Partner, Financial Services Risk Consulting Leader, Ernst & Young, Singapore, Ramesh Jayasekara, Director/Chief Executive Officer, Seylan Bank PLC, Nathalie de Dieuleveult, Managing Director Sri Lanka and Maldives, Head of Asia Pacific Emerging Markets, B. Braun Medical Lanka and Till Hartmann, Governance Specialist South Asia Region (SAR) of the World Bank will share their expertise and insights on ‘Command of the New Realm: Governance and Beyond’ in the fourth session, which will focus on effective governance frameworks to ensure that organisations not only adapt to these changes but also lead in innovation, ethics and sustainability.

 

The National Conference will conclude with the ‘Presidents’ Reflections: Leadership Through Time’, which will feature the past presidents of Sri Lanka, who will share their experiences and challenges they faced during their tenure and provide insights for future leadership in relation to the four pillars of global dynamics, technological advancements, generational diversity and governance practices. President Chandrika Bandaranaike

Kumaratunga, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Maithripala Sirisena and President Ranil Wickremesinghe will speak at this session.