CA Sri Lanka urges need for Accounting to become major service export

• By Nishel Fernando 

Sri Lanka’s  small and medium accounting firms should  consolidate and collaborate to position  Sri Lanka as a one-stop solution for international clients challenging global players by

developing accounting as a major service export for the country, Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka’s (CA Sri Lanka) new President Heshana Kuruppu said. 

“... to tap into this demand successfully, we must shift our perspective. We don’t compete locally; our market is global. I believe the consolidation and merging of small and medium accountancy firms is a strategic move that will increase capacity and enhance the range of services offered. Ultimately, collaboration is key, and we need to work with other professionals and professional bodies, if Sri Lanka is to become a one-stop solution for international clients,” Kuruppu said delivering his speech at the CA Sri Lanka Induction Ceremony held in Colombo last week.

He pointed out that the trend of working from anywhere has given birth to a new opportunity for CA Sri Lanka members to take on accounting as a service export. He noted that CA Sri Lanka is already playing an active role to support the growing demand for Knowledge Process Outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing.

In addition, he noted that over 35 percent of CA Sri Lanka members are currently employed and assured to support  youth who wish to test the waters abroad , as the country aims to boost  workers’ remittances inflows focusing on high-skilled labour.
Moving forward, Kuruppu shared that CA Sri Lanka plans to create linkages with its mature regional players and respective international chapters.

He also announced the launch of CA Sri Lanka Streaming Service.
“A series of programmes, including “Insights from a Foresighted Mind” – where senior business leaders share their experience with our younger members, ‘Point of View” where we have engaging discussions on contemporary topics, and “The Market Vibe” a segment focusing on economic and finance updates will be introduced,” he said.

“For our professional accountants in practice, we are dedicated to enhancing the support system. This includes the launch of the SMP Audit toolkit in the first quarter of this year as a continued commitment to creating excellence for our members.  The quality assurance framework will be fortified through the Audit Quality Assurance Board. This move aims to uphold quality and maintain the highest standards in Audit Quality.”  
In addition, CA Sri Lanka said it is also planning to create networking opportunities for its practicing members and will also be relaunching mentoring programme “Nurturing Aspirations”.