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Dinuk Hettiarachchi: Leaders need resilience and a mindset for change.

A perfect storm of economic and political instability has not stopped renowned Sri Lankan business leader and CPA Australia Fellow Dinuk Hettiarachchi from moving forever forward with a change of mindset.

Dinuk Hettiarachchi: A post-graduate designation enhances employability.

‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’ is a phrase that fittingly describes the work ethic of Sri Lankan entrepreneur Dinuk Hettiarachchi FCPA (Aust.). The same can be said of his father, Raja Nihal Hettiarachchi, who in 1984 founded Nihal Hettiarachchi & Company, Chartered Accountants (NHCo.).

Today, Dinuk is the Managing Partner of NHCo., which has grown to become one of the leading accounting and assurance firms in Sri Lanka. Further, he was instrumental in the acquisition of the well-established chartered accountancy firm, Wijeyeratne & Company, bringing it under the umbrella of NHCo.

Dinuk is also the Chairman of RNH Ventures, a diversified group of companies operating in several business sectors with branch operations in Singapore, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Further, he is a country representative of the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement Chamber of Commerce and Industry (APTA CCI), a former board member of the Skills Development Fund and a past Chairman of the exclusive Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs.

Accounting bodies collaborate

For the past 10 years, Dinuk has been a member and then a Fellow of the globally recognised professional accounting body, CPA Australia, which has more than 170,000 members in over 100 countries and regions.

With Dinuk’s proactive support, CPA Australia has established a supporting presence in Sri Lanka with over 400 members working in the country’s finance and accounting sectors.

In August last year, CPA Australia marked its presence in Sri Lanka with a visit by CPA Australia’s Global CEO Andrew Hunter. The visit included a cocktail reception for members, the chief guest at which was State Minister of Finance Hon. Shehan Semasinghe. There were also many key meetings including with His Excellency the President, Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe.

Notably, CPA Australia has entered Membership Pathway Agreements with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) and the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA Sri Lanka).

According to Dinuk, these are welcome, positive initiatives for all Sri Lanka-based accountants, especially those with an ambition to join the C-suite.

“We have to move away from focusing only on our discipline,” he says. “Thirty to 40 years ago my father’s generation had just one local accounting qualification and around 70 per cent of CEOs were chartered accountants.

“But that gradually changed because the changing needs of the market were not addressed.”

As accountants were not being trained in the broader skills that soon became mandatory for success as a CEO, their career focus soon switched to becoming CFOs.

However, Dinuk believes the trend is reversing with many accounting bodies such as CPA Australia offering certified professional development (CPD) programs that provide members with a deep understanding of the key issues confronting businesses today and the hands-on tools and softer skills to succeed in roles beyond finance.

For example, with cutting-edge resources and internationally relevant study materials, CPA Australia’s CPA Program has the flexibility for full-time or self-paced online study with a host of guided learning tools to support participants with subjects that range from Contemporary Business Issues to Financial Risk Management.

“In time, I believe accountants will again fill a more rounded role as CEOs,” Dinuk says. “When you’re an accountant, you understand business. And why do you do business? You do it to make money. Accountants know that, but when they also have leadership knowledge and other skills – which the CPA Australia designation enhances – it will help them to perform better as CEOs.”

Resilience and a mindset for change

Generally, however, he says resilience and a mindset capable of adapting to change are attributes all business leaders need to develop.

“Especially in Sri Lanka, where the market has undergone total change, we have to think outside the box about how we grow our business,” he says.  

“We are in a very high tax regime and our currency has depreciated rapidly. To succeed we need to change and to move forward. Sometimes we may have to close traditional businesses and start something new.”

Even so, old habits can die hard and Dinuk concedes some experienced finance practitioners have been slow to adopt new technologies and IT based accounting solutions.

“It’s because of the nature of their training and over many years they’ve become used to manually checking this and ticking that,” he says.

In other words, to increase productivity there must be a fundamental shift in mindset, but significant numbers of traditional accountants are resisting it. They’ll use tech for basic functions like email, but not to run their business.

Analytical thinking in an automated world

Of course, younger practitioners have been quick to embrace the benefits of automation using technology, but they too face obstacles.

“No seamless end-to-end solution is in place because most of our government services and operations are still manually driven,” Dinuk continues.

“The private sector cannot conduct its business without government intervention somewhere along the value chain, and that turns into a bottleneck. There might be some improved efficiencies in the process, but because usage of tech in the government sector is poor, it’s not seamless.”

Another pressing issue is whether the new generation of accountants is truly “employment ready”.

Much is made about the role artificial intelligence (AI) might play in the government and private sectors, but rather than being a threat to human participation in the decision-making process, Dinuk sees it – at least for the foreseeable future – as being another tool to increase efficiencies.

“AI will take away the day-to-day, mundane, routine, run-of-the-mill stuff which will then be done through systems, but I don’t see it mastering the creative and advisory aspects of human intervention,” he says.

Practice aces theory

Recognising an ongoing need for appropriately qualified finance professionals who can hit the ground running, Dinuk is adamant that the way university students are trained needs to change. In accounting and finance, he says there’s too much emphasis on theory and not enough on practice.

“We’re one of the few countries in the world that still practices free education and some of our best minds go through our university system, yet we have a huge gap in terms of the skills [taught] and what is required by the private sector,” he says. “Much of the theory is outdated and not aligned with current trends.”

Dinuk believes internship opportunities with Australian firms through CPA Australia will help Sri Lankan students transition better into the workforce when they graduate. Meanwhile, CPA Australia is working closely with the Department of Accounting at the University of Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka to help upskill students for their careers in the real world.

And that world is rapidly changing. 

Staying balanced on a global tightrope

“Another leadership challenge in planning and managing business is to understand the geopolitics of the world,” Dinuk says. “We need to be mindful that quietly, [with the possibility of] conflict, countries in the Global South are increasingly becoming superpowers.

“Sri Lanka sits in the middle of the Indian Ocean between a rapidly modernising India – one of the world’s biggest emerging economies – and China, which as a result of the Silk Road we have deep historical religious and cultural ties. We also work with the West because most of our produce is exported to those countries.

“Because we’re a small country and our businesses are even smaller, it’s very important to find a way to balance our relationships with the superpowers.”

Again, Dinuk believes CPA Australia membership is a great opportunity for aspiring and established Sri Lankan business leaders to keep abreast of worldwide trends through a global network.

“As a younger person, you can earn a globally recognised qualification and become more employable by being up to date with what’s happening in the world,” he says.

“Also, when you’re nearing the end of your career, you can mentor and give back to your profession and society. You can share your experiences from a global perspective because that is what the new generation needs and that is what the new generation is willing to listen to.”

No shortcuts to success

From the day he left school, Dinuk has always been an entrepreneur and says there are still numerous ventures ahead for him. Looking back, however, he cites being elected in 2018 as Chairman of the invitation-only, highly prestigious Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs – popularly known as COYLE – as the greatest highlight of his entrepreneurial career to date.

All 120 members of COYLE are business owners – not CEOs – and past chairs elect the new chair based on a selection criteria.

“I was humbled and honoured as an entrepreneur to be recognised in such a way by my peers,” Dinuk says.

Such success doesn’t come easily.

“There are no shortcuts,” he emphasises. “Anything that comes easily can be lost easily. As a leader, if you set an example with your work ethic, the rest will follow.

“Sri Lanka has been going through a difficult time. Our taxes are at an all-time high and we have staff leaving the country looking for greener pastures, so even as finance professionals running businesses and managing cash flow and the balance sheet, we’re finding it tough.”

Despite this, Dinuk maintains that there are opportunities in adversity.

“In general, Sri Lanka has been a very resilient nation, so let’s keep our attitude positive. It’s difficult with the [internal] politics and geopolitics and everything else, but let’s work together and do something.”

Apply for CPA Australia Membership via the Mutual Recognition Agreement with CA Sri Lanka or via the Member Pathway Agreement with CMA Sri Lanka.

Register now to attend a Become a CPA information session or email us at [email protected] to discover more.