CA inducts Sanjaya Bandara as 26th President to lead in post-COVID era

 CA Sri Lanka outgoing President Manil Jayesinghe (left) inducts Sanjaya Bandara as the new President of in the presence of Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Vish Govindasamy, CA Sri Lanka new Vice President Heshana Kuruppu and CEO Dulani Fernando – Pic by Lasantha Kumara

By Sandesh Jayasinghe

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Sri Lanka (CA) on Monday inducted Sanjaya Bandara as its 26th President.

Bandara was formally inducted by outgoing President Manil Jayesinghe in the presence of a distinguished gathering including Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Vish Govindasamy as well as business and industry leaders, regulatory heads and high-profile accounting personalities.

Bandara is a highly respected Chartered Accountant who has extensively contributed to the accountancy profession both locally and regionally. A fellow member of CA Sri Lanka, he commands over 23 years of experience in practice, and at present serves as the Head of Assurance at B. R. De Silva & Co., which is a member firm of Nexia International, apart from serving as a Director of Prime Land Residencies PLC.

Bandara has served as a Council Member of CA Sri Lanka since 2012 and is also a Board Member of the Confederation of Asian Pacific Accountants (CAPA), South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB).

He is also a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and a Member of the Financial System Stability Consultative Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Bandara holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accountancy and Financial Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colombo. At present, he also serves as a Member of the Governing Council of the University of Kelaniya and the Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka.

Bandara in his acceptance speech, set the priorities and goals of the organisation in a post pandemic economy.

The theme of the event ‘Value Partnering-Sustainable Economy’ highlighted the direction of the propositions made by the incoming president. To counter the challenges faced by a few propositions were made. 

A focus was provided towards helping Small and Medium Sized Practitioners (SMPs) and practicing members for capacity building. He also said that a comprehensive report for non-financial reporting had also been made and will be released in the upcoming months with the hope to attract investors through a holistic approach.

Furthermore, to help maintain a transparency and a healthy economy, CA is expected to do away with the longstanding annual report award competition which will be rebranded as the TAGS awards, focusing on Transparency, Accountability, Governance and Sustainability that will hopefully force corporates to become much more financially responsible. 

He confirmed that an agreement had been reached with CPA Canada which would increase global mobility. Other suggestions and ongoing projects to help the Sri Lankan economy were confirmed to be continued to ensure the stability of the economy.

Addressing the turbulent times that chartered accountants have faced, Bandara noted: “With the advent of data, the dynamic role of the accountant has been further transformed.”

To keep up to date with the real time information on a timely basis Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system was announced. Multiple projects were proposed with the focus being on developing the skills of accountants with focus given to technical skills. He also suggested steps will be taken to address the complex audit environment and that they will consolidate with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to increase the viability of good quality audits. 

There was a push to extend resources outside of Colombo with three regional conferences in Galle, Kandy and Jaffna and increasing island wide branches with increased facilities at a regional level. A point of consideration given was that “rural and urban students must benefit equally.”

Heshana Kuruppu was elected as the Vice President of CA Sri Lanka. He had served as a Council Member of the Institute since 2012 and is the current Group Chief Financial Officer/Director at David Pieris Group of Companies. He commands over 22 years of experience.   

Kuruppu holds a BSc. Accountancy (Special) First Class Degree from the Department of Accounting of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, a Master of Business Administration from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, and a Master of Financial Economics from the University of Colombo.