CA Sri Lanka 41st National Conference to show the way to tackle the ‘Abnormal’

From left: National Conference Technical Committee Alternate Chairman Channa Gunasekara, CA Sri Lanka Vice President Sanjaya Bandara, National Conference Committee Chairman Tishan Subasinghe, CA Sri Lanka President Manil Jayesinghe, National Conference Technical Committee Chairperson Anoji De Silva, CA Sri Lanka CEO Dulani Fernando, and National Conference Committee Alternate Chairman Danuka Cooray

• 3-day hybrid conference from 2-4 December to attract large number of local and international delegates

By Safna Malik

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) announced the official launch of its 41st National Conference at its premises on Tuesday.  

In line with the previous CA conferences, this year’s business summit will include a combination of physical and virtual sessions led by an influential and inspirational group of speakers who have gained credibility in their respective fields.

CA Sri Lanka President Manil Jayesinghe said the National Conference was one of its flagship events and for the first time in its four-decade-long history, this year’s conference would take on a hybrid format under the theme ‘Abnormal: Navigating through shattered norms’.

The 41st National Conference will be held from 2 to 4 December 2020 at the BMICH.

“These ‘abnormal’ times are a reminder to us to understand the importance of thinking outside the box and moving away from our comfort zones. Abnormal is going to be our new normal and we need to adapt to change fast and remain innovative and creative while utilising technology to the maximum advantage. Being agile to embrace the abnormal and rising above it to rebuild better and stronger businesses will be the key to success in the future,” Jayesinghe said.

The conference will play a vital role as a catalyst to uplift and inspire Chartered Accountants including business leaders and c-suite executives to navigate through these extraordinary and challenging times of uncertainty.

“Sri Lanka is known for its fair share of man-made and natural disasters, but COVID-19 is perhaps the biggest challenge we are facing in our lifetime. Therefore, professional bodies such as CA Sri Lanka come forward to help navigate the professional community including Chartered Accountants through such unchartered territories,” Jayesinghe added.

He said the route to recovery both at a global and local level was likely to be long and arduous, but he was confident that Sri Lanka with the help of its dynamic business and professional community would overcome this challenge too, just like in the past.

He also outlined that the National Conference was one of the most anticipated business summits for most of the working professionals.  Last year's conference attracted over 2,500 participants and they are confident of attracting a larger number of delegates this year due to the hybrid format the conference will adopt. 

He also mentioned the conference would attract some of the country’s well-known business leaders and c-suite executives among other high-profile chartered accountants.

Conference Committee Chairman Tishan Subasinghe said confidently that they were determined to go ahead with this year’s conference despite the challenging situation surrounding everyone. 

Sharing his views on the National Conference Subasinghe said that he believed this conference would be an important platform to engage and assess the issues that people are facing in today’s global crisis. 

“The conference is an opportunity to explore solutions from the perspective of the accounting profession and to assist the corporate world to embrace the abnormal and create new and innovative businesses,” Subasinghe said.

He assured strict health guidelines will be followed throughout the conference and at the venue. All the arrangements will be in line with the Health Ministry approved regulations since “the safety of the delegates attending the physical sessions at the venue will be our top priority,” he said. 

National Conference Technical Committee Chairperson Anoji De Silva outlined that despite the gloom since COVID-19, the pandemic had allowed them to ‘redefine’ and come up with a new corporate culture which focuses on stakeholder capitalism and not just shareholder profit.

“We must use the pandemic as an opportunity to redefine our values which will ultimately have a long-term sustainable benefit to all stakeholders,” she said.  

Introducing the sessions that lined up for the National Conference this year, she said there would be four sessions happening physically and two more virtually with some of the eminent speakers joining online.

De Silva said that the technical sessions during the three-day conference had been tailored to inspire participants to be motivated to look beyond the horizons and play a lead role in helping Sri Lanka rebuild in a post-COVID scenario.

“The conference will be complemented with a high-profile line up of local and foreign speakers and panellists who will steer the technical sessions by sharing their insights and expertise on how to rethink and rebuild businesses in times where ‘abnormal’ has become the order of the day and where the business norms that we were comfortable with have been shattered, allowing us to build better businesses,” she added.