Local and intl. high flyers to share success stories at CA Sri Lanka 39th National Conference

A group of multi-talented high achievers, some who are internationally acclaimed, while others are locally reputed for their unconventional style of doing business will steer the 39th National Conference of Chartered Accountants by sharing their leap to success stories to a houseful audience in October. 

The National Conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) and dubbed as the country’s largest business summit, has already attracted over 1,700 delegates to its main venue at BMICH including business leaders and c-suite executives. 

The event, which will kick off on 8 October will bring together a host of highly sought-after speakers and panellists, representing diverse sectors to speak on the theme ‘Hyperleap’during the two-day technical sessions on 9 and 10 October where participants will be encouraged to take bold strides without being bound by conventional shackles that keeps a professional from moving ahead and taking that all important leap to thrive and become successful.

International record setting athlete, James Lawrence, also known as the ‘Iron Cowboy’ who did 50 ironman courses in 50 states in 50 consecutive days will kick off the technical sessions to speak on the inspiration topic ‘Boldly Go: Redefining the Impossible’. Lawrence, a much sought-after motivational speaker and author will inspire the audience on how to redefine boundaries and set their sights higher to achieve the unthinkable. 

With millennials increasingly disrupting the way everyone works, the second session will bring to the fore Kasturi Wilson, Managing Director of Hemas Pharmaceuticals and Hemas Logistics and Maritime Sector of Hemas Holdings PLC, who has built a reputation as one of the country’s outstanding women leaders. During this session, she will speak on ‘Business Transformation and Future of Jobs’focusing on the rapid technological changes and how a company can build and sustain its culture amidst these technological changes. She will be joined by two panellists Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri, Director and Chairman of the Board of Management of the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Suvasish Mohapatra, Managing Director and Lead – Accenture Operations of Accenture India. 

The third session on ‘Walk with Digital Disruption’ will focus on the proliferation of digital technologies, creating a unique opportunity for businesses to redefine their value proposition. Dr. Romesh Ranawana, CTO/Co-Founder at SimCentric Technologies who is known as an entrepreneur with a strong track record in building successful products and companies geared towards the global market, will speak on how businesses must brace itself for the inevitable, all while taking advantage of technology.He will be joined by three panellists, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PickMe Jiffry Zulfer, Chief Digital Officer of MAS Holdings Jehan Mutaliph and Chief Operating Officer of Spectra Logistics Ishan Gunatilleke. 

The fourth session on ‘New Breed of Business Models in Disruptive Environment’ will shed insight on the new generation of influencers, mostly the millennials who have become the world’s most powerful consumers, and are spearheading a wave of business transformation that is spawning a new and divergent breed of businesses and business models. 

Founder and CEO of Kapruka, Dulith Herath, known as the King of E-commerce in Sri Lanka will share the stage with CEO of Surge Global, Bhanuka Harischandra, a gamer turned passionate marketer and entrepreneur,and also with Aqeel Mohommad Mohideen, and Dila Weerasinghe, of Robin HoodArmy, a zero-funds organisation that works to get surplus food from restaurants and communities to the less fortunate, to speak on how youngsters are changing conventional businesses.

The need for Chartered Accountants to be abreast of the latest developments in the accounting, business and regulatory sphere is pivotal in enabling them to better their value proposition; with this objective in mind, Head of Audit and Assurance of KPMG Sri Lanka Suren Rajakarier and Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka D.M. Rupasinghe will steer the fifth session on ‘Staying Ahead of the Curve: Unless We Continue to Learn Beyond What We Have Already Mastered, We Will Not Grow…’ where they will focus on the latest regulatory and accounting developments that are shaping the future role of the Accountant. 

Rajakarier leads the People, Performance and Culture function at KPMG and has also worked in the KPMG offices in Oman, Dubai and the Financial Business Unit in London. Rupasinghewas a Controller of Exchange, and also served as a Co-chair of Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG).Thepanellistsfor the fifth session will be Managing Director/CEO of Cargills Bank Ltd. Rajendra Theagarajah and Sector Head, Property Group at John Keells Holdings PLC Nayana Mawilmada. 

Chairman of Vallibel One PLC Dhammika Perera, known as one of Sri Lanka’s most successful entrepreneurs and visionary leaders will steer the sixth session on the ‘DNA of the Future Accountant: Redefining Learning and Working in Sri Lanka’ where he will share insights on how if the profession is swift to accept and adapt the many opportunities it can embrace despite the challenges. Perera will speak on the opportunities ahead, and how accountants must embrace new technologies such as artificial intelligence, mega data analytics and block chain into their domain of expertise and leapfrog the profession into the new age of business.

The seventh and final session on ‘Engage in the Present, Prepare for the Future’ will bring forth Managing Director and Chief Executive of N*able Peter D’Almeida who will speak on the importance of passion and engagement, which are mandatory requirements for a professional to excel at the task at their hand and how not to remain monotonous and to embrace challenges of the future which comes with a range of possibilities. D’Almeida founded N-able in 2008 with 12 others, and today the company employs over 200 people, to provide technology-enabled business solutions; ‘connecting people and things, with insight, for an efficient and intelligent world’.