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Wednesday, 1 February 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Charumini de Silva
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) recently launched its new Professional Program which will come into effect from March 2018 in Colombo with a view to groom competent management accountants who are capable of crafting strategies and managing risk in pursuit of developing sustainable world class organisations.
The revised CMA Professional Program 2018 carries significant improvements with respect to the focus, structure and coverage in both in terms of scope and depth of contents.
CMA President Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala said the 2018 syllabus has introduced new developments in the fields of accounting and finance, management accounting, business management, information technology, taxation and law, professional communication and life skills with greater emphasis on corporate governance and ethics in order to produce fully fledged professional management accountants with required competencies as well as right attitude to work in the corporate and government sector both locally and globally.
Noting that the new syllabus was developed after careful consideration of its stakeholder views, he added that the CMA Study Program is revised periodically to keep in line with the global professional requirements in accounting.
“Our consultants include Prof. Mangala Fonseka who led the team and Dr. Dilipa Samudrage and Nuwan Gunaratne, all senior academics from the accounting faculty of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Their long experience and having been associated with CMA in the last syllabus revision where Prof. Mangala Fonseka and Nuwan Gunaratne were closely associated gave an added advantage of continuing our quality standard taking into account new revisions and changes making it a world class professional program,” he said.
He acknowledged that the consultants entrusted to revise the syllabus have ensured that the new syllabus has taken into account global developments and is in accordance with International Education Standards (IESs) prescribed by the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB).
However Prof. Watawala pointed out that as national institutes, the treatment that they receive in the country is ‘anti-national’.
“Sri Lankan people always think foreign things are good. There are various people offering foreign qualifications in our country and when they say US, UK or Australia our people are fooled by them, but we as a national body which is incorporated by an Act of Parliament where decisions are taken by the Cabinet of Ministers unfortunately get an ‘anti-national’ treatment,” he added.
Being a national institute, CMA Sri Lanka has to undergo many bureaucracies to get proposals implemented, whereas foreign institutes are not being regulated for qualification standards and are bound to pay taxes, he said.
In addition he stressed that it was important for national institutes to obtain technical assistance as CMA Sri Lanka did with CMA Canada, which would save a considerable outflow of foreign exchange.
Prof. Watawala also called on the Government to set up a high-level commission to look into the matters pertaining in the education sector without taking harsh decisions which would affect the education sector in the country.
Delivering the keynote address titled ‘Tipping point in Tertiary/Professional Education,’ Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) Associate Provost – Skills, Future and Staff Development Prof. Ho Yew Kee outlined the challenges faced in the global workforce, the role of tertiary and professional education and a possible way forward.
“There is plenty of evidence that technological advances are affecting what jobs are in demand in today’s context. However, high-skill positions that often take advantage of computers and low-skill jobs doing work such as home healthcare that is difficult to automate are growing. As a result, many mid-skill jobs (non-farm employment) are disappearing,” he pointed out.
He acknowledged that according to the mix of jobs, the fastest-growing jobs in the US from 2000 to 2010 reflect the demand for highly technical skills and those lower-skill jobs that are hard to automate. Highly-routine jobs are especially vulnerable to automation.
Sharing the Singapore experience he said in 2010 the country appointed a committee to develop the accountancy sector (CDAS) with a view to transform Singapore into a leading global accounting hub for Asia-Pacific, where the CDAS report highlighted the importance of continuing education and training as a critical avenue for Singaporeans to upgrade their skill sets in the face of a constantly changing and increasingly sophisticated economy.
“Jobs and education disruptions will increase over time and for survival, skills and knowledge are both essential. Hence, a determination to deep-skill the work force was critical for any economy,” he added.
Thereby Prof. Kee emphasised that the Government, universities (education providers) and professional bodies needs to play a significant role with a clear strategy to acquire the needed deep-skills and knowledge, through a sense of urgency to confront an ever-changing world.
CMA Sri Lanka received technical assistance from CMA of Canada, now CPA Canada in formulating the educational syllabus, preparation of study material and examination work. The technical assistance program was financed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Sharing a few words at the occasion Canadian High Commissioner Shelly Whiting pledged to continue their support to focus on capacity building and technical assistance, noting that CMA Sri Lanka was a success story.
She commended the progress made so far by CMA Sri Lanka and acknowledged that skills development and vocational training in all industries was important for the development of Sri Lanka.
Noting good governance is the need of the hour, the High Commissioner pointed out that no country in the world can develop without it. “It is a challenge, but accountability and transparency go hand in hand. We need good governance to grow.”
- Pix by Upul Abayasekara
