Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Wednesday, 10 July 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka hosts the largest concentration of Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs) outside of the UK and USA, the sought-after accounting designation awarded by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the unified voice of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).
There are also five Sri Lankan CIMA members driving the global accounting profession forward by serving as officers on CIMA Council, CIMA Membership Committee, the Board of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and the Association’s Middle East, South Asia and North Africa (MESANA) Regional
Advisory Panel:
Amal Ratnayake FCMA, CGMA serves as the 86th CIMA President. In this elected volunteer role, he works to drive a dynamic accounting profession worldwide, representing ACMAs, FCMAs and CGMA designation holders and promoting the value that management accountants drive for organisations of all sizes. He is also Chair of the Board of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the unified voice of CIMA and the AICPA.
Amal became a CIMA member in 1993 and began volunteering with the Education and Training Committee of CIMA Sri Lanka soon thereafter. He also served on CIMA Council, CIMA Executive Committee and CIMA boards and policy committees on three continents.
With an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, Amal is an experienced transformational leader and strategic CFO with an international track record of driving financial and structural transformation in businesses. He is currently Chief Financial Officer at The Official Community Corporation, an online event-driven brand management company for established recording artists, and previously held a number of senior finance roles for companies in Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
Melanie J. Kanaka
Melanie J. Kanaka FCMA, CGMA serves as CIMA Council Member and CIMA Professional Standards Committee Chair. She has been a Member of the Board of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the unified voice of CIMA and the AICPA, since 2018 and is also a Member of the Association’s Management Accounting Board.
From 2013-2016, Melanie served on CIMA Council as an elected member. She was then co-opted on CIMA Council for her second term and was the first woman from Asia to achieve this distinction. Melanie has been a CIMA Membership Assessor since 2008 and was the first non-UK Assessor to be invited to join the CIMA Global Membership Panel in 2009.
Throughout the years, Melanie has served on a number of CIMA committees including the Technical Committee, Lifelong Learning Committee and Members’ Services Committee. She has also been very involved with CIMA Sri Lanka for almost three decades, chairing numerous committees and leading innovative initiatives for students and members in the region. She notably served on CIMA Sri Lanka Divisional Council for nine years and CIMA Sri Lanka Board for five years.
Melanie is an International Fulbright Scholar who holds an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University. She also holds a B.Com Hons. degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Her professional experience spans across corporate finance, manufacturing and development banking for organisations in the USA, Germany and South Asia.
Suresh R.I. Perera
Suresh R.I. Perera FCMA, CGMA serves as CIMA Council Member and frequently presents at CIMA events and seminars. He also represented CIMA in the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) of Sri Lanka as Treasurer in 2017 and Assistant Treasurer in 2018.
An Attorney-at-Law, Suresh is a long standing member of KPMG Middle East and South Asia Tax Steering Committee, and was previously Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in 2008, 2009, 2017 and 2018. He is also a Member of the Executive Committee Member of the International Fiscal Association for the Sri Lanka branch, a Member of the Executive Committee of the Corporate Lawyers Association and a Member of the Accounting Standards Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Shahan Peiris
Shahan Peiris FCMA, CGMA serves as Member of the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa (MESANA) Regional Advisory Panel for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the unified voice of CIMA and the AICPA. Previously Shahan was a Member of CIMA Sri Lanka Member Development Sub-Committee.
Shahan is a Fellow of CIMA (UK), CPA Australia, and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK). With over 20 years of experience in the international banking sector, he is currently Head Credit Risk Management Services at Citi Bank.
Rifka Ziyard
Rifka Ziyard FCMA, CGMA serves as Vice Chair of Sri Lanka Network Panel and Member of the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa (MESANA) Regional Advisory Panel for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the unified voice of CIMA and the AICPA. She also a CIMA lecturer and a regular presenter at CIMA CPD events with a focus on tax. Rifka was Chair of CIMA Business Leaders’ Summit and CIMA Member Development Committee in 2018 and continues on the same roles for 2019 as well.
Rifka is Secretary of the Association of Alternate Financial Institutions (AAFI) and also lectures for leading institutions including the University of Colombo. She regularly moderates and participates in panel discussions including the CIMA Sri Lanka National Budget Seminar. Rifka has also presented at KPMG Middle East and South Asia VAT training in Dubai and was a panellist at their 2018 conference. With over 14 years of experience in finance, management and tax, she is currently Associate Director – Tax and Regulatory at KPMG.
