Friday Dec 13, 2024
Friday Dec 13, 2024
Thursday, 17 July 2014 01:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
SLID which is the Institute of Directors for Directors, has over the last 14 years focused on promoting and enriching the practices of good 
corporate governance whilst delivering value to its members and other stakeholders. Very senior directors of the private and public sector, senior managers reporting to directors and potential and aspiring directors form the SLID membership of over 630 members.
Pravir in his address stated that he was confident that together with the Council and the support of the Secretariat that he could achieve the objectives of the institute and realise the Member expectations. Overall the last year had been a progressive and good year for SLID. In pursuance of these goals the primary focus had been and will be in four key areas he said, and went on to elucidate the goals:
Director education
“The first goal is director education. We inaugurated our two-day Board Leadership Training Program in February 2014 which was very well accepted and the areas covered were directors’ duties and liabilities, board’s role, practices and procedures. The Securities and Exchange Commission endorsed this program which was developed with the assistance of the International Finance Corporation. The plan is to expand this training program to span eight full days next year by introducing parts on corporate governance, strategic leadership, financial stewardship and accountability. This will be the flagship director training program and those completing it will be certified. We also plan to enter into an MOU with the SEC and work closely with them to obtain accreditation. This will be our main thrust area, and we believe our relevancy and value to members will depend on the quality of this delivery, towards which we are very committed.
SLID profile building
“SLID profile building will be our second goal. With over a decade in existence we need to continually promote our brand and own the domain of, and be recognised as the authoritative source for both good governance and stewardship. And towards this end we will be focused in our activities. Our branding and publicity initiatives along with continuous delivery of value to our members and other stakeholders are important. We will continue our regional out-reach programs in taking the message of good corporate governance and compliance to the provinces. We covered Gampaha, Kilinochchi and Jaffna last year, and prior to that we covered Kandy, Ratnapura, Trincomalee, and Hambantota.
Membership growth
“The third area of focus would be our membership growth. As in the case of any Association to spread our message to a wider spectrum of people and to build a financially stable and sustainable model it is important that we develop our membership base. We increased our membership by nearly 13% last year. We intend introducing a tiered membership hierarchy to recognize different levels of member accomplishment.
Building institutional capacity
“The fourth and final area of focus would be to build our institutional capacity including our human and financial resources. To achieve the institute’s goals and face the future with confidence we need to continually strengthen our Secretariat and our financial position.
“We have now evolved into an independent and self-reliant institution with a capable Secretariat. We will continue to strengthen this base for the future. Before I conclude, I wish to thank the SLID Council Members and CEO Lilani and her team for their dedication, hard work and commitment in taking SLID forwards.” He concluded his speech by introducing the post nominals to the members present.
Australia-Sri Lanka relationship
Australian High Commissioner Robyn Mudie who was the Chief Guest on this occasion made her address as soon as the formalities of the Membership Meeting came to a close. She spoke of the impressive economic growth experienced by Sri Lanka since the end of the war and the growth of the Australia-Sri Lanka trade and investment relationship.
The two-way trade between the two countries was valued at $ 340 million in 2012-2013, and she went on to say that over the past 18 months that there had been a considerable and increasing interest from Australian companies in the potential for investment in Sri Lanka. She saw a great future to build on the current relationship and to see Australia’s investment footprint in Sri Lanka expand significantly in the years ahead.
Elucidating more on sustainability and development, prominence was given to social responsibility, governance and anti corruption in the corporate sector. Narrating further, she spoke of the challenge for Sri Lanka to meet the need of the present without compromising the environment for future generations. The commitment to sustainable development does not stop at any border and it increases the internationalisation of industries regardless of the place of incorporation, there is a responsibility for each corporate to improve sustainable development, she said.
SLID commended
She concluded her address saying “The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors’ commitment to good corporate governance practices in Sri Lanka is both necessary and admirable – with its core objective of disseminating and facilitating positive corporate behavioural values in order that Sri Lankan corporates can contribute to the economic, social and moral development of Sri Lanka. SLID is playing a central role in ensuring that Sri Lanka continues to attract investment and develop trade links with the region.” The evening was concluded with cocktails and fellowship affording the Membership ample opportunity for networking.
