Certified Management Accountants launch new exam syllabus

By Cheranka Mendis

Certified Management Accountants (CMA) Sri Lanka yesterday launched its new examination syllabus which will come into effect from March 2012.  

The new syllabus which unfolds in five levels has taken into account global developments and is said to be in accordance with international standards to meet the demands of the ever growing business sector of the country.

Carrying significant revision and improvement with respect to the focus of the study programme, its structure, organisation of core and skill course units, vertical and horizontal linkages and contents of units, the syllabus aims at producing management accountants endowed with capabilities, competencies and glocalised outlook required to meet the challenges in organisations both locally and internationally.  

President CMA Sri Lanka Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala stated that the newly revised syllabus has taken into account the needs of the business community and would help provide better accountants under the three mainstreams of the core course units — management accounting, financial accounting and business management. Communication would be enhanced by the prospective accountants with skill development, as the business community today needs personnel who are fully conversant and fully trained. “We have worked together with local universities and advanced technical institutes,” Prof. Watawala said. “The new study programme will bring new study concepts and new thinking among everyone which would be on par with international standards.”

The revised study structure consists of 22 course units categorised as 17 core courses, 4 skill courses and at the apex an integrative case study. The skill course looks at enhancing required skills while facilitating mastery of core units. “The global-local outlook maintained throughout the system will develop a glocalised mindset in the students enabling them to adopt to business environments both here and abroad.”

Professor for accounting at the Sri Jayewardenepura University Department of Accounting Prof. Mangala Fonseka who was a joint consultant on the new syllabus programme stated that a revision of syllabus is a time honoured practice that make certain the course is up to date with global and local economical changes. He asserted that every four to five years such revision is needed. Revision process started in April last year, and took seven months to develop, he said. It was then under consideration for three months before it was launched. “Methodology adopted has been after in-depth stakeholder engagement, expert involvement, external evaluation and iterative process.”

 “Level 1 is the foundation course, level 2 operational, level 3 managerial, level 4 strategic and level 5 integrative case study,” Fonseka said. Lining up the salient features of the programme, Fonseka listed out – “there is now a more focused flow and inter connectivity and a grouping of subjects to accommodate essentials. There is also extended coverage through newly introduced subject areas and a method of evaluation to illustrate absorption of knowledge, skills and attitudes,” he said, “it is also more sensitive to the current business trends, and has more exit points where the students can receive their certificate after each stage and then seek employment except in stage four.”