ICASL revalidates its position in Sri Lanka

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) once again established its position as the country’s largest tertiary education establishment, outside the university system, recording an impressive student registration of 8000 for the year 2010, securing a phenomenal growth of an active student base of 36,000 students.

 Currently, the institute has almost 4,000 members and nearly 35,000 registered students. Our sister institute, Association of Accounting Technicians has around another 30,000 students.

President of the ICASL, Sujeewa Mudalige, commenting on the impressive registration numbers underscored the importance of the role played by the Chartered Accountant in today’s corporate world.

"As today’s generation of chartered accountants, we have a responsibility to future generations to help shape both our profession and this great Institute, so that those who follow us will benefit in the same way that we do today. And I can still remember very clearly why I decided to train as a Chartered Accountant. It was because I believed that the profession represented the best possible start to a career in business. Our qualification attracts the best and the brightest, and must continue to do so. This year alone we will be registering in excess of 8,000 new students,” he said.  

According to Mudalige, the institute attracts the best students from the Commerce and non-Commerce streams and recruits a very high calibre of students to its institute.

The ICASL syllabus was revised with effect from 2010, in its continuous efforts to keep abreast of changing global patterns and offer its students the best qualification, making the Institute’s qualification on par with globally recognised qualifications in the accountancy sphere. Our training is one of the ingredients that differentiate us from the rest.

The basics of business and ethical values are instilled in our students from the very beginning by virtue of our requirement for practically based training to become a member.

The ICASL curriculum comprises of Certificate in Accounting and Business (CAB), Diploma in Accounting and Business (DAB) and Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA).

The Institute’s has also established fully equipped regional knowledge centres across the country covering Kandy, Matara, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Ratnapura and Jaffna, in its continuous strive towards encouraging students from rural areas to join the Institute and make career headways in the accountancy field.

Chief Executive Officer of the ICASL, Aruna Alwis, emphasised that the diverse spread of the ICASL membership globally demonstrates that the ICASL is indeed in par with any other globally recognised accounting qualification.

He also noted that the institute as a whole commanded wide respect globally and this fact was further cemented when the Institute entered into an agreement recently with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) in its efforts to enhance the accountancy profession and establish closer working relations between the two bodies.

“Furthermore, in our attempt to increase our outreach and encourage more students in the future to register with the ICASL, the Institute is also participating in leading educational fairs in the country. ICASL is also the Gold sponsor at the pioneering higher education and careers exhibition in Sri Lanka, EDEX, scheduled to be held in January 2011,”Alwis added.   

Eligibility for registration at the ICASL requires three passes at the GCE Advanced Level examination.