CA Sri Lanka, University of Jaffna join hands to strengthen accounting education

Tuesday, 17 December 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) and the Department of Accounting of the University of Jaffna entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently which aims to develop and strengthen the accounting education and the profession across Sri Lanka. The MoU which was signed between CA Sri Lanka President Sujeewa Rajapakse and University of Jaffna Vice Chancellor V. Arasaratnam will permit the institute and the university to share resources and knowledge. The CA Sri Lanka President, speaking at the signing ceremony emphasised that the MoU will help strengthen the relationship between the academic and professional institutions by sharing resources, knowledge and most importantly enhancing the accountancy knowledge, which will in turn help produce fully fledged professionals to help steer Sri Lanka. Collaboration is important “Collaboration is important if we are to witness success in the future and therefore partnerships between professionals and academia is crucial for the betterment of our country,” Rajapakse said. He noted that as the national body of accountants, CA Sri Lanka took it upon its responsibility to propagate the importance of possessing a recognised qualification to the youth in Sri Lanka for their future success. “Therefore, over the years, equal attention has been given to Jaffna and the Northern Province in helping produce qualified accountants both to Sri Lanka and the world, and I am very delighted to disclose that since the end of the war, we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of students who have registered for our program from the North,” Rajapakse said. He added that the MoU will play an important role in helping further propagate the importance of the CA Sri Lanka qualification to students in Jaffna and the entire north. Following the MoU, CA Sri Lanka will offer scholarships for the university’s undergraduates to follow the CA Sri Lanka program, a CA Sri Lanka sponsored special award for the most outstanding student of financial accounting from the university apart from a range of exemptions for students to follow the CA Sri Lanka program. The agreement will also allow: Lecturers of the university to participate in seminars, workshops and conferences conducted by CA Sri Lanka; Jointly conduct research relating to accounting topics; Jointly revise the curriculum of the course units and introduce changes as and when appropriate and last but definitely not least; CA Sri Lanka will assist undergraduates of the university to obtain practical training in Business organisations, Audit Firms and State Corporation Sectors. CA Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer Aruna Alwis said, in recent years the institute has entered into a number of agreements with leading national universities in Sri Lanka, among them are the universities of Sri Jayawardenapura and Kelaniya, in its continuing efforts to enhance the accounting profession in the country. He added that the MoU will immensely benefit both CA Sri Lanka and the University of Jaffna, but most importantly special focus has been paid to the students of the University of Jaffna on how they can further develop.