Towering heights! ICASL adds 400 m investment to its portfolio

By Cheranka Mendis

National professional accounting body of Sri Lanka, the Institute of Charted Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), yesterday launched work on the construction of a brand new state-of-the-art multi-storey building next to the existing compound yesterday.

The building, which lays an expense of Rs. 400 million on ICASL, will be built on an area of 40,000 sqft and is scheduled to be completed by 20 December 2012.

The 18 month project has been in the institute’s plans for over six years, but was not realised due to unavoidable circumstances. Upon completion, the building will hold six floors exclusive of the ground floor and a roof terrace.

The institute, which has a registered student group of 30,000 and over 4,200 members at present, is set to grow in leaps and bounds along with the growing economy, President of ICASL Sujeewa Mudalige said, adding that the new academic complex, which had been on the cards for years, was finally being realised at an opportune moment. The groundwork started two years back during the presidency of Nishantha Fernando.

“Over the years while the number of students and members grew, the ICASL infrastructure remained constant and stagnated. The new building, which is coming up next door to the current one, aims to benefit students and members for the next 50 years or so.”

Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade Johnston Fernando, who was the Chief Guest at the event, claimed that in the long-term economic plans of transforming Sri Lanka into a multifaceted development hub, ICASL would play a key role in bringing in good governance practices and by introducing skilled experts to take on the future challenges.

Putting forth a request, Fernando asked the ICASL to consider maintaining branches in every district of the country to increase the number of accepted chartered accountants in the market.

“More than university graduates, the qualification received by ICASL is widely accepted in the market as a job-ready qualification. In that sense, it is important to take this to other parts of the country without limiting development to Colombo and the suburbs,” Fernando said.

The value of the qualification is further seen in the fact that 30 per cent of ICASL qualified students emigrate and pursue top notch careers elsewhere, he pointed out. “For a developing Sri Lanka, this is what we are looking for,” he asserted.

“Investors from around the world have told me on numerous occasions that they believe Sri Lanka is the next economic giant. More and more people are showing interest in investing in the country on so many fronts and experts such as those produced by the ICASL are important to help manage and prosper the economy.”

Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera