ACCA, CBS and ICASL to conduct workshop on IFRS for Accounting Professionals

The International Financial Reporting Standards are being fast adopted by many countries today in order to follow one financial reporting language in the world. In order to cope up with international trends, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka has made a timely decision to converge with IFRS with effect from 1 January 2012.

Recognising the need of the hour, two of the country’s leading accountancy bodies namely the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), are combining their respective strengths together with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to conduct a workshop on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The programme is scheduled for 5 - 9 September, commencing from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and will be held on at the Central Bank Centre for Banking Studies in Rajagiriya.

This workshop is designed to ensure that accounting professionals involved in Financial Reporting, have a good understanding of IFRS and its applications. A number of factors are intertwined in the process towards IFRS compliance from IT systems to data analysis and business managers being made aware of how IFRS will affect decision making.

Therefore the workshop will introduce the concept of IFRS financial statements with extensive references to financial instruments and the relevant accounting methodologies including a comprehensive case study to ensure ability to apply course learnings.

Vandana Saxena Poria from Get Through Guides will be the trainer for this workshop.  Vandana is a fellow member of ACCA and ICAEW and her experience was gained with Ernst & Young and BPP Holdings Plc., UK’s largest listed professional training company.  

Having served as CEO of BPP’s International Division, she moved to India and set up Get Through Guides with a view to provide materials and training of international standards at cost effective prices around the world.  GTG is a Gold Approved tuition provider for both face to face and distance learning for ACCA.  

ICASL Secretary and CEO Aruna Alwis expressing his views on this joint initiative said, “the IFRS seminar series organised in collaboration with ACCA Sri Lanka has always received good feedback.

ICASL has been a leader in driving the impending IFRS convergence and managing the transition that is currently in progress. One of the many initiatives taken by ICASL with the objective of assisting Sri Lankan corporates in handling this challenge is this joint seminar with ACCA Sri Lanka and CBS over the years, ICASL has fostered a strong and mutual relationship with ACCA/CBS and we believe that it will continue to benefit members of both institutes and the accounting profession as a whole.”

ACCA Sri Lanka Country Manager Aruni Rajakarier stated, “This initiative taken by ACCA and ICASL is very vital, because we in Sri Lanka are currently in the process of moving towards a single set of global accounting standards.

As the forces of globalisation prompt more and more countries to open their doors to foreign investment and as businesses themselves expand across borders, both the public and private sectors are increasingly recognising the benefits of having a commonly understood financial reporting framework supported by strong globally accepted standards. However arriving at a uniform set of financial reporting standards globally, is not quite easy as it sounds.

Experience from other countries has shown that this change process needs to be well planned in order to be successful and to reap its benefits.

We believe that it is the role of global accounting bodies such as us to understand and educate our accounting colleagues about the complex subject matters of International Financial Reporting Standards and to take our respective organisations through the journey of implementing them successfully within these organisations.”