SLASSCOM, ACCA hold executive briefing series on ‘Finance Transformation’

The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) together with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants organised an executive briefing series on ‘Finance Transformation’ at the Ivy Room Cinnamon Grand, Colombo recently.

The key note address and the panel discussion focused on the challenges, issues and opportunities in finance transformation through shared services and outsourcing. Key areas covered during the session included different approaches to finance transformation, issues relating to cost, retained function capabilities, client-provider relationships to name a few.

The session presented insights from experts on finance transformation and the use of shared services and outsourcing. The presentation explored current issues, challenges and opportunities, and presented unique perspectives on how successful transformation programmes can be delivered. The session is based on a report developed and produced by ACCA.

The content was created from a series of interviews with shared services and outsourcing experts from across the world. A preoccupation for CFOs in today’s global economy is how they can shape and evolve the optimal finance model to drive business performance. Increasingly, finance and accounting delivery through shared services and outsourcing is playing an important part in optimising the structure of the finance function.

“SLASSCOM has been working with ACCA with the aim of developing the capacity of the BPO industry in Sri Lanka and to leverage the ACCA network to promote Sri Lanka as an outsourcing destination. Sri Lanka is fast emerging as a niche Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO),” said SLASSCOM Chairman Sujiva Dewaraja.

In the last A.T. Kearney’s Global Services Location Index (GSLI) 2011, Sri Lanka is ranked among the top 25.  It also features among the top 30 in the prestigious Gartner ranking. Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital city has been recognised as a global centre of excellence for Finance and Accounting, with Global Services Magazine ranking the city 5th in the world.

Sri Lanka is recognised as a niche centre of excellence for finance and accounting outsourcing with the world’s second largest pool of UK qualified accounting professionals (only second to UK). A survey in Global Services magazine ranked Sri Lanka among the top 20 centres of excellence for FAO in the world. Leading global companies such as WNS, Amba Research, Quattro and HSBC have set up their FAO centres in Sri Lanka.