ACCA significant contributor to knowledge economy: MoHE Secretary

Monday, 14 October 2013 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The annual prizewinners’ ceremony of ACCA Sri Lanka at which ACCA recognises those who have achieved the highest pass marks in Sri Lanka, had nearly thirty such high achieving students in addition to nearly sixty affiliates being felicitated recently. With ACCA continually maintaining pass rates well above the global average, among these high achievers was the World’s No. 1 ranked affiliate ranked for June 2013, Roshenka Madanayake and the top affiliate for December 2012 Yashinthinie Kandasamy, ranked 70th in the world.

Chief Guest, ACCA CEO Helen Brand OBE while congratulating each prizewinner and affiliate, reiterated that the ACCA qualification is designed to be more relevant to the world of work on a global stage. “One of the best innovations has been the ethics and professionalism module designed to ensure a comprehensive understanding of a wide range of scenarios that could place a practicing finance professional in an ethical dilemma,” she expanded, adding that it asks the vital question, “am I doing the right thing; does the decision I’m about to make put me and my employer in a difficult situation?” Agreeing that ACCA is one of the country’s foremost global accounting bodies, Guest of Honour, Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne stated that ACCA contributes substantially to Sri Lanka’s knowledge economy. “A primary means by which Sri Lanka can be transformed to attain success is the utilisation of resources within the economy in a result oriented manner. These new entrepreneurial accountants can make a substantial contribution in this instance infusing greater revenue to the country through their meticulous planning to optimise and utilise the right resources to the right requirements,” Nawaratne said. Congratulating the high achievers, he urged them to take advantage of Sri Lanka’s emerging status in Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO), possessing the world’s second largest pool of management accountants. “The availability of a large pool of skilled finance and accounting professionals makes FAO one of the most logical niche competences to continue to build capacity. Given the country’s recognition as a service hub for financial services outsourcing globally, I see immense potential for young people and the country,” he added. In this professional accountancy body holding a membership of over 162,000 around the world, Brand disclosed the findings of a survey covering 35 countries in which over 90% of business leaders and employers of professional accountants believed that ACCA is a world class organisation and a respected brand. Nearly 80% agreed that ACCA would help grow their business by providing accountants with the skills and capabilities required. “This showcases that ACCA continues on its path of excellence and remaining at the top with the qualification being highly attractive to aspiring professionals around the world. Our brand positioning overall is also strong as we also found that 59% denote ACCA as a global leader in the profession, ahead of the next most mentioned international body which gained just 12%,” she explained. Adding value to this sentiment, ACCA Sri Lanka President Rajiv Casie Chitty asserted that the ACCA priority of delivering value to businesses and society, where ACCA’s core values of accountability and integrity are inherent within the fundamentals of the qualification are well aligned to the country’s development plans. “Being a globally relevant qualification, ACCA members hold some of the most leading positions in many blue chip and global organisations, earning themselves a reputation of spearheading much positive change in the organisations they work for.” Addressing the affiliates and prizewinners, he said: “We expect all of you to uphold the highest ethical standards in all your professional activities, which is one of the key pillars upon which the ACCA Qualification is founded upon.”