The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) which has been dubbed the preferred destination for accounting education in the country, continued to play a catalyst role by producing highly skilled accounting professionals at different levels.
The Certified Corporate Accountant (CCA) & Certified Business Accountant (CBA) Faculty of CA Sri Lanka recently organised a convocation where 66 new Certified Business Accountants were conferred with their new qualification at the BMICH. The convocation was graced by Prof. Ren Yi, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) of the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, Mr. Sanjaya Bandara, President of CA Sri Lanka, Mr. Heshana Kuruppu, Vice President of CA Sri Lanka, and Ms. Dulani Fernando, Chief Executive Officer of CA Sri Lanka.
The Certified Business Accountant is a mid-level qualification and an early exit route of the globally recognised Chartered Accounting qualification offered by CA Sri Lanka.
The three qualifications offered through the CA Sri Lanka programme are ACA (Associate Chartered Accountant), CCA (Certified Corporate Accountant) and CBA (Certified Business Accountant). While ACA is the benchmark qualification, CCA and CBA qualifications are offered for students who choose to exit early from the programme to pursue a successful mid-career in accounting and finance.
A qualified CBA is equipped with versatile skills to serve in the SME sector (companies with a turnover of less than LKR 500 million) and possesses the necessary acumen to take on the responsibility for the finance function of such organisations and fill mid-level positions in larger organisations and listed companies.
A CCA has the skills to serve as an accountant in a mid-to-large organisation with a turnover of more than LKR 500 million. A CCA can also take on the responsibility for the finance function of these organisations and fill mid-level positions in larger and more complex organisations, while an ACA possesses the skills and competence to take on the roles of CFO and or even CEO in a range of organisations including top corporates and conglomerates.
To become a CBA, a student must pass all Business Level I and II exams, as well as complete one year of training along with the English and IT modules, while to become a CCA, a student must pass all Business Level and Corporate Level exams, and complete two years of training and the English and IT modules under the Corporate Level.
Students who wish to obtain the benchmark ACA qualification offered by CA Sri Lanka must complete the exams under the Business, Corporate, and Strategic Levels plus three years of training as well as the English and IT modules.
As per the UK European National Information Center (UK ENIC), which is the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills, which recently carried out an independent evaluation of the three qualifications offered by CA Sri Lanka, the ACA qualification is comparable to a master’s degree standard, while the CCA is comparable to a bachelor’s degree standard, and the CBA is comparable to a certificate of higher education standard.
CA Sri Lanka’s qualified professionals are synonymous with success, and students who follow the professional accounting qualifications offered by CA Sri Lanka have a unique advantage of earning three reputed accounting qualification within the country but enjoying success locally and event overseas.
Further, due to the recognition CA Sri Lanka qualifications command across the globe, students who obtain the CBA, CCA and Chartered Accounting qualifications can enjoy enhanced global mobility, thereby successfully seeking employment in any part of the world. Currently, over 30% of CA Sri Lanka members alone serve overseas across all continents, spanning the US, Europe, UK, Middle East, Australia, South East Asia, South Asia and Africa.
Apart from being recognised by the public and private sectors, an impressive per cent of CBAs already working overseas holding successful mid-level finance and accounting positions across many countries.