In its steadfast commitment of offering digitalised services to its students who are aspiring professional accountants, the Corporate and Strategic Level exams of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) were held online for the first time in the Institute’s 60-year-long history.
Over 1,900 aspiring Chartered Accountants sat for the Corporate and Strategic Level exams which were held this month, while over 400 proctors monitored the students during the exams. Of the total number of students who registered for the online exams, the exam recorded a 90% participation.
CA Sri Lanka organised the online exams as an alternative to the traditional physical exams, which had to be cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the related health regulations.
President of CA Sri Lanka, Mr. Manil Jayesinghe said that the CA Sri Lanka firmly believed in remaining contemporary and adapting with time and technology. “Offering online exams for the convenience of our students was in the pipeline, but COVID-19 fast-tracked its execution.”
Prior to the exams this month, CA Sri Lanka also conducted two mock exams in November to check the feasibility and to give students a hands-on experience of the online exam so that they would have a clear understanding on how to answer papers digitally. Based on the success of the two mock exams, the Institute subsequently decided to conduct the actual Corporate and Strategic Level exams.
Chairman of the CA Sri Lanka Examination Committee, Mr. Tishan Subasinghe said that the Institute took speedy steps to implement a system to offer students the online exams, without further delays. “We made a quick plan which was basically rolled out within just a few weeks, where we designed and developed a system to conduct the exams virtually for our aspiring Chartered Accountants.”
The Corporate & Strategic Level Exams was originally scheduled to be held in June 2020 but were postponed several times on the advice of the Ministry of Health, as physical gathering of a large number of students at examination centres was not permitted.
The online exams were held on 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th December 2020 using the CA Sri Lanka Learning Management System, while also adhering to internationally-stipulated standards.
Under the Corporate Level, a total of 764 students applied for the CL1-Advanced Audit & Assurance subject, while 316 registered for the CL2-Financial Reporting & Governance subject. Another 324 students registered for the CL3-Advanced Management Accounting subject and a further 344 applied for the CL4-Corporate Law subject.
The total number of students who applied for the SL1-Advanced Business Reporting subject under the Strategic Level was 456, while 404 students registered for the SL2-Corporate Finance & Risk Management subject. Another 267 registered for the SL3-Corporate Taxation subject, while 63 students registered for the SL4-Strategic Management & Leadership subject.