The First and Only MBA in Taxation in South Asia
Plans are afoot to enroll taxation officers to the fifth batch ofthe Master of Business Administration degree programme in Taxation (MBAT) of the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM). In fact, it’s another pioneering venture of the pioneer in postgraduate management education. For its initiation an MOU was entered into between the PIM and the Inland Revenue Dept. (IRD) in 2015. Upon expiry after 6 years, a renewal of the said MOU has been signed on Sept.22, 2021, at the IRD, and the two signatories were Dr. Senaka Kelum Gamage, Director, PIM, and Mr. HMWC Bandara, Commissioner General Inland Revenue. Ms. Champa Weerasinghe, Deputy Commissioner General of Inland Revenue and Jayantha Newunhella, Consultant Specialised Programmes have signed as witnesses.
This programme has been structured with the objective of enhancing the managerial and taxation administration competencies of taxation officials, as this move is envisaged to uplift the overall administration of the IRD. Since this degree programmeis inked to the current promotion-scheme of the IRD,the qualification will serve as a means towards the carrier development of the targeted officers.Further, this specialised programme while buttressing the already acquired skills and competencies, will serve as an entry-level qualification to further their academic studies in Taxation. It is, thus, a shot-in-the-arm towards their much-desired career development.
The culmination of the programme is the need to complete a project which involves identifying, analysing as well as developing a study-framework to resolve a tax-related problem, and providing a cost-benefit analysis including recommendations and a plan of action for implementation. Thus, the programme, in toto, is a fine blend of theory and practice of IRD and allied subjects.