CA Sri LANKA-ICAEW partnership enables students to obtain dual membership
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) broke new ground on Monday as it entered into a strategic alliance with one of the most globally respected and prestigious accounting bodies, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
The agreement was signed by CA Sri Lanka President Jagath Perera and ICAEW Executive Director Learning and Professional Development Mark Protherough, at a ceremony held at Galadari Hotel, Colombo, on Monday.
The MOU would allow the aspiring chartered accountants of CA Sri Lanka to simultaneously obtain the membership of the ICAEW at the successful completion of the professional programme.
Perera outlined that the agreement would benefit future chartered accountants to expand their horizons and not be restricted by borders while also helping them strengthen their position across the globe and enjoy better career progression opportunities.
“We must understand that in today’s complex yet globalised world, it is important to continuously develop the profession and its members so that they will continue to enjoy unlimited opportunities not just in our country but also overseas. A unique feature of this agreement is that it will pave the way for greater mobility of our future members without being shackled by boundaries and borders,” he said.
He revealed that CA Sri Lanka is currently working with the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants and CPA Canada to enter into similar agreements to expand opportunities for the country’s charted accountants.
Speaking at the occasion, Protherough highlighted that this was the first instance that the ICAEW has embarked on such an initiative with another national accounting body.
“It’s the first time we have done something like this and if we can make this work, this is something we can do with other institutes as well as around the world but we are starting this unique initiative here in Sri Lanka,” he added.
With the strategic partnership between the two accounting bodies, the students of CA Sri Lanka will have to only complete three subjects of the ICAEW curriculum, instead of three subjects of the CA Sri Lanka curriculum, to obtain the dual membership of both the ICAEW and CA Sri Lanka simultaneously.
The students are required to sit for the Corporate Reporting, Strategic Business Management and Case Study papers of the ICAEW examinations.
Further, the students are also entitled to Credits for Prior Leaning (CPL) on all other papers of the ICAEW without an additional fee.
To kick start this new initiative, CA Sri Lanka also awarded scholarships to high-performing students to take advantage of the new dual membership opportunity.
In addition, CA Sri Lanka also enjoys an agreement with the ICAEW where the existing members of the institute can obtain the Associate Membership from the ICAEW by sitting for the advanced level examination. Alternatively, the CA Sri Lanka members can also benefit from the ICAEW ‘Pathways to Membership route’, where the fully-qualified members of CA Sri Lanka with at least five years of full membership are eligible to apply for direct membership from the ICAEW after completing the examination of experience.