CA Sri Lanka’s Arjuna Herath to give leadership to South Asian Accounting body

Arjuna Herath, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka ( CA Sri Lanka), has taken over the reins of President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), the apex accounting body of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC).

Mr. Herath, according to a media statement issued by CA Sri Lanka, has vowed to be a catalyst and to create a vibrant economic environment in the SAARC region and to facilitate a transparent, efficient and effective regulatory regime and also to facilitate low cost in doing business.

He assumed office as the 31st President of SAFA recently at a ceremony held in Bengaluru, India, during the 38th SAFA Board Meeting and 80th Assembly Meeting. SAFA consists of over 300,000 accountants and over one million students who are aspiring accountants.

"There is no doubt that this is a very significant regional grouping of professional accountants. Each of our member bodies plays a pivotal role in each of our countries in relation to accounting and finance and in policy making relating to these areas and therefore is a significant catalyst in economic development in each of these countries,” Mr. Herath said.

He emphasised that the nine member bodies of SAFA representing five countries in the region, must endeavour to create a synergy within the accounting professionals across the SAARC region to provide for increased capacity and strength for each individual member body to further their role in their respective countries.

“Through regional cooperation we will be able to facilitate a free flow of capital, sound and fair tax regimes and better skilled work force with flexible labour laws,” the new SAFA President said.

Apart from his current positions as President of CA Sri Lanka and SAFA, Mr. Herath also holds several high profile positions in Sri Lanka as well as overseas. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Confederation of Asia Pacific Accountants ( CAPA), and a Member of the Professional Accountancy Organisation Development Committee of the International Federation of Accountants ( IFAC). He is a Partner and Head of Advisory Services, Ernst & Young - Sri Lanka and Maldives and is also a Commission Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC) in Sri Lanka.