CIMA qualification adds value to corporate management

BY HIRAN H. Senewiratne

THE Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)- UK has become one of the most sought after professional qualifications in the country.

President CIMA-Sri Lanka, Lalith Fonseka said this new generation qualification always adds value to business entities by helping the management of business to be more effective and efficient in very sector.

CIMA examinations are available here for the past 40 years in Sri Lanka, which is now one of the popular qualifications among the younger generation, for aspired accountants and also business mangers in the country. This qualification focuses essentially on business in the country, he said,

"We are different in many ways and our vision is to be the first choice of employers in their selecting. It also helps management of the business and its curriculum is very broad, which always focuses on adding value to business in many ways," Fonseka said.

The CIMA qualification will definitely help the person to be outstanding in the respective filed, as its qualification is geared to modern day business requirements. It also focuses on the future business trends not so much in the past.

Currently more than 1800 local members and another 2000 members are employed overseas in many organisations. The most important factor is that none of members are unemployed, Fonseka said.

The CIMA President said their main task is to increase the student pass rate. To do that they encourage all local tuition classes to be accredited under the CIMA UK. At present only four such tuition colleges have obtained the UK accreditation to conduct classes in the country.

The CIMA Institute is in the process of reaching out to other regions in the country.

'We need to offer outstation students to be qualified and be members of helping the business entities and the national economy in the long run', he said.

CIMA desk of the institute plays an important task in disseminating information for prospective students in the country.

It also setup regional centres covering major cities including Jaffna, Amparai, Galle, Matara, Negambo, Hambantoata and many more in the country.

However, the Institute has negotiated with several banks i.e.- Sampath Bank and Hatton National Bank to provide student loan facilities.

They have nearly 350 UK accredited training employers that provide employment for CIMA students and this number is to further increase by another 50 before this year.

These accredited employers are some of the leading corporates in the country. Therefore CIMA members and finalists have tremendous opportunities to be employed in the business world, Fonseka said.

This year's theme of the Institute is "adding value to business through technical excellence" and the rationale is that CIMA be the first and foremost professional body in the country.

For the betterment of students, the Student Council will introduce continuing professional development (CPD) programmes to update current members and past finalists.

The Institute will organise a technical conference for members and passed finalists to upgrade their knowledge on areas of financial management, management accounting, ICT and macro economy in line with CPD programme.