Assoc. Prof Luckmika Perera Director (Education) – Centre for Integrated Reporting, Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia who delivered the CMA Founder’s Day Oration on 17 June, announced that Prof. Lakshman R Watawala Founder/President Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor Deakin Business School, Department of Accounting, Faculty of Business & Law Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
He further stated that Prof Watawala had made a major contribution to the development of the accounting profession in Sri Lanka as well as South Asia and Deakin University are happy to be associated and to have a strong ongoing relationship with CMA Sri Lanka.
As the Founder of CMA Sri Lanka, it was a fitting tribute to Prof Watawala to receive the Adjunct Professorship at the Founder’s Day Oration.
Since the founding of the CMA Sri Lanka 20 years ago, a number of initiatives have been launched in partnership by the two institutions Deakin University and CMA Sri Lanka.
Speaking on the journey of CMA at the Founder’s Day Oration, Prof. Watawala highlighted the humble beginnings of the institution that was established with many challenges. The commencement of CMA Sri Lanka with the technical assistance of CMA Canada now CPA Canada and the financial assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) had given the strength for him and founding governing council to go ahead with the professional management accounting body, later incorporated by an Act of Parliament getting government recognition and thereafter obtaining the Full Membership of the International Federation of Accountants giving global recognition.
He highlighted that as a professional Management Accounting Body the main aim is to meet the growing demand for professional management accountants in the private and public sectors.
“We strive to provide skilled professionals in the field of strategic management accounting and financial & cost accounting who could contribute to move business organizations forward. Our aim is to develop the skills of both school leavers and university undergraduates as well as those who are employed and provide the business and government sector with capable and progressive managers in the management accounting field, and also to provide a professional management accounting qualification at an affordable price and save valuable foreign exchange going out of the country” he said.
Prof. Watawala, who has held a number of top state positions converting loss making state institutions to profit making in industrial and export state corporations, twice as Chairman & Director General of BOI Sri Lanka and Chairman Peoples Bank pointed out that the institute has grown in strength during the past years. He is a Past President Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, South Asian Federation of Accountants and Founder President AAT Sri Lanka.
He is a proud receiver of the National Honours Sri Lanka Sikhamani conferred for distinguished services of a general nature by the President of Sri Lanka in 2019.
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