BOT BPO

July 04, 2007 (LBO) – Aviva, one of the world's biggest insurance firms, has hired over 300 Sri Lankan accounting and finance professionals into its business process outsourcing unit in Colombo. The professionals were trained on a build and transfer contract between Aviva Global Services (AGS) and Sri Lanka's WNS, a third-party service provider for outsourced businesses.

The new recruits will provide high-end finance and accounting services to AGS' Norwich Union Life, Norwich Union Assurance and Aviva Corporate Finance business units in UK.

"The biggest attraction for us was the large pool of CIMA accountants in Sri Lanka," Alison Wilford, Financial Control Director of Norwich Union Assurance in UK, told reporters.

Next only to the UK, Sri Lanka has the largest pool of professionals who are fully certified or in the process of getting CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) or ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) certifications.

Aviva, the UK's largest insurance company with over 58.8 billion dollars in worldwide sales, and a controlling stake in Sri Lanka Eagle insurance, plans to grow to 7,800 the number of people employed in its BPO offices i