The highly sought after Chartered Accounting qualification offered by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) was further reinforced after a leading international body recognised the Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification as comparable to a Master’s Degree standard, while the Certified Corporate Accountant (CCA) qualification was recognised as a qualification comparable to a Bachelor’s Degree standard.
UK ENIC (formerly UK NARIC), which is the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills, made the announcement after carrying out an extensive evaluation of the latest CA Sri Lanka curriculum launched in 2020.
As per the independent study, the ACA qualification was categorised under the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 7, which is comparable to a Master’s Degree standard. The two early exit routes of the programme, which are the Certified Corporate Accountant (CCA) qualification, and the Certified Business Accountant (CBA) qualification were also benchmarked in the study. Accordingly, the CCA was comparable to RQF Level 6, which is a Bachelor’s Degree standard, while the CBA qualification was comparable to a Certificate of Higher Education standard, as it was categorised under RQF Level 4.
UK ENIC is managed by Ecctis Limited, which is one of the world’s leading providers of services in the recognition and evaluation of qualifications and skills.
The CA Sri Lanka programme is offered at three ascending levels, and at each level, the student receives a recognised qualification which guarantees employability and a successful career as a finance professional both locally and overseas. Students who follow the CA programme have the option of exiting as an ACA after completing the Strategic Level, which is the final level of the programme, or alternatively, as a CCA after completing the Corporate Level, or as a CBA after completing the Business Level.
Incoming President of CA Sri Lanka, Sanjaya Bandara, said that the benchmarking by the highly respected UK ENIC is further testament to the recognition of the highly sought-after CA qualification.
"For over 60 years, CA Sri Lanka has been producing professionals par excellence, who are in demand not just locally but also overseas. We take immense pride in producing contemporary Accounting Professionals, who are known the world over for their professional integrity, exceptional leadership and perceptive skills, as well as financial discipline and out of the box thinking, which help them add value to even the biggest conglomerates and multinationals," he said.
A key feature of the CA Sri Lanka programme is that aspiring Chartered Accountants can complete the programme within just three years after completing their GCE Advanced Level exam successfully, all while possessing the unique skills, including practical experience, which make them ready to take on the corporate world as fully fledged professionals.
Outgoing President, Manil Jayesinghe, highlighted that the benchmarking of the CA Sri Lanka qualifications is a renewed boost to both the Institute and the Sri Lankan accounting fraternity. "CA Sri Lanka believes in remaining contemporary, which is why we regularly update the curriculum in line with local and global trends, as well as current and future market requirements," he said.
CA Sri Lanka is a world-class professional body and is today recognised as the preferred destination for accounting education in the country, having produced over 7,500 Chartered Accountants, apart from an existing student population of nearly 30,000 who are aspiring Professional Accountants.
The portfolio of CA Sri Lanka qualified Chartered Accountants range from Chairmen, Partners, Managing Directors, Finance Directors, CEOs, CFOs, General Managers, Financial Consultants to Controllers, as well as Senior Finance Managers and Audit Managers, among other high-profile designations.
At present, CA Sri Lanka qualified Chartered Accountants work in almost 40 countries, spanning from Australia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and South Asia.
The previous benchmarking of the CA Sri Lanka qualification was carried out in 2017 by UK NARIC, where the curriculum launched in 2015 was benchmarked with the same outcome.