26th National CA Students’ Conference on 4 April

The 26th CA Students’ National Conference organised by the Practicing Accountants Chartered Students’ Society (PACSS), the student body of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), will be held on 4 April at the Hotel Galadari – Grand Ballroom.

This year’s conference will focus on the theme ‘Dream… Focus… Excel…’ which will explore the opportunities and challenges facing the budding chartered accountants in the present business landscape.
Softlogic Holdings PLC is the platinum sponsor of the conference which is expected to attract over 800 participants.
 The National Development Bank PLC and Peoples’ Leasing Company PLC have joined as gold and silver sponsors, respectively.  The bronze sponsors are the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and MAS Intimates.LR Global Lanka Asset Management Company Ltd. Group Managing Director Channa De Silva will grace the occasion as the keynote speaker, where Partner of KPMG Ford, Rhodes, Thornton and Co. Suren Rajakarier; Lanka Tiles Managing Director Mahendra Jayasekara, Carson Cumberbatch Director Suresh Shah, People’s Leasing CEO D.P Kumarage, Aitken Spence Group Chief Financial Officer Nilanthi Sivapragasam and ICAEW Head of New Business Opportunities
Justin West will also shed light to the panel discussion which will deliberate on the employer’s perspective of a chartered accountant: bridging the expectations gap. 
Corporate Trainer and HRD Consultant Dananjaya Hettiarachchi and Splendor Media Ltd. CEO Govinda Tidball will also share insights on power of communication and dress sense, respectively.  Additionally, the conference will feature a students’ panel discussion which will be a platform to exchange students’ views on the professional demands made on them. The final round of the annual CA Students’ quiz competition is another highlight of the conference agenda.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka has a mammoth student base of nearly 37,000 which consists students from every conceivable part of the country, including the North and East. The conference, which is one of the most looked forward to events in CA students’ calendar. The conference is also expected to attract over 40 foreign student delegates from Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh under the South Asian Federation of Accountant’s (SAFA) student exchange program.