The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) announced the collaboration and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to equip local businesses and entrepreneurs in all regions of the country with the requisite financial skills to run their businesses as well as pave the way for students across Sri Lanka to gain opportunities for global careers in finance. 

ACCA having been established as an all-embracing representative for accounting professionals from different social backgrounds, has NCCSL sharing similar core values in continuously encouraging inclusivity, diversity and social integration across businesses.

The MOU was officially signed between Ms. Nilusha Ranasinghe, Head of South Asia Cluster, ACCA and Mr.Deepal Nelson, Senior Deputy Vice President of The National Chamber of Commerce, with Mr. Nandika Buddhipala – President of The National Chamber of Commerce and  Chairman of the Member Network Panel of ACCA Sri Lanka, in attendance.

Through this MOU, ACCA and NCCSL will primarily promote their mutual co-operation for the advancement of the accountancy professions in the country by working together in a variety of areas. These include providing access to ACCA professional development and learning resources by engaging in learning and development initiatives such as competencies and skill building though joint partnership programs that support the training and development of students across all regions of the country to give them the access to study for a global accountancy qualification. Both parties will collectively work on preparing students for successful careers in accountancy and finance, as well as enhance their employability through capacity building initiatives.

Furthermore, ACCA with the support from NCCSL will work together to publish research findings translated in local languages; Tamil and Sinhala, and encourage discussions and connections among the local entrepreneurs at corporate level as well as developing skills and granting research insights to SMEs. Both parties will also work together to share with their respective knowledge and expertise with options explored on co-branded research projects, policy development and co-hosted events. These will leverage the diverse and complementary know-how of their networks to drive inclusive growth and opportunities for both students and SME’s.

“ACCA emphasizes its ultimate intention to create sustainable economies, flourishing societies, and an inclusive profession for people with all backgrounds. NCCSL saw a mutual co-operation to be extremely complementary to each other, to have this kind of collaboration with an association of this nature”, said Nandika Buddhipala, President of NCCSL and Chairman of the Member Network Panel of ACCA Sri Lanka.

He added “ACCA’s objectives complement NCCSL’s vision highlighting the development of micro, small and medium enterprises in Sri Lanka, and their values. About 50% of GDP and a significant rate of employment is generated through SMEs that face distinct challenges such as finding markets, lack of skills and building capital. The collaboration with ACCA is part of NCCSL’s downward integration that interacts with regional chambers and communities to encourage local entrepreneurs by finding opportunities, market place, improving skills, and providing the understanding to build a business taking into account the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) background.”

Ms. Nilusha Ranasinghe, Head of South Asia Cluster, ACCA said “This is a critical moment for both students and businesses across the world – in particular for SMEs. Thus, creating a meaningful collaboration with NCCSL taking over the technical aspect and ACCA providing the resources and research insights and the expertise in financial skill building, we wanted to give SME’s the support they required during this crisis by showcasing to them how they can manage their businesses profitably. In addition, we wanted to offer the opportunity and access to our qualification to students in every region of the country and the National chamber of commerce with their expertise in the SME market and their reach across the furtherest regions of the country is an ideal match to fulfill these goals.”

This is a part of ACCA’s initiative to ensure SMEs have access to professional financial advice, to help them work towards a swift recovery for their businesses through the crisis, whilst building globally qualified finance talent in all region of the country.

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Photo Caption - The teams from ACCA and NCCSL at the signing