Reflections The official digest of CIMA Sri Lanka Issue 2 | 2020 Contents 1 Foreword 4 Contributing to the global dialogue 6 Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities in 2020 10 Strategic collaborations and flagship events 18 Subcommittee activities 22 Student recruitment activities 28 Student development and progression activities 30 Member services 34 Member recognitions 35 Pathway promotional activities 36 Offers for our students 37 CIMA Sri Lanka Toastmasters Club (TMC) update 38 CIMASS activities in 2020 39 Registered tuition partners 40 Our corporate partners 41 A revolution in professional education 42 The team behind the scenes Foreword It is during challenging times that we show our worth, and I would like to congratulate CIMA® Sri Lanka for the magnificent efforts they have made during 2020 to support our members. Some highlights include the help members volunteered to provide for SMEs as part of an expert panel. In the past few months, they lent their expertise through brief one-on-one sessions to assist businesses during these challenging COVID-19 times. Another is CIMA Sri Lanka’s first virtual career festival, which grabbed attention with its 11 insightful sessions run over seven days. Over 50 teams participated in the Hackathon event and 15 submitted business proposals for the Elevator Pitch session. This was also the year CIMA celebrated 55 years of existence in Sri Lanka. Whilst the lockdowns and the pandemic did not allow us to celebrate this milestone physically, we celebrated the success of our members via social media. The team also helped our new members celebrate via a virtual region-wide Member Recognition event. As an influential global membership body, CIMA, supported by the American Institute of CPAs® and part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants®, strives to represent members to those in positions of power. In November, we hosted an exclusive discussion addressing the key areas of focus pertaining to the 2021 national budget, featuring Hon. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms. Although COVID prevented some activities I would normally take part in person, we ensured that I had the chance to meet members virtually through our Reimagine Recovery Roadshows. During these I have been sharing my vision for how finance professionals can come to the fore and reimagine our economic future so that it benefits more people. I want us all to ask more questions about who is benefiting from what we do and just as importantly, who is not. As more companies start using integrated reporting to show the value they create, it will become increasingly obvious who is building a sustainable business and who is not. The COVID pandemic shone an uncomfortable light on the cracks in the way the world does business, from shaky supply chains to employee rights — or lack thereof. During my year as president, I’m encouraging us all to look at what we can do personally to rebuild our economies to withstand unexpected shocks, with our focus on doing the most good we can while continuing to thrive ourselves. This will be vital in the coming months as we start moving beyond the pandemic into a more prolonged phase of rebuilding and regrouping. The Association has the combined strength and resources of its founding bodies to support members as they occupy pivotal roles in providing the information and solutions to challenges faced by our future economies. I am confident that together we will be a formidable force for good in the post-COVID world. Nick Jackson, FCMA, CGMA President, CIMA 1 Welcome to the latest edition of Reflections! There were many events and activities as 2020 began, with the visit of the CIMA President 2019—20 Amal Ratnayake, FCMA, CGMA. Since the onset of the lockdowns in March, our team began to work from home. To date, we remotely assist our students, exam completes and members and other stakeholders such as our corporate partners. I am grateful to my colleagues who worked behind the scenes to organise CPDs to help you keep up with new skills and take care of your mental well-being. This year, the team worked creatively and collaborated with other professional bodies and entities to bring the best for our students and members. In fact, this year we saw opportunities amidst challenges! For example, our sell-out budget was done virtually, and we added an exclusive event where members can interact with our state minister. CIMA was recognised as one of the quickest organisations to adapt to the pandemic in Sri Lanka. To celebrate our 55th anniversary in Sri Lanka, we launched our very first virtual career festival, which was well-received. Through the Association, we organised ‘Smarter Leadership and Decision Making’ with the Business Leadership Institute USA as well as a CGMA Business Recovery Toolkit event with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. We’ve also celebrated the diversity of our members by profiling them on the CIMA Sri Lanka Facebook page and various collaborative platforms such as LMD and Chokolaate Magazine. We hope to continue these initiatives in 2021, too. Our members also achieved many significant milestones this year, which began with Melanie Kanaka, FCMA, CGMA, becoming the CIMA vice president in June. Then Kasturi C. Wilson, FCMA, CGMA, became the first female CEO of a Sri Lankan conglomerate. Most of which our members also achieved promotions and appointments to influential positions this year — most of which you can read within this edition or see on our CIMA Sri Lanka Facebook page. I’d like to express my sincerest gratitude to our members who have contributed time and effort to our activities. Most of our CPD events have been voluntarily supported by our members, who made many of the activities a success, including the SME Expert Panel. We are greatly thankful to all our registered tuition providers who sprang to action to help our students move into virtual classes and then supported them with remote exams. I would also like to thank Rifka Ziyard, chair of the Network Panel, panel members and all members serving in the various subcommittees for their service to CIMA Sri Lanka. We will continue to have exciting events, CPDs and training opportunities at local and regional levels that will help you thrive in these extraordinary times. Feel free to reach out to me or my team for any clarifications, and we hope you have a wonderful 2021! Zahara Ansary, ACMA, CGMA Country Manager, CIMA Sri Lanka 2 Reflections — The official digest of CIMA Sri Lanka The year 2020 has been one of the most challenging years for most of us. CIMA’s pride lies in the fact that, even in this challenging year, CIMA has successfully adapted to the ‘new normal’ and carried out initiatives contributing immensely to students, members, the profession and the society. It is with great pleasure that I share my thoughts in the second edition of Reflections. The COVID-19 pandemic did dampen our planned events at the start of the year. However, it also gave an opportunity to re-engergise and strategise, allowing us to persistently overcome challenges. This year, CIMA unveiled an abundance of virtual events throughout the year with local and international speakers for upskilling and reskilling of our members, domestic and regional conferences, virtual career fairs, mentoring programmes for CIMA students and exam completes, national budget events and many more. Even all operational meetings for these activities were carried out virtually due to the limitations in mobility post-pandemic. CIMA has celebrated its 55th year in Sri Lanka by portraying agility, digital transformation, adaptability and resilience to stand tall in this challenging year. CIMA students and members had the opportunity to meet the 87th CIMA president, Nick Jackson, at the virtual roadshow especially held for Sri Lanka. The year 2020 is also significant for all Sri Lankans as Melanie Kanaka was elected the CIMA vice president and is the first woman outside the U.K. and Europe to be elected to a global position. My sincere appreciation to members of the Country Network Panel, the members of the CIMA subcommittees, Country Manager Zahara Ansary and the CIMA Sri Lanka office staff for their efforts throughout the year to make 2020 yet another memorable year. I sincerely believe that you would find this edition informative as we ponder the best moments from 2020. I thank everyone who made this edition possible. As the current members of the country network panel bids adieu at the end of 2020 after our three-year term, we look forward as CIMA members to another exciting year where CIMA will continue to deliver excellence. Rifka Ziyard, FCMA, CGMA Chair, CIMA Sri Lanka Network Panel (2020) 3 Contributing to the global dialogue As the country hosting the largest concentration of CIMA students and members, outside the U.K., we are extremely proud to present Sri Lankan CIMA members who are contributing towards the development of the global accounting profession by serving on the CIMA Council, the Board of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and the Association’s Middle East, South Asia and North Africa (MESANA) Regional Advisory Panel. Melanie J. Kanaka, FCMA, CGMA CIMA Vice President Head, Finance and Administration at World Bank (Sri Lanka and Maldives) CIMA Global Council Member, CIMA Professional Standards Committee Chair, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants Board Director Immediate Past Chair, CIMA Professional