26 September 2022, Colombo, Sri Lanka – The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing American Institute of CPAs (ACIPA) and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants CIMA), recently launched its Leadership Engagement for Aspiring Professionals (LEAP) 2022 programme to future finance leaders in Sri Lanka.
This unique mentoring programme is offered to CIMA’s CGMA Strategic Level and exam complete students. It aims to enhance capabilities and ensure workforce readiness, while providing access to professional networking. Through this programme, mentees will get to complement their technical learning with the practical experience and insights of the mentors.
Selected on 30 August at the Cinnamon Grand Columbo, this year’s edition includes 33 mentees who successfully completed the interview process. They are connected with 11 mentors who are leading business leaders, professionals and entrepreneurs. LEAP gives the mentees the opportunity to have personalised one-on-one sessions with their mentors to identifying their developmental needs and assist in career progression.
LEAP will also cover key hot topic such as challenges in current economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Industry experts are invited to share about technical aspects such as taking Environmental, Societal and Corporate Governance (ESG) into investment considerations, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Cybersecurity trends. And there are people-skill focused sessions on topics such as communication, work-life balance in challenging times, and increasing productivity.
Zahara Ansary FCMA, CGMA, County Manager, Sri Lanka at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA, said: “AICPA & CIMA recognise that the benefits of mentoring go way beyond the mentee’s career development to include personal growth. A good mentor teaches you how to think instead of what to think. I look forward our participants will get most of it from this three-month programme.”
Damith Pallewatte FCMA, CGMA, Chair of the CIMA South Asia Region Committee, said: “LEAP is platform to encourage knowledge and experience sharing. We are glad that business leaders who lead organisations or business enterprises to be our mentors to provide their insight and share their real working experience.”
Thanks to our mentors who contribute to the programme:
Channa de Silva, Chief Executive Officer, LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd.
Shivakrishnarajah Renganathan, FCMA, CGMA, Former Managing Director, Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc and Commercial Bank PLC
Ranil de Saram, FCMA, CGMA, Partner, Ernst & Young
Shea Wickramasinghe, Group Managing Director, Ceylon Biscuits Ltd
Husni Saleih, ACMA, CGMA, Director, Strategic Transformation, MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd
Jeewapadma Sandagomi, Senior General Manager, Enterprise Risk Management, Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd
Shalinka Seresinhe FCMA, CGMA, Chief Financial Officer, Softlogic Supermarkets
Dileepa Mudadeniya, Senior Vice President, Global Alliances and Partnerships
Dilani Katepearachchi, FCMA, CGMA, Vice President - Aitken Spence PLC
Suresh Gooneratne, Director and CFO, Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC
Thimal Perera, Director and Chief Executive Officer, DFCC Bank PLC