(01) වේතන හා වැටුප් / Salaries and Wages
(02) විගණනය, ගිණුම්කරණය, ගණකාධිකරණය හා වයුචින් (Vouching)
(03) Copy cat (O/L)
Sunday, January 1, 2023
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
B.S. (2018)
Accounting and Finance
(01) Future of the Financial Statements
මුල්‍ය ප්‍රකාශන වල අනාගත පරිණාමය (ලියාපදිංචි සි / ස පොදු සමාගම් වල මුල්‍ය ප්‍රකාශන ඇතුළත්)
(02) ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වර්තමාන වාර්ෂික වාර්තාවල විකාශනය හා අනාගත ප්‍රවණතා
Present context and evolution of Annual Reports in listed public limited companies of Sri Lanka and future trends
(03) BMYM : The four steps in Action
ව්‍යාපරික කළමනාකරණ මනස : පියවර හතරෙහි භාවිතය හා ප්‍රයෝජන
(04) CAKE THEORY : ??????
භාෂාමය තිරිංගය හා "කේක්" මොඩලය
(05) උගතුන්ගේ "කාටලය" / "Cartel" of the educated
- The new business in academic and fiction literature.
- Communist literature is a very lucrative "niche" in the Sri Lankan literature industry.
- Oligopoly of Sri Lankan literature.
(06) Is the free education system of Sri Lanka being dismantled by its own products?
ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපන ක්‍රමයේ පාවාදීම.
(07) වර්තමාන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සමාජවාදයේ හා කොමියුනිස්ට්වාදයේ මුලික දෝෂ (2017)
(i) අතිතකාමය
(ii) දේශීය සමාජවාදීන්ගේ කණ්ඩනය
(iii) සමාජවාදී පර්යේෂණවල දරිද්‍රතාවය (මහා පීටර් රජතුමා / ආදිවාසීන්)
(iv) අප්‍රායෝගික චින්තනය : නිරුපණයට සීමා වීම. [ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වයේ මද බව]
(v) තුන්වෙන බලවේගයක් ලෙස නිරුපණයට සීමා වීම.
(vi) විසදුමක් නැත.
(vii) අධික අලෙවිකරණය හා මද ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වය
(07) Current problems and issues of the socialist and communist parties of Sri Lanka
(08) සාහිත්‍යවේදය හා මාධ්‍යවේදය ( Literature and Media)
(09) Political man and business man (දේශපඥයයා සහ ව්‍යාපාරිකයා)
(10) ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පෞද්ගලික අධ්‍යාපනය හා එහි දැක්ම (Vision of Sri Lankan Private education and its relevance)
2017 - Articles not published
(01) Qualifications Vs Experience
(02) Road to being a graduate
(03) Why do I think the business world needs the cake theory?
(04) TMA (Too Much Activity): Flawed by human nature
(05) Finding my potential: Struggling Accountant / Auditor
(06) Depression Era : 3 years of failure
Friday, October 23, 2020
Road so far..... (IBSL : IABF [Institute of Bankers - Sri Lanka : Intermediate in Applied Banking and Finance])
The beginning of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) can be described as follows with their objectives listed.
The IBSL was first established in 1964 in the name of Bankers' Training Institute (Ceylon) by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and re-incorporated in 1979 by an Act of Parliament, Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (Incorporation) Act No. 26 of 1979. The IBSL, as a professional body, discharges four primary mandates according to the act.
1) To provide instruction and training for employees of banking institutions and employees of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in the study of the theory and practice of banking and of related subjects and for such purpose to provide all facilities including lectures, discussions and library facilities;
2) To conduct examinations and to issue certificates to those who are successful in such examinations;
3) To facilitate and encourage discussions on matters of interest to bankers; and
4) To take such measures as may be desirable to further the interest of banking.
The IBSL also received the approval of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to include the word "Bankers, Banking and Finance" to incorporate the names of the IBSL.
The Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) offers two stages of professional exams to banking students.
01) Intermediate in Applied Banking and Finance (IABF)
02) Diploma in Applied Banking and Finance (DABF)
I was able to complete IABF at IBSL in 2017 starting from 2015.
All subjects relevant for IBSL - IABF is shared below in the given image.
The results or examination gradings can be shared below in the given image.
I completed the following subjects with the below results.
(01) Survey of financial system - S
(02) Commercial Banking - S
(03) Business Accounting - S
(04) Introduction to Banking and financial law - C
(05) Principles of economics - S
(06) Financial Clients Management - A
The road to being a part-qualified banking student has been tough but commendable since it was achieved even with marginal success rates.
The inception of this program was when I joined Sampath Bank PLC for a six-month internship in 2015.
I was able to complete the qualification in 2017.
It is a great and a compulsory qualification if you are willing to be a banker in the long run.
During the completion of IABF, I was an accountant in training and many of the theories discussed in the course were invalid to me but for learning purposes I completed them.
I passed "Principles of Economics" in 2015 September.
The theories and relevant modules included in the relevant subject area are,
01. Basic Economic Concepts
01.01. What is the basic economic problem?
Scarcity
01.02. Resources / Factors of Production (FOP)
Land
Labour
Capital
Entrepreneurship
01.03. Economic activities
Using FOP in the production of goods and services.
01.04. Types of economic analysis
01.04.01. Positive and normative
01.04.02. Short-run and long-run
01.04.03. Static and comparative static
01.04.04. Static and dynamic
01.05. Two (02) divisions of the subject of economics
01.05.01. Microeconomics
01.05.02. Macroeconomics
01.06. Production Possibility Curve (PPC)
01.07. Sectors, Markets, and Activities
4 Sectors
(i) Households
(ii) Governments
(iii) Business
(iv) Foreign
3 Markets
(i) Global
(ii) Labour (factor)
(iii) Financial
5 Activities
(i) Production
(ii) Consumption
(iii) Investment
(iv) Imports
(v) Exports
02. Demand, Supply, and the market
03. The effect of price and income and demand quantities
04. Macroeconomic perspective
05. An algebraic solution to the economic level of income
06. The everything you wanted to know in the budget and the budgetary policy.
I was taught these modules at the College of Banking and Finance in Maradana. Now the IBSL is located in a new location in Borella.
This module was taught to me by Mr. D. Wasantha of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) at the institution.
It was for the exam in 2015 September.
"Commercial banking" and "Introduction to Banking and Financial Law" was passed in 2016 March.
I used past papers to complete the modules relevant to the exam and also attended the "College of Banking and Finance" lectures at Maradana under Mr. P. Srikanth for "Commercial banking".
The subjects of the "Commercial Banking" subject include as following.
01. Evolution of Banking - Introduction
- Goldsmith
- Gold Standard
- Banknotes
- Commercial banking in Sri Lanka
02. Banking business lines
02.01. Fund-based activities
02.01.01. Fund-based liability products
Deposits
- Current
- Savings
- Term / Fixed
- Foreign currency accounts
02.01.02. Fund-based asset products
Loan facilities (Short, Medium and Long-term)
- Overdrafts
- Pledge
- Trade finance
- Project loans
- Credit cards
02.02. Fee-based activities
- Investments
- Short term and long term
- Commitments and contingent
- Foreign currency transactions
- Advisory services
03. Authorised dealers and foreign currency operations
- Non-resident and resident
- Foreign currency business accounts
- Foreign currency loans
- Buying and selling foreign currency (Cash/Tom/Spot and Forward)
- Foreign currency remittances
- NOSTRO / VOSTRO accounts
04. Banking Business Model
- Personal
- Transactional
- Retail
- Corporate
- International / Offshore
- Islamic
- Universal
05. Delivery Channels
- Branches / Outlets
- ATM's
- Internet Banking / E-banking
- Mobile banking
- SMS banking
- Tele banking
06. Bank management - stability / Operational Soundness
- Quality of Assets / Non-performing loans / Impairment
- Liquidity
- Profitability
- Solvency of minimum capital requirements
- Capital Adequacy
- Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of a bank
07. Risk Management
- Credit Risk: Policies, limits, Concentration
- Liquidity Risk - ALCO / Liquid assets
- Market Risk
- Operational Risk - Internal Controls
- Strategic Risk - Business Continuity Plans
08. Banking Prudential Regulation and Supervision
09. Recent Banking sector trends and performance in Sri Lanka
10. Global Banking trends, issues and impact from global financial crises
I used past papers to complete the modules relevant to the exam and also attended the "College of Banking and Finance" lectures under Mr. K. G. B. Sirikumara of Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) for "Introduction of Banking and Financial Law".
The structure of the relevant subject includes as follows.
01. Introduction
02. Bills of Exchange
03. Electronic banking
04. Lending and securities
05. Financial Intelligence
In 2016 September I completed, "Business Accounting" which has the following sub-topics.
01. Introduction to Accounting
02. Accounting principles
03. Daybooks/journals
04. Accounting Errors and Suspense Accounts / Control Accounts
05. Bank Reconciliation Statements
06. Period end adjustments
07. Depreciation / Disposal of fixed assets/preparation of final accounts
08. Presentation of financial statements - LKAS 01
09. Partnership accounts
10. Introduction to company accounts
11. Preparation of final accounts of companies
12. Accounting for tangible Non-Current Assets - 01
13. Accounting for tangible Non-Current Assets - 02
14. Statements of Cashflows
15. Accounting for leases - LKAS 17
16. Accounting for taxation - LKAS 12
17. Financial Instruments - LKAS 39
18. Impairment of Assets - LKAS 36
19. Statutory requirements applicable to banks
20. Financial Statements of banks
I used past papers to complete the modules relevant to the exam and also attended the "College of Banking and Finance" lectures under Mr. Prasanna Indrajith of Commercial Bank of Ceylon (Assistant General Manager - Finance) for "Business Accounting".
And also a personal tutor was there to help me during my studies. Mr. Chandana Prasad is the tutor who personally helped me in passing this exam related to accounting.
In 2017 March I completed the "Survey of Financial System" subject.
I used past papers to complete the modules relevant to the exam and also referred to some study texts purchased from the "College of Banking and Finance".
Theories and sub-topics of the relevant "Survey of Financial System" module are as follows.
(i) Economy and the role of the financial system.
(ii) Money
(ii.i) Evolution of money
(ii.ii) Functions of money
(ii.iii) Printing of money
(ii.iv) Demand for money and supply
(iii) The payments and settlements in the financial system.
(iii.i) Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System (SLIPS)
(iii.ii) Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS)
(iii.iii) Cheque Imaging and Truncation Systems (CITS)
(iii.iv) SWIFT and Western Union [Society for Interbank Financial Telecommunication]
(iv) Financial market, it's financial products and securities
(iv.i) Deposits
(iv.ii) Company shares
(iv.iii) Treasury bonds
(iv.iv) Re-po and reverse re-po
(iv.v) Foreign currency
(iv.vi) Unit trust
(iv.vii) Venture capital entities
(v) Financial Institutions
(v.i) Central Bank of Sri Lanka
(v.ii) Financial Intermediaries
(v.ii.i) Licensed Commercial Banks
(v.ii.ii) Licensed Finance Companies
(v.ii.iii) Licensed Leasing Companies
(v.iii) Financial Service Providers
(v.iii.i) Licensed Investment Banks
(v.iii.ii) Fund Management Companies
(v.iii.iii) Money exchangers
(v.iii.iv) Brockers
(vi) Stability of the financial system
(vi. i) Financial Crises
(vi.i.i) Banks
(vi.i.ii) Market and credit crises
(vi. ii) Asian Financial Crises and other recent global financial crises
(vi.ii.i) Nature of the financial crises
(vi.ii.ii) Reasons for the financial crises
(vi.ii.iii) Impacts and solutions of financial crises
(vi.iii) Important financial institutions of the financial system
(vi.iv) Risk and uncertainty management of the financial system
In 2017 September I passed IABF completing 'Financial Clients Management' (FCM).
I used past papers to complete the modules relevant to the exam and also referred to some study texts purchased from the "College of Banking and Finance".
(i) Types of financial clients
(i.i) Depositors
(i.ii) Financial Creditors
(i.iii) Investors
(i.iv) Clients related to fee based services
(i.v) Risk appetite of clients and liability to banks and financial institutions
(ii) Management of trust of financial clients
(ii.i) Privacy of the client information and the importance of the financial system stability
(ii.ii) Independence and selection of competitive markets
(ii. iii) Building and maintaining client relationships
(ii. iv) Specialized transactional financial Services (Over the counter financial services)
(ii. v) Open public financial services
(iii) Marketing of financial products
(iii.i) Concepts of marketing
(iii.ii) Introduction to marketing - 7p's
(iii.iii) Marketing plan
(iii.iv) Marketing methods
(iii.v) Market surveys
(iv) Use of Human Resource Management to provide productive financial services
(v) Customer protection and relevant procedures, practices, and laws.
These 6 subjects were passed and I qualified this part banking qualification in order to fulfill my personal goal attainment.
It took me 2 years [2015 September to 2017 September] to become a fully qualified IABF certified student.
It was a personal goal and it allowed me to learn several aspects of banking as well as the world of business.
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Road so far...... (MAAT [ Member of Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka ])
AAT SL or Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka can be identified as follows,
AATSL was established in Dec. 1987 on the model of the AAT (UK).
AATSL is a non-profit organization.
AAT (UK) had been formed in 1980 by the merger of two earlier existing bodies in U.K., namely Association for Accounting Technicians of Finance & Accounting (ATFA) and Institute of Accounting Staff (IAS).
Subsequently, AAT Ireland (called Institute of Accounting Technicians Ireland) was formed in April 1983.
Afterward, AATs have been established in Pakistan (now called Institute of Public Service Accountants-Pakistan), in Malaysia (now called Association of Accounting Administrators-Malaysia), in Singapore, and in New Zealand (called College of Accounting Technicians-New Zealand ).
The master plan for Accountancy Education in Sri Lanka prepared by the ADB Inception Misson in 1986, emphasized the need for the Technician Level Accounting Personnel.
Subsequently, AAT Ireland (called Institute of Accounting Technicians Ireland) was formed in April 1983.
Afterward, AATs have been established in Pakistan (now called Institute of Public Service Accountants-Pakistan), in Malaysia (now called Association of Accounting Administrators-Malaysia), in Singapore, and in New Zealand (called College of Accounting Technicians-New Zealand ).
The master plan for Accountancy Education in Sri Lanka prepared by the ADB Inception Misson in 1986, emphasized the need for the Technician Level Accounting Personnel.
The Mission Report forecast the Island’s requirement of Accounting Technicians at 12,000 by the year 2000.
AATSL since 1987 has been able to produce 15,473 Passed Finalists up to Dec. 2009. Still, there is a great potential for Accounting Technicians which has increased immensely with the expanding economy, and now with the new global village concept.
Accounting Technicians are Middle-Level Professional Accountants immediately after obtaining the Associate Membership (MAAT). However, by gaining experience in the field of Accountancy, they can reach to Senior Technician Level (SAT) and Fellow Technician Level (FMAAT), which are considered as well-groomed Professional Accountants. One can add more value and recognition to this qualification by gaining qualifications in other Professional Accountancy bodies.
AATSL since 1987 has been able to produce 15,473 Passed Finalists up to Dec. 2009. Still, there is a great potential for Accounting Technicians which has increased immensely with the expanding economy, and now with the new global village concept.
Accounting Technicians are Middle-Level Professional Accountants immediately after obtaining the Associate Membership (MAAT). However, by gaining experience in the field of Accountancy, they can reach to Senior Technician Level (SAT) and Fellow Technician Level (FMAAT), which are considered as well-groomed Professional Accountants. One can add more value and recognition to this qualification by gaining qualifications in other Professional Accountancy bodies.
I am Dimantha Polwatte.
I am sharing my personal experiences in achieving academic and professional milestones in my life in this blog.
The above link shares the following titles of my objective attainment.
This title will discuss me being a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka.
The year 2017 have a significant amount of qualification achievements in my academic life as accounting, finance, and a management student.
I have achieved many of my basic level qualifications but it is questionable the relevant achievements may boost my career performance due to the inherent factors like my age, the amount of knowledge and practical implementation of my skills because they may vary with reference to the current Sri Lankan job market and industry competition.
I started studying in the commerce stream for my General Certificate of Education (G.C.E.) Advanced Level (A/L) exams in 2008 in Royal College, Colombo.
In the commerce stream, I had to study for 3 subjects mainly Business Studies, Economics, and Accounting.
And also 3 other additional subjects. [Common General Test, General Information Technology (GIT) and General English]
Since my father is an experienced accountant in the Sri Lankan private sector and public sector he suggested me and my elder brother Avantha Polwatte to study to be a passed finalist in the Association of Accounting Technicians - Sri Lanka (AATSL) and we agreed during the same period of doing G.C.E. A/L.
And many students who are parallel to my Advanced Level (A/L) 2010 batch who studied at school also did AATSL examinations due it's linked to the syllabus in G.C.E. A/L commerce stream.
I joined Gampaha JMC (Jayasekara Management Center) for additional classes in October 2008 and was able to sit for AATSL foundation in March 2009 I was able to get it through the foundation level.
(Syllabuses have changed now)
Subjects of the foundation level include,
(01) Basic Financial Accounting
(02) Business Mathematics and Statistics
(03) Economics
(04) Commerce
And in August 2009 I was able to complete AAT(SL) Intermediate level. (Syllabuses have changed now)
Subjects of the intermediate level include,
(01) Accounting and principles of auditing
(02) MIS (Management Information Systems) and IT (Information Technology) applications
(03) Business Law and Management
(04) Business Communication - I
After completing the AATSL foundation and intermediary level many students tend not to complete the qualification completely because they can focus more on G.C.E. A/L exams.
Unfortunately for me my father thought otherwise and wanted me to attempt for the final level as well in the same year. (2009) I attempted all the 5 subjects using self-studying techniques and also with the help of a personal tutor to help me with the subjects.
I was able to get through Business Communication - II (English) in December 2009 but failed in all the other subjects.
Then I fully focused on G.C.E. A/L which was meant to be examined in August 2010. After that examination, I again attempted the final level in December 2010 where I was able to complete the "Management Accounting" and "Advanced Level Accounting" subject.
And then I took the leftover three (03) subjects seriously by attending IAS (Institute of Accounting Studies) at Colombo, Wellawatte.
I completed the final level passing all the subjects in July 2011.
Subjects of the final level include,
(01) Business Communication - II (English)
(02) Management Accounting and Business Finance
(03) Taxation
(04) Advanced Financial Accounting
(05) Auditing
This was when I have received my G.C.E. A/L results and was attending the Royal Institute, Colombo to study law.
I was marginally being disqualified to attend a Sri Lankan University in the Western Province and I personally never wanted to leave home while doing my higher studies. Therefore I did not apply for long distance universities.
This period was the inception of my depression era where many of my personal and my academic failures started to begin. My depression came in 2011 and 2012 based on the dislike to the field of law as a professional field to study to start a career.
But prior to my depression, I managed to complete AATSL as a passed finalist.
My struggles, failures, and tactics to overcome these in the depression era will be discussed in a separate article.
I was able to attend the convocation for the 'passed finalists' on the 15th of November 2011.
After that, I was under a lot of depression personally due to many factors that I will not discuss in this article.
In 2013 I again shifted my career to my core interest in business management, accounting, and finance. I started doing an external private business management degree from University College of Dublin, Ireland which was affiliated to National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) and National School of Business Management (NSBM) of Sri Lanka.
AAT passed finalist qualification helped me to garner the exemptions for CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) which was an advantage I didn't use where I struggled up to 2016 to complete the operational level which I eventually failed.
I studied CIMA for 6 years (2012 to 2016), a major factor that impacted the relevant so-called "depression" of mine.
Then by 2017, I decided to shift to Chartered Accountancy (CA) at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. (ICASL)
In 2016 after my internship at a Licensed Commercial Bank (LCB) - Sampath Bank PLC I joined one of the big four audit firms located in Sri Lanka as an Associate Trainee.
During my first year, I was able to complete my signing for articles from my firm to the executive level, Chartered Accountancy (CA).
Then I decided and thought of applying for membership in AATSL.
With effect to the new syllabus change from 2015, there is a requirement of completing a two (02) day training focused on leadership skills.
Then I and my brother decided to attend this "People and Leadership Skills [PLS]" training program.
So we applied for the May 2017 batch which was to be held on 6th and 7th May 2017. My brother attended, but due to a personal reason, I couldn't attend that relevant batch.
After that, I emailed AATSL that I would like to extend my confirmation of participation in a different batch.
Therefore I received my confirmation in the August 2017 batch.
I was called to attend the 26th and 27th August 2017 program.
As per the requirement of the new syllabus introduced by AAT Sri Lanka with effect from July 2015, the People and Leadership Skills (PLS) module under the Training Capstone was introduced to build crucial 'work floor' competencies of learners, with the aim of making them fully fledged members of AAT. [1st Module]
The PLS module allows learners to reflect on their experimental training and learning (ETL), the 2nd module under the training capstone, whilst developing more efficient and effective people and leadership skills.
A passed finalist can apply for membership of AAT upon successful completion of the PLS workshop along with 1-year practical training experience. The PLS workshop is conducted by the AAT Business School as a 2 full-day training session.
It cost around 5,500/- per person.
Certification, following the successful completion of this 2-day programme, a 'certificate of participation' will be awarded, along with feedback and recommendation on their individual performance.
During these two days (02) the following modules are covered.
(01) Unit 01 - Social Skills for Accountants (15%)
(02) Unit 02 - Service Skills for Accountants (15%)
(03) Unit 03 - Presentation skills for Accountants (20%)
Unit 01 and 02 were taught to me by Mr. Deshapriya Fernando whose a business management consultant and lecturer.
Unit 03 was taught to us by Ms. Bernadine Jayasinghe. She's a news anchor/news presenter at MTV/MBC Channels (Pvt) Ltd./Capital Maharaja Ltd. and also an entrepreneur, international winning speaker, corporate trainer, and writer.
During the 1st day of the PLS, the in-house training was conducted with group activities and visual aids, creating a simulated environment. (26th, August 2017)
It started at 08.30 A.M. and finished at 05.00 P.M.
The relevant training was held at AAT Centre, Colombo 05.
All the required study materials were provided by AATSL.
In the next day Unit, 04 and 05 was held at an outbound training. (27th, August 2017)
(04) Unit 04 - Team working Skills for Accountants (25%)
(05) Unit 05 - Leadership Skills for Accountants (25%)
It was held in Dampe Village - Piliyandala.
Mr. Sanesh Fernando and his assistant Mr. Koshitha conducted the relevant sessions.
Mr. Sanesh is a trainer/instructor in Leadership and team building.
Transport was provided from the AAT center at 06.45 AM and back at AATSL.
We were told to bring "Sports Wear" by the AAT.
It was filled with good team building and leadership development training with equal mental and physical exercises.
We arrived at AAT around 5.30 PM.
After that, the 2-day PLS workshop concluded.
We were required to submit the membership forms in the next week. (September, First week 2017)
After around 2 months, (October 2017) my mother collected the certificate of participation of PLS workshop from AAT Centre, Colombo.
Then on we were told to submit for AAT membership during the same month (October 2017) in order to participate in this year's convocation.
Due to my personal and professional life was a bit busy during the period, my mother (Mrs. Harshani Polwatte) attended to these matters. She submitted me and my brother's forms filled and the relevant membership payments made during the relevant period. And I am forever grateful for that.
After the submission of the relevant membership documents, I was telephoned and told that interview will be held on 2017 October 21st.
3 people attended the interview.
(01) AATSL membership division
(02) Interview for the membership
(03) A board member of AATSL
On 2nd of November, 2017 I received a letter from AAT center, Colombo with regards to my orientation seminar for new members of AAT Sri Lanka - 2017.
This was held on Saturday, 25th November 2017 from 12.45 PM to 4.30 PM at the Prof. Lakshman R Watawala Auditorium, AAT Centre, Colombo 05.
The invitations for the convocation and other required material were given during the same moment.
25th Annual Convocation of AAT Sri Lanka - 2017 was held on 27th Monday of November.
It was at the main assembly hall of BMICH, Colombo-07.
Due to my load of work at my workplace KPMG: Sri Lanka I had to skip the convocation. But my brother Mr. Avantha Polwatte participated.
The road so far to the membership of AAT was a one decade-long struggle of education and personal sacrifices. And it was worth it.
From 2008 to 2018 I have had bittersweet memories to attain this simple qualification.
It was a collective effort of my family to make me and my elder brother successful accountants and grow as great professionals.
I hope these will be wonderful memories in my future to come.
In the commerce stream, I had to study for 3 subjects mainly Business Studies, Economics, and Accounting.
And also 3 other additional subjects. [Common General Test, General Information Technology (GIT) and General English]
Since my father is an experienced accountant in the Sri Lankan private sector and public sector he suggested me and my elder brother Avantha Polwatte to study to be a passed finalist in the Association of Accounting Technicians - Sri Lanka (AATSL) and we agreed during the same period of doing G.C.E. A/L.
And many students who are parallel to my Advanced Level (A/L) 2010 batch who studied at school also did AATSL examinations due it's linked to the syllabus in G.C.E. A/L commerce stream.
I joined Gampaha JMC (Jayasekara Management Center) for additional classes in October 2008 and was able to sit for AATSL foundation in March 2009 I was able to get it through the foundation level.
(Syllabuses have changed now)
Subjects of the foundation level include,
(01) Basic Financial Accounting
(02) Business Mathematics and Statistics
(03) Economics
(04) Commerce
And in August 2009 I was able to complete AAT(SL) Intermediate level. (Syllabuses have changed now)
Subjects of the intermediate level include,
(01) Accounting and principles of auditing
(02) MIS (Management Information Systems) and IT (Information Technology) applications
(03) Business Law and Management
(04) Business Communication - I
After completing the AATSL foundation and intermediary level many students tend not to complete the qualification completely because they can focus more on G.C.E. A/L exams.
Unfortunately for me my father thought otherwise and wanted me to attempt for the final level as well in the same year. (2009) I attempted all the 5 subjects using self-studying techniques and also with the help of a personal tutor to help me with the subjects.
I was able to get through Business Communication - II (English) in December 2009 but failed in all the other subjects.
Then I fully focused on G.C.E. A/L which was meant to be examined in August 2010. After that examination, I again attempted the final level in December 2010 where I was able to complete the "Management Accounting" and "Advanced Level Accounting" subject.
And then I took the leftover three (03) subjects seriously by attending IAS (Institute of Accounting Studies) at Colombo, Wellawatte.
I completed the final level passing all the subjects in July 2011.
Subjects of the final level include,
(01) Business Communication - II (English)
(02) Management Accounting and Business Finance
(03) Taxation
(04) Advanced Financial Accounting
(05) Auditing
This was when I have received my G.C.E. A/L results and was attending the Royal Institute, Colombo to study law.
I was marginally being disqualified to attend a Sri Lankan University in the Western Province and I personally never wanted to leave home while doing my higher studies. Therefore I did not apply for long distance universities.
This period was the inception of my depression era where many of my personal and my academic failures started to begin. My depression came in 2011 and 2012 based on the dislike to the field of law as a professional field to study to start a career.
But prior to my depression, I managed to complete AATSL as a passed finalist.
My struggles, failures, and tactics to overcome these in the depression era will be discussed in a separate article.
I was able to attend the convocation for the 'passed finalists' on the 15th of November 2011.
After that, I was under a lot of depression personally due to many factors that I will not discuss in this article.
In 2013 I again shifted my career to my core interest in business management, accounting, and finance. I started doing an external private business management degree from University College of Dublin, Ireland which was affiliated to National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) and National School of Business Management (NSBM) of Sri Lanka.
AAT passed finalist qualification helped me to garner the exemptions for CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) which was an advantage I didn't use where I struggled up to 2016 to complete the operational level which I eventually failed.
I studied CIMA for 6 years (2012 to 2016), a major factor that impacted the relevant so-called "depression" of mine.
Then by 2017, I decided to shift to Chartered Accountancy (CA) at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. (ICASL)
In 2016 after my internship at a Licensed Commercial Bank (LCB) - Sampath Bank PLC I joined one of the big four audit firms located in Sri Lanka as an Associate Trainee.
During my first year, I was able to complete my signing for articles from my firm to the executive level, Chartered Accountancy (CA).
Then I decided and thought of applying for membership in AATSL.
With effect to the new syllabus change from 2015, there is a requirement of completing a two (02) day training focused on leadership skills.
Then I and my brother decided to attend this "People and Leadership Skills [PLS]" training program.
So we applied for the May 2017 batch which was to be held on 6th and 7th May 2017. My brother attended, but due to a personal reason, I couldn't attend that relevant batch.
After that, I emailed AATSL that I would like to extend my confirmation of participation in a different batch.
Therefore I received my confirmation in the August 2017 batch.
I was called to attend the 26th and 27th August 2017 program.
As per the requirement of the new syllabus introduced by AAT Sri Lanka with effect from July 2015, the People and Leadership Skills (PLS) module under the Training Capstone was introduced to build crucial 'work floor' competencies of learners, with the aim of making them fully fledged members of AAT. [1st Module]
The PLS module allows learners to reflect on their experimental training and learning (ETL), the 2nd module under the training capstone, whilst developing more efficient and effective people and leadership skills.
A passed finalist can apply for membership of AAT upon successful completion of the PLS workshop along with 1-year practical training experience. The PLS workshop is conducted by the AAT Business School as a 2 full-day training session.
It cost around 5,500/- per person.
Certification, following the successful completion of this 2-day programme, a 'certificate of participation' will be awarded, along with feedback and recommendation on their individual performance.
During these two days (02) the following modules are covered.
(01) Unit 01 - Social Skills for Accountants (15%)
(02) Unit 02 - Service Skills for Accountants (15%)
(03) Unit 03 - Presentation skills for Accountants (20%)
Unit 01 and 02 were taught to me by Mr. Deshapriya Fernando whose a business management consultant and lecturer.
Unit 03 was taught to us by Ms. Bernadine Jayasinghe. She's a news anchor/news presenter at MTV/MBC Channels (Pvt) Ltd./Capital Maharaja Ltd. and also an entrepreneur, international winning speaker, corporate trainer, and writer.
During the 1st day of the PLS, the in-house training was conducted with group activities and visual aids, creating a simulated environment. (26th, August 2017)
It started at 08.30 A.M. and finished at 05.00 P.M.
The relevant training was held at AAT Centre, Colombo 05.
All the required study materials were provided by AATSL.
In the next day Unit, 04 and 05 was held at an outbound training. (27th, August 2017)
(04) Unit 04 - Team working Skills for Accountants (25%)
(05) Unit 05 - Leadership Skills for Accountants (25%)
Mr. Sanesh Fernando and his assistant Mr. Koshitha conducted the relevant sessions.
Mr. Sanesh is a trainer/instructor in Leadership and team building.
Transport was provided from the AAT center at 06.45 AM and back at AATSL.
We were told to bring "Sports Wear" by the AAT.
It was filled with good team building and leadership development training with equal mental and physical exercises.
We arrived at AAT around 5.30 PM.
After that, the 2-day PLS workshop concluded.
We were required to submit the membership forms in the next week. (September, First week 2017)
After around 2 months, (October 2017) my mother collected the certificate of participation of PLS workshop from AAT Centre, Colombo.
Then on we were told to submit for AAT membership during the same month (October 2017) in order to participate in this year's convocation.
Due to my personal and professional life was a bit busy during the period, my mother (Mrs. Harshani Polwatte) attended to these matters. She submitted me and my brother's forms filled and the relevant membership payments made during the relevant period. And I am forever grateful for that.
After the submission of the relevant membership documents, I was telephoned and told that interview will be held on 2017 October 21st.
3 people attended the interview.
(01) AATSL membership division
(02) Interview for the membership
(03) A board member of AATSL
On 2nd of November, 2017 I received a letter from AAT center, Colombo with regards to my orientation seminar for new members of AAT Sri Lanka - 2017.
This was held on Saturday, 25th November 2017 from 12.45 PM to 4.30 PM at the Prof. Lakshman R Watawala Auditorium, AAT Centre, Colombo 05.
The invitations for the convocation and other required material were given during the same moment.
25th Annual Convocation of AAT Sri Lanka - 2017 was held on 27th Monday of November.
It was at the main assembly hall of BMICH, Colombo-07.
Due to my load of work at my workplace KPMG: Sri Lanka I had to skip the convocation. But my brother Mr. Avantha Polwatte participated.
The road so far to the membership of AAT was a one decade-long struggle of education and personal sacrifices. And it was worth it.
From 2008 to 2018 I have had bittersweet memories to attain this simple qualification.
It was a collective effort of my family to make me and my elder brother successful accountants and grow as great professionals.
I hope these will be wonderful memories in my future to come.
Monday, December 17, 2018
Auditing Myself : A self review
These 'four steps' below are the method I also used to review myself during '2015' to '2018'.
Though it is extracted from the website 'Life Hacker', (https://lifehacker.com/) and reflects on an actual professional environment, where a performance review between a superior and a subordinate occurs the basic idea and the execution can be used in personal life performance evaluation as well.
Therefore the below steps can be used as a technique to self-review or to audit yourself to improve in personal life, increase positive goal and objective attainment.
Step One: Write Down What You Do, What Others Think You Do, and What You Should Be Doing.
Step Two: Review Yourself from Your and Your Boss's Perspectives.
Step Three: Identify Your Pain Points and Bring Them Up To Your Boss.
For Next Year (and Beyond): Keep a Work Diary and Get Regular Feedback.
My objective attainment in '2017' and '2018' are in 'below average' conditions.
If you want to audit yourself in your professional life or personal life and build your life positively in your future follow the above four steps.
References
Step Three: Identify Your Pain Points and Bring Them Up To Your Boss.
For Next Year (and Beyond): Keep a Work Diary and Get Regular Feedback.
My objective attainment in '2017' and '2018' are in 'below average' conditions.
If you want to audit yourself in your professional life or personal life and build your life positively in your future follow the above four steps.
References
- How to Do a Proper Self-Review and Identify Your Professional Pain Points (Before Your Boss Does) (https://lifehacker.com/5967786/how-to-do-a-proper-self-review-and-identify-your-professional-pain-points-before-your-boss-does)
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