Sri Lanka will have to compete with other countries in the region to attract foreign capital, and moving to international accounting standards would be a critical factor in ‘our success in this area,’ says Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) president Asite Talwatte, in a press release issued in connection with a workshop on ‘international accounting standards’ that will be conducted in Colombo next month.

Following is the text of this release:"Sri Lanka will take an important step closer to adopting international accounting standards when one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject conducts an international workshop in Colombo next month at the invitation of the ICASL.

"Dr. Paul Pacter, the author of International Accounting Standard 39 (IAS 39) dealing with principles for recognizing, measuring and disclosing information about financial assets and liabilities, will cover the intricacies of the standard on financial instruments, at the workshop on October 5-6, the institute said.

"Explaining the relevance of the workshop, ICASL’s Talwatte said increased investment activity spurred by the improving prospects for peace could see the corporate sector moving to innovative financial instruments which are new to this country. The workshop is intended to provide accounting professionals with the technical know-how and the level of expertise required for such financial instruments.

"Moreover, Sri Lanka will have to compete with other countries in the region to attract foreign capital and moving to international accounting standards would be a critical factor in our success in this area," Talwatte said. "The timing of the workshop will send a clear signal to the investor community about Sri Lanka’s efforts to adopt IAS 39, which became effective on January 1, this year, and has not as yet been adopted by countries in the region."

He said the ICASL, as-a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFA) was committed to promoting international best practice in accounting standards in Sri Lanka. The Institute has also been given the responsibility of formulating Sri Lanka Accounting Standards (SLAS) by the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Act, and intends adopting International Accounting Standards as SLAS, he disclosed.

IAS 39, the subject of the Colombo workshop, covers all financial assets and financial liabilities including all derivatives, hedging instruments, securitization, repurchase agreements and equity instruments. It is the International Accounting Standards Committees first comprehensive standard on these subjects.

Pacter served as International Accounting Fellow on the International Accounting Standards Committee and as project manager for IAS 39 was involved in all stages of the development of the standard. A founder employee of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board, he has also served as vice chairman of the Advisory Council to the US Governmental Accounting Standards Board. He is currently director of the Global International Accounting Standards Office of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Hong Kong. The two-day workshop at Colombo is jointly hosted by the ICASL and the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board."