The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), Sri Lanka’s with a current 29,500 student base, reports a record number of 8500 new students registering from all parts of the country during 2008.

President of the ICASL Nishan Fernando said, "This is a significant increase over the previous year and endorses the ICASL as the most preferred accounting professional qualification in this country". Attributing this to the high standard of the ICASL’s qualification coupled with its recognised professional ethics, technical standards, and high public acceptance, an optimistic Fernando added, "We have geared ourselves to meet the demand and, in fact, predict a greater increase in the Institute’s student intake this year".                     

CEO of the ICASL Aruna Alwis said, "We estimate a new student intake of around 10,000 this year. With our very active regional knowledge centres in Kandy, Matara, Kurunagela and Anuradhapura catering to the diverse needs of potential students in those areas, the geographical scope we cover is much greater". The ICASL has also launched specified programmes for 2009 including a modern multimedia English Language Centre to assist students who pursue their goals of becoming global financial professionals.

Outlining plans for 2009, Alwis said that the ICASL intended to participate in all Educational Fairs scheduled to take place in Colombo this year while also conducting its own career guidance programmes to help students who are already pursuing accounting as a career.

The ICASL is devolved with the responsibility to promulgate Accounting and Auditing Standards in Sri Lanka. The application of such standards is mandatory for specified business enterprises as defined in the Sri Lanka Accounting & Auditing Standards Act No.15 of 1995.

Eligibility for registration at the ICASL includes a degree from a recognised university in Sri Lanka or any other University approved by the Council of the Institute, the Sri Lankan or London University GCE Advanced Level with 3 subjects at one sitting with Mathematics, Accountancy or Physics as one of the 3 subjects and 2 credits passes in the same or subsequent attempts.