This article explores the accountancy profession in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka obtained
independence from Britain in 1948, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri
Lanka (ICASL) was established in 1959. The influence of the British (ACCA and CIMA),
coupled with the support of the Sri Lankan government for the ICASL, would seem to
have provided an environment conducive to the development of the local profession.
Such expectations, however, have not been met. The ICASL has produced 2,170
accountants – a number far short of that required to serve the needs of
the economy. It appears that the ICASL has pursued an agenda of closure by seeking
to restrict the supply of public practitioners. Therefore, the profession in Sri
Lanka can be characterized as being beset by cross-border competition between
British institutions seeking to exert influence within a former colony and a local
organization concerned with achieving closure over practitioners.
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