Excellence Perspective for Management Education from a Global Accountants’ Hub in Asia

Abstract

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This chapter discusses how accounting education in Sri Lanka, an emerging South Asian country, has evolved over time to become a global hub o f accountants through its accounting education system. The chapter presen ts a detailed description o f the history o f accoun ting education in Sri Lanka, the role o f professional accounting bodies and academic accounting education, a comparison o f professional and academic education systems and finally the current status and future directions o f accounting education o f the country. Ha ving roots o f accounting education well over twenty centuries, the professional and academic education systems o f Sri Lanka have evolved independently creating an anomaly when com ­ pared with the global practice in which the graduate accounting profession is the norm. Sri Lanka will have to continually strengthen the accounting education system to sustain its stature in the ever dynamic and complex global business environment that poses many challenges fo r the accounting profession.