COLOMBO – Paul Ash, FCMA, CGMA has been elected as the 88th President of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the world’s largest professional body of management accountants, and the 6th Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) – the combined strength of the American Institute of CPA and CIMA, His leadership will be supported by Sri Lankan, Melanie Kanaka FCMA, CGMA, who became Deputy President following her election at CIMA’s Annual General Meeting held on 3rd June.
Sri Lanka hosts the largest concentration of Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs) outside of the UK and USA, the most sought-after finance and business designation awarded by the Association. The Association represents 696,000 members, students and engaged professionals in management and public accounting across 192 countries and territories.
Sri Lankan nationals also feature strongly in supporting the global governance of CIMA and the Association. There are four Sri Lankans who sit on CIMA’s governing Council and three Sri Lankans represented on the Association’s Middle East, South Asia and North Africa (MESANA) Regional Advisory Panel.
· Paul Ash, FCMA, CGMA – CIMA President and Chair Association of International Certified Professional Accountants
· Melanie Janine Kanaka, FCMA, CGMA – CIMA Deputy President
· Suresh R. I. Perera FCMA, CGMA – CIMA Council Member
· Manohari Abeyesekera, FCMA, CGMA – CIMA Council Member
· Channa Gunawardana, FCMA, CGMA – CIMA Council Member
· Rifka Ziyard, FCMA, CGMA – CIMA Council Member
· Mahesha Amarasuriya, FCMA, CGMA – Association MESANA RAP Member
· Manohara S. Tillakawardana, FCMA, CGMA – Association MESANA RAP Member
· Akila Gunarathna, ACMA, CGMA – Association MESANA RAP Member
Paul first volunteered with CIMA during the mid-1980s and was a founder member of the CIMA City Interest Group. In 2013, he was elected to CIMA Council and was a member of the inaugural governing Board of the Association. He has served on CIMA’s Membership, Global Markets and Executive Committees and was Vice Chairman of the CIMA Benevolent Fund Committee. Paul also served as Chairman of the Association’s Lifelong Learning Committee, where he helped lead the changes required to drive CIMA’s syllabus into the digital age.
Paul has a degree in economics from the University of Leicester and began his career in the industrial manufacturing sector. He then moved into the financial services sector and joined the London Stock Exchange in 1980 as a Management Accountant. He worked his way up to become Chief Accountant and led the changes that were necessary to the Exchange’s reporting systems during the deregulation of the financial securities markets in 1986.
