Attached
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.
