Our Beginning

In the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, studies in Accountancy date back to 1960 and were originally conducted by the Department of Economics and the Departments of Business and Public Administration, which were located in the Faculty of Arts. Later, the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce was established and studies in Accountancy and Financial Management came under the purview of this new faculty within the Departments of Business and Public Administration. However, neither of these departments offered a special degree in Accountancy and Financial Management, but a few subjects in this area were taught in the Business and Public Administration Programmes.

In order to fill this lacuna, in November, 1991 the Department of Accountancy and Financial Management (forerunner to the Department of Accounting) was set up with the objective of offering a special degree programme in Accounting and the first-degree programme commenced in January, 1992. The Department commenced with two lecturers and the first batch of 60 students was admitted in February 1992. This was well received by the corporate and public sectors in Sri Lanka and continued to grow in stature and acceptance. This has been clearly demonstrated by the overwhelming demand for admission to the programme.

The introduction of an Accounting degree was a novel experience to Sri Lanka at a time when Accounting education was conducted exclusively by professional accounting organizations and technical colleges. The B.Sc. Accountancy (Special) Degree was introduced with the guiding philosophy of producing employable quality graduates who satisfy the requirements of the employment market. The Department designed the B.Sc. Accountancy (Special) Degree to suit the requirements of the employment market by including a two year practical training component, training in latest computer packages required for the Accounting field, curriculum to suit the latest developments in the market in the English medium. Hence, by incorporating the requirements of the employment market as its salient features, the B.Sc. Accountancy (Special) Degree Programme challenged the universities’ traditional obsession of producing graduates who do not satisfy the needs of the customers (business organizations). This system of management education that existed in universities was mainly aimed at producing graduates with paper qualifications without producing employable graduates and leaders much needed for future economic development. This new approach of the Department acted as a catalyst for other sections of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce to change their courses of study by incorporating similar activities. This has also radically changed the system of management education in Sri Lanka, by incorporating more Accounting degrees to the university education system.

Our Direction

Vision

“Prosper lives through learning”

Mission

To be the premier centre of excellence in accounting education, research and industry engagement in South Asia

In order to accomplish our mission we will commit ourselves to maintain the highest standards in accounting education and research; develop long-term relationships while maintaining the operational efficiency of the Department of Accounting.


Our Goals

  1. To formalise and implement the whole-person development approach to accounting education
  2. To develop work-integrated learning (WIL) approach to the Degree Programme
  3. To facilitate the development of research skills and teaching proficiency of academics
  4. To foster partnerships with the industry, accounting profession and universities
  5. To strengthen the community of USJ accounting graduates
  6. To improve the contribution to postgraduate studies and extension courses
  7. To contribute to the school level accounting education in Sri Lanka
  8. To maintain a conducive academic and administrative environment to facilitate the achievement of the Goals 1-7

Our Values

  • Wisdom: We allow ourselves to be guided by wisdom in our endeavours
  • Intellectual rigour:We are intellectually rigorous in creating and disseminating knowledge.
  • Professionalism: When carrying out our work, we maintain the highest level of professionalism.
  • Truthfulness and Ethical conduct: We are truthful and ethical in all our work.
  • Equality: We honour equality amidst diversity.
  • Helpfulness and Compassion: We are helpful and compassionate to all with whom we interact.