Heshana Kuruppu, a distinguished Sri Lankan Chartered Accountant and the President-Elect of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), has assumed the role of President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) for the year 2024. Effective from January 1, 2024, Mr. Kuruppu embarks on a twelve-month leadership term at the helm of this esteemed regional accounting body in South Asia.
Supporting Mr. Kuruppu in his leadership position is Mr. Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan, appointed as the Vice President of SAFA.
With a career spanning over 24 years, Mr. Kuruppu brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. He has been a Council Member of CA Sri Lanka since 2012, contributing significantly at both national and regional levels, including chairing committees and serving on various SAFA committees.
Mr. Kuruppu, a respected figure in the field, has held diverse roles, such as Vice President of SAFA in 2023 and Chairman of the Committee for Improvement in Transparency, Accountability, and Governance of SAFA in 2020 and 2021. Professionally, he serves as the Group Finance Director at David Pieris Group of Companies, a leading diversified group in Sri Lanka, overseeing strategic business units in Automotive, Finance, IT, and Electronics.
A Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Mr. Kuruppu holds a B.Sc. Accountancy (Special) First Class degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He furthered his education with an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), Colombo, and a Master of Financial Economics from the University of Colombo.
As a founding member of SAFA, CA Sri Lanka plays a pivotal role in a network comprising eleven accountancy bodies across South Asia. SAFA, established in 1984, leads the way in shaping the accountancy profession in the region, boasting a membership exceeding 475,000 accounting professionals affiliated with the regional member bodies.