How to be a Scout in Sri Lanka?

How to be a Scout in Sri Lanka?

 

(Picture credit - www.dailynews.lk)

 

I got the opportunity to do an exclusive interview with the programme commissioner for the National Scout Headquarters of Sri Lanka - Mr. Rohan Wirasekara. He is also the Scout Leader for the Royal College, Colombo Scout Group for three decades. It is a large Scout Group with about 1,000 Cubs & Scouts.

Question - Why do you think a student should be a Scout?

Answer - Because Scouting trains the students to be fit citizens with values. Boys need to try fun and adventurous things. In Scouting students always try new things on their own. They are capable of doing many things. They handle duties, obey the orders, manage teams, meeting new friends, provide service to others and do have a lot of adventures .

Why you should plan your tax in Sri Lanka?

Life is full of Taxes!!!!

Benjamin Franklin once said that “nothing is certain, but death and taxes”!!

I obtained the below quote from Mr. O.M. Weerasooiya - Retired Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, Sri Lanka :)

"Tax his land, tax his bed,
Tax the table at which he's fed.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Teach him taxes are the rule!!"

Even though the lines above are hilarious, it just reminds us that Tax is a very important part of our life which we cannot get rid of. You cannot stay away from tax. But you can manage your tax!

How to start a company in Sri Lanka - 1

(Picture credit - sundaytimes.lk)

I'm not an expert on company law. But since we were involved with registering couple of companies, I think I can write something with my personal experience and refer you to relevant places as well. If anything here is not appropriate or incorrect, please feel free to correct it.


Who can to start a company in Sri Lanka?

As per my knowledge, I can simply say - Anyone!!

How to start a business in Sri Lanka?

Obviously, first you should have an idea as to what is the business you are planning to do. And how to do it etc. So if you are dreaming to be a businessman, just start looking out for opportunities. Start with what you know. Check how to market it. Think how you can fit in there.

If you need any help to obtain more information on developing an idea, just drop us a mail. We should be able to refer you to a place where you can get consultation. Since scope for a business is too wide, I do not wish to write all those here.

Job Interview questions in Sri Lanka - 2 Interviews by Indian Bosses :D

People don't get selected from interviews??


These days many of our friends go to job interviews. Even though they are quite bright and capable employees, they do not get selected. (Of course the people who goes without a pull!!!). They have very funny stories about these interviews.

Why don't they get selected?

I saw some underlined facts from them which can be useful to others who would face similar interviews. So I thought rather than I my self explaining the circumstances, I should post these as it is. Your intelligence should be able to grab if there's anything. hint hint !!

How to become a Scientist in Chemistry in Sri Lanka?

Today I have to introduce another guest writer to this site. She is Mrs Surangi Jayawardena who is an expert in Chemistry and brings much fame to Sri Lanka. She completed her bachelor's degree in Science at University of Colombo while specialising in Chemistry. She won a scolarship to the Portland State University- USA to do a PhD. Currently she is involved in an important chemistry research.

Author - Surangi Jayawardena

What is it to become a Scientist in Chemistry?

Is your idea of a chemist is to be working underpaid in a white lab coat mixing things in a back room of a pharmaceutical company? Maybe you are right. But the trick is to move all the way from a Chemist to become the “Scientist”. A Chemist mixes things according to a recipe the scientist makes the recipe. Are scientist underpaid? Oh no.... they are very well paid mostly in six figures and that is one of the major advantages of being one.

Job Interview Questions in Sri Lanka - 1

Actual Job interview questions

(Picture credit - http://www.oogle.com)

Many people prefer to find, what sort of questions employers ask in job interviews. Therefore I decided to put up an article on how to face a job interview and what sort of questions would they ask.

I have received many letters from our readers requesting an article on how to prepare them selves for a job interview. They have sent me some of the details about the interviews they faced which I found so hilarious. This is one such article sent by a young reader who do not want to disclose his name.

Author - Anonymous !

Just to give some back ground on the author, he is a graduate on Electronics currently engaged in a job in the electronics field.

BPO sector jobs in Sri Lanka 2 - Recruiting experts

We have vacancies. But no one to fill those!!!

People always complain that there are no jobs in Sri Lanka. It’s true that unemployment rate is quite high. I’m seeing people standing on queues near every single embassy/high commission and consulate, to take visa for foreign jobs.

Ironically, in the same country I have come across many situations that there are jobs, but no suitable people to fill those. You will understand what I'm trying to say after you read this. Literacy rate in Sri Lanka is very high. But its just people do not know that which areas of studies has a higher demand for jobs and which areas they should specialize on to meet the demands of current market. This is my effort to fulfill that information gap.

How to plan a small business computer network - 2

Yesterday we posted the 1st chapter of this article. This is the second part of this article.

Author - Kushan Weralupitiya

How to interconnect computers?

Once you decide which person gets which kind of PC and how many PCs you need, the next task is how to interconnect them. You have 2 basic options to begin with, wired or wireless network.

How to choose the best network for you

For low cost and high speed, traditional wired networks are still the best choice. But if you prefer not to snake wires across rooms and through walls, then the available option is to go for wireless. If no single type of network is best for you, you can use a hybrid network with both wired and wireless.

Assess how many computers will be on the network now and in the future. You don’t want to decide to go wireless because you only have a couple computers now and find that you need wired in a few years when you have many computers. Also, how much data will be used on the network and how fast will it need to go. A company dealing with streaming video will have very different requirements than a company that only uses the network for file sharing and to check email.

How to plan a small business computer network - 1

This is the second guest article to this site. Author of this article is Mr Kushan Weralupitiya. He has obtained his BSc in computer science from University of London and he is an expert in the area of computer networking. Currently he is working as the systems administrator for Royal Institute Colombo.

How to plan a small business computer network

Author - Kushan Weralupitiya

Why we need to network computers?

Many small businesses now have multiple PCs. More than ever, it makes sense to connect them together in a network. If you have multiple PCs and intend to network them or if you are planning on creating a computer network for your new business from ground up, this will help you plan your computer system and the network.

How to get children interested in reading books?

How to make children read books? - Tips to motivate children for reading books

I'm not an expert of  child development or child psychology. So all I can say is how my father made me a  good reader. I don't understand how to put it in a line or by order. So I would just say how I feel about it.

Tip # 1 - Lead by example.

My father was a good reader. He had a huge library at home. He loved books so much. When I was really small, the first impression I got was, he is a hero. He loves books.  So I also should love books. So I started cleaning the library and touching the books and seeing pictures, even before I could read letters. 

Tip # 2 - Help them to be independent readers.

I know most mothers get books for their children and read those for them. But unless you are careful, children may never learn to read. They will always expect you to read and tell them the story. Instead what you can do is, while you are reading the story to them, explain them the words, letters and how to read, how to identify letters etc.

Why you should teach children to read ?

Educated idiots :(

Couple of days back I met a young professional who holds an important position in my field. Very aggressively she told me that,

"see Nishadee some of the members in our parliament are so dumb. I've heard that some of them are gonna vote against the 18th amendment. Its such a good amendment."

I was quite interested on reading it, so I asked her to give me the link to the content of the new bill from where ever she read it. Then she told me,

"Well........ I haven't read it.  But you know, we should support for it !!!".

How to be a Squash Player in Sri Lanka?

Squash in Sri Lanka

During my chit chats with many kids out side Colombo, one of the sports which they have not even heard was "Squash". It is indeed a very popular sport in Sri Lanka by now.

The Sri Lanka Squash Federation (SLSF) was officially formed in early 1981 and is accredited with the World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Asian Squash Federation. It is the official sports body which governs squash in Sri Lanka. (Details taken from SLSF site)

How to get a full scholarship to a top ranking University?

Who wants to go to Cambridge? :)

Most  undergraduates in Sri Lanka thinks Cambridge is a place, only rich people can go. No its not. There are many scholarship schemes which support students.

This is a 100% sponsorship. That means they take care of everything from your air ticket to the university fees and food and all, so you don't need to spend anything at all. Read the link below.

http://www.scholars4dev.com/2043/gates-scholarships-for-international-students-at-university-of-cambridge/

How to find a top ranking university?

Since most people were excited about Cambridge, I posted the above. But its not the top ranking university in the world in every category. Before you select a university , you need to check on its world rankings. If you are hoping to stay in Sri Lanka, you should check with  UGC (University Grants Commission) whether that university is an UGC approved university. Otherwise for some jobs/universities in Sri Lanka will not accept that degree certificate.

BPO sector jobs in Sri Lanka - (Business Process Outsourcing) - Part 1

OMG you are gonna destroy your career !!!!

When I first decided to join with a BPO sector company, many people advised me not to. From head of the company to the newly joined trainees told me the same. They looked at me as if I'm going to stop my job and stay at home!!!. There were many reasons which they put up to defend their argument and which I listened very carefully. Some of their reactions were as follows. 

1. "OMG are you insane? You are joining a call center? "

2. "For God sake you are an Accountant. Even a school leaver can do a BPO job!!"

3. (In bit of an elderly serious voice) "Well you go ahead if you want. But take my word child. You work there. After three years no one will want to recruit you for another job"!!!.

4. "I have a friend of mine there and she is very disappointed. All they do is copy pasting !!!".

5. (In a conservative men's gossip tone) "Sister, you know we boys always hear stories about the culture there. BPOs are good for play boys, and girls who join those are also no different to them!!!".

How to be a professional Marketer in Sri Lanka?

This is the first article for this site by a guest writer from our renowned panel of professionals who support this worthy cause. Author of this article is Mrs Shalini De Alwis who is an expert in Marketing. She obtained her Bachelor of Business degree from Monash University Australia and completed exams in Chartered Institute of Marketing UK (CIM). Currently she is handling the marketing and product development for a blue chip company in Sri Lanka.

How to be a Marketing expert in Sri Lanka?

Author - Shalini De Alwis

If you would like to become a marketer you should have the passion for it. Many become marketers simply after they fail in what they have studied previously. Even if this is the reason still a person should have the interest and passion to be a Marketer. Most importantly marketers should have good Public Relations skills and need to be very enthusiastic in what they do. If you have the right attitude and you are serious about becoming a marketer then there are varied marketing professions that you could specialize and become a recognized marketer. However If you don’t have the right attitude then marketing is not the ideal profession for you. In this article, we will be discussing the role of a marketer in Sri Lanka and how to be an expert of Marketing in Sri Lanka.

What ‘WAS’ the Role of Marketing in Sri Lanka?

A few decades ago Marketing was not very recognized in Sri Lanka and people’s perception towards marketing as a profession was limited only for Sales.

What ‘IS’ the Role of Marketing now in Sri Lanka?

Steadily but surely this perception has changed and people have become more aware of different areas of marketing and specialized areas of marketing professionals. Hence it’s important to identify the changing role of marketing and its affects on Marketers.

Understanding the Role of Marketing in Sri Lanka

This article has identified the changing role of Marketing and skills that future marketers need to adopt in order to be successful in their career. In my personal view marketing is one of the most significant helping arms of any business.

Who is the Marketer?

There is this an saying that, a good marketer should be able to sell 'Ice' to Eskimos !!!. Its all about that.

Marketers are the people


• Who understand customer needs and wants

• Develop attractive products and position products

• Among focused customers segments

• Whilst creating the brand identity

• Conduct continuous promotions to encourage repeat purchases.


Why the role of Marketers becoming very strategic?

Currently the role of marketers has become very strategic, due to


• Technological advancements;

• Increased competition and

• Affects of modernize customer needs and wants.

These impacts have led to frequent changes in Market conditions.

How to be a Marketer in Sri Lanka?

There are many ways to be a professional marketer in Sri Lanka.
1. By completing a degree on Marketing.

2. Becoming a member of CIM - UK (Chartered Institute of Marketing – UK)
http://www.cim.co.uk/home.aspx

3. Becoming a member of SLIM – SL (Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing)
http://www.slim.lk/

Having a degree plus a professional qualification from a recognized local or International institute is an added advantage for potential marketers.

There are many internal and external degrees for Marketing. We will provide a list of degrees for marketing conducted in Sri Lanka which is approved by the university grants commission.

If you are selecting a foreign degree or an online degree on marketing, always check the rank of the university, courses they offer, subjects, research facilities and of course the scholarships.

4. Know your customers. Read as much as possible. Talk to people as much as possible. Listen to them. Log in to Internet and read every other strategy. You should feel by heart

This is an important article which I think you should refer to.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/selling-ice-to-eskimos.html


Practical experience required to be a professional marketer.

There is a saying that the single best way to become a marker, is to “MARKET”. It is in fact very interesting job to do.

How to select an organization to start with the career?

To be an expert Marketer you need not start your career with Unilevers. But you have to start with a proper place which cater the objective and which gives you the ability to perform and guidance to develop.

Is English a must for a Marketer?

My answer is No. It just knows your market is knowing how to deal with it. However fluency in English is a definite advantage in order to gain professional qualification and to build a better career in marketing. Unless you really have a thrive to learn English, please do not enter this field. You will end up selling goods at streets.

What’s the new role of Marketers ?

Due to constant changes in market conditions and varied customer demands; organisations business strategy and the orientation of the business also has to be changed. Accordingly the role of marketing changes in the sellers and buyers markets. For instance in the sellers markets; marketing was mainly used for sales support. And buyers markets encourage marketers to focus more on customers.

However the current role of marketing requires marketers to convince organization’s management to deliver products and services that exceeds customer expectations. In order to ensure that the organizations achieve these objectives; marketers have ended up engaging in a more strategic role. The new role of marketing is all about sustaining competitive advantage. Hence marketers have focused on customer insights and they are responsible to use their expertise to retain customers.

Further the new role requires marketers to make decisions based on increased objectives and detailed analysis. Marketers are required, to understand insights regarding what customers and other stakeholder’s needs and values. This strategic role will assist marketers to focus on wide understanding of Organization interests by focusing on building long term shareholder value.

What does the current market demand from Marketers?

The new role of marketing will be repositioned. It could be repositioned as the value driver or (as the strong force) for any business, since the new role requires marketers to work closely with professional colleagues of internal divisions and external parties in order to make sure that the all aspects of the offers or products and services are aligned to deliver customer and share holder value to achieve the ultimate objective of gaining the competitive advantage.

As per the new Strategic role marketers are required to:

•  Engage in research and external environment monitoring
• Prioritize tasks
• communicate effectively in a convincing manner
• be customer experts
• lead and manage projects

Hence the present and future marketers need to be aware of these skills in order to brand themselves as expert marketers. On the other hand many organizations which have not been aggressive in marketing in the past are pushing to develop their marketing capabilities in order to defend their existing customers as well as potential customers against existing and new competitors. For instance; in Sri Lanka the Telecommunication industry has become extremely aggressive in marketing due to increased competition and threat of substitutes. Similarly various industries have become aggressive in their marketing approach. As a result it’s important for marketers to build the mentioned above skills since steadily but surely marketing has shifted from mass to individual and relationship building marketing. As identified earlier this shift has resulted mainly to gain a competitive advantage in the long run.

Conclusion,

Due to changing market conditions and increase of customer and shareholder expectations and values; presently marketers have to play a strategic role in order to satisfy organization’s stakeholders and sustain a competitive advantage in the long run. Marketing acts as the driving force of the organization. Hence marketing has become very significant in Organizations senior managements’ strategic planning. As a result existing and new marketers have to adapt new skills to achieve strategic planning objectives. Marketers have to focus on performance oriented goals whilst practicing their new skills. In my opinion marketers should at least focus on a few new skills and should be willing to make decisions quickly and execute offers that meet customer needs and wants beyond their expectations whilst building relationship marketing skills which will facilitate to sustain shareholder value in the long run.

What Next?

In our next article, we are hoping to guide you through how to market a new product. Until then, be prepared :)

How to become an Accountant in Sri Lanka?

There are many ways to be an Accountant. But in Sri Lanka, qualified accountant means being a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL).

What are the ways to get the membership in ICASL?
1. By doing all the exams conducted by ICASL.
2. By doing other Accountancy exams, obtained exemptions and completing final level of ICASL exams.

What is Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL)?
You should first go to their official site (link is below), read all the available information and get a basic idea on what it is and how they operate.

http://www.icasrilanka.com/

Or else if you go to one of these centers or call these numbers, you can get information on how to enroll as a student.

http://www.icasrilanka.com/about/contactBranches.html

Eligibility for the registration
There are so many options to get eligible for the registration. For details refer this link.

http://www.icasrilanka.com/Students/Registration.html

Medium of the examinations

Examinations are held in Sinhala,Tamil and English mediums in the first two stages, but after that examinations will hold in English medium only. But that’s not a problem. English proficiency of the students is not tested. Students should not afraid to take the decision to become an accountant solely based on the language. If you do not know any English, all you can do is go to an English class while you are doing the first two stages, learn Basic English. Just try to read an English paper everyday by going to a library. Just watch English news everyday. Keep a dictionary. Try to find the meaning of couple of words a day. Try to write something in English, everyday. Your English will be good enough to write to the examination after a year or so. I've seen many students who came to Foundation classes from very rural areas who did not know a single English word, later became members passing all the exams and today no one would believe they did not know any English word six years back. Trust me guys, it works. English is not something to be scared. It just comes with the use and practice. All you need is proper planning and commitment to learn it.

Financial Assistance/Scholarships

Financial aid is available for the students who have financial difficulties who have performed well in the advanced level examination. You can contact ICASL regarding this. For the rest of the students, this is the most cost efficient method of becoming an accountant. If you follow any other streams such as CIMA,ACCA, compared to ICASL, those exams are very high cost exams.

On the job training
You will have to join an approved training institution in order to be eligible to sit for the certificate level and strategic level examinations.

Please read through the practical training guide.

http://www.icasrilanka.com/Students/PracticalTrainingGuide.pdf

This requirement gives an opportunity for the students to earn money while they study and absorb a really quality experience to be a professional accountant. Therefore selecting a company to work is a very challenging task which needs to be done after a good analysis. If you read the link above, you would have already noticed that there is a list of companies approved by the ICASL for the training requirement.

What type of an organization should be selected to work / training?
There are many factors to be considered in selecting a place to work/train.

There are two types of organizations, a student can select to be employed.
1. Organizations public Practice - Audit firms
2. Organizations Non public Practice - Commercial sector companies

Why you should select an audit firm to get training?

There are pros and cons of selecting an audit firm job as the first job for a future accountant. But my personal opinion is it’s always best to select an audit firm job for the first two years of the training.

Audit firms pay very lower salary (actually it is an allowance) ranging from Rs 5,000 to 10,000 to a student depending on the organization. Life is not very easy at it. You will have to travel from one company to another, you may have to work at different places on different dates, and you may have to work with different types of people whom you never met before. But trust me, still it’s worth the effort. Life may not be comfortable as in a normal office where you have a desk and a seat. But the experience you get from an audit firm will not get from anywhere.

Why I say, you should work at an external audit department of an audit firm? There are many reasons.

1. Usually a reputed audit firm has their clients in different fields such as banks, hotels, plantations, import, export, manufacturing, local trading, agricultural, live stock, BPO and many more. By the end of your training period you can cover at least one audit from each sector. Then you know, what are the specialties in each sector , how the accounting differs, how the business operates and many more information.

2. You can get an idea on start to end of the accounting process of a company as oppose to doing only a part in a department in a commercial sector company. Basically you get an overall idea about the business and accounting function of it.

3. You can get the experience of working for many big companies in the country, get to know people, strategies, how the systems work etc.

4. Since your work varies everyday you will not get bored by doing a routine job everyday.

5. Since you have to use many technical standards in performing your work in the audit, you get an up to date knowledge on the technical standards and any other developments in the accounting world.

6. You get enough leave (usually one month) for your ICASL exams leaving you enough time to study while getting paid.


Those can be categorized as the main advantages, but there is lot more.

But for the reasons I cannot write in a public forum, I would like to say, if you are a very sensitive girl who was bought up very protectively and who cannot bear the crookedness of life in Sri Lanka, you better not join an audit firm. Because apart from all the benefits, you may get frustrated on the field. You know you gotta be tough enough, when you are in a sector which you meet lot of people, and then there is a high chance that there are maniacs too. But if you feel you are smart enough to beat them, then please join an audit firm. :)

Why you should select a commercial sector company to get training?

1. They will pay you, more than an audit firm.
2. Its good for someone who plan to establish and specialize in a certain area. E.G Banks

3. Experience in commercial sector is different to the experience in audit sector. Other than the financial accounting work, a trainee gets to involve in many other functions such as Budgeting, management accounts, book keeping, planning etc.

 

Conclusion
Finally what I want to say is, as I mentioned in my previous article, you have to think seriously before you take this decision. Other than the primary things I mentioned here, there are lots more things you need to do. Once you enroll as a student, you can get to know those. There are many other methods of becoming Accountants. We hope to bring those details in our next articles. Until then enjoy!

If you need any more details or clarification, please feel free to write to us. We are ready to help.

Who wants to be an Accountant?

I want to be an Accountant !!!!

Many students have told me that they want to be an Accountant. Then I ask them, why do you want to become an Accountant?. If you are also in the same position, just ask your self.

WHY I want to be an Accountant?

Why? Do you really like it? Do you know about it? How do you expect life to treat you after becoming an Accountant?

I have no interest in writing their answers here. But to understand the basis of my article, I suppose its important that I share some of their views.  This is what they told me in summary.

1. "It is the easiest thing to do. I mean Maths and Science are so difficult. So we are going to do Accountancy. "

2. "I know an Accountant. He is very rich and has a nice car. I want to be like him."

3. "My father is an Accountant. So if I become an accountant, its a respect to him."

4."My aunt who is in Melbourn told me, that for Accountants, its easy to get Austrailian PR!!!".

Only a handful of students who gave me the answer I was expecting. They told me that they were so passionate about it, its very interesting to handle a  finance in a company and the whole company will depend on what they do. Amaizing. I can smell what their career is going to be.

Job market for Accountants in Sri Lanka

During last couple of years I worked with and dealt with many professionally qualified accountants. Some of them were very successful in their career where as some of them were you know just Accountants. I met accountants who have the same qualification, but one gets like 10 times  of the salary of the other. But unlike another professions which the work may vary, they were doing the similar type of work for two similar size of multinational companies in Sri Lanka. What create that difference? Trsut me guys, I know these poeple. Its not their talent which makes them differ. Its defineatly not the capacity of their brain. Its just their attitude. Its just their spirit and the will.

'Thats A job' Accountants

I've categorised the Accountnats whom I met. I will call the first category as "Thats a Job" Accountants.

Some, I can say most of the Accountants of this category just hate what they do. For them its very routine.  Monthly Accounts, Quarterly Accounts , Annual Accounts , Audit reports and this cycle repeats for the rest of their life. They consider its their job. It pay for their food, so why bother. Do something here and their, cover up things, close the computer, pack the files, go home before others !!! Surely thats a dull life. They get paid  only for that much.  

'Thats 'THE job' Accountants

A co worker of this site asked me whether I categorised my sample of accountants based on the salary scale. No. I didn't. But when I checked my data collection sheet against the salary sheet, I realised that he is not wrong. But its a co incident. I categorised based on the answers they gave to my questions. This category of people told me that "Its THE job". If you take the bigger picture, they were also doing the same things which other category were doing. Thats preparing Accounts. But their life was more interesting. They feel  they are important. They feel they are talented. Most importantly they feel they are happy. They did not have complaints. They are working for the same kind of employers who has no interest in the happiness of employees. So how do they live so happy?

They are either doing their dream job. Or else they are the sort of people who can convert any job they do in to their dream job with the commitement and thrive to learn.  They were absorbing new knowledge, practicing what they learned, implementing things at work, find the ways to do the work efficiently and effectively. Get more work  to do in the time saved. Check what could be the best for the company and for them selves. Keep an eye on the share market. Invest. You know it was interesting to talk with them atleast for a small time. They were at different ages. Some were very young. Some were quite old. But their passionate about the profession was same. It was amaizing to watch the way they were handling things. They do have a life. They have become Accountants, not by chance, but by choice.

Whats the difference between these  two type of Accountants?

 I asked the " 'Thats 'THE job' Accountants...............

"Did you request this salary in the interview"?

Most of them told me,
"No. They offered me". !!!!

They were head hunted by the companies. Market is keeping an eye on people like them. They are ready to buy such people at any rate.

And people of the previous category who became Accountants just for the sake of it, thinking it as "A job", oftenly complained about the second category earning a good salary. Some of them in this category didn't even know that there are such high salary scales exist and operating in Sri Lanka. When I asked them a rough question on market salary rates, they told me

"What nonsense. Who would want to keep an Accountant paying so much of a salary? !!!!!".

So that was their definition of their own profession. They only get what they deserved.

Who should be an Accountant?

 Like any other profession, to be a professionally qualified accountant also it takes much time and needs much hardworking. A person who could not spend that time, a person who do not have that commitment, a person who do not wish to build a career as a professional Accountant, should not aim of being an Account. There are hundred and one other jobs which suits your profile which could give you the same benefits an Accountant can get.  If you are not ready for a hard life, do not ever dream of being a high profile accountant. 

How to be an Accountant?

I will assist on this on my next article. Be await !!!

Importance of selecting subjects for Advanced Level examination

Where to start?

To decide on where to start, I thought I should go back and see what the point where all goes wrong. I found couple of key milestones, where an average person drags his whole life in to a mess, which ultimately leads him or her to an unhappy person. One of those is Advanced Level examination and therefore I thought I should start from there.

Why Advanced Level?

Considering the education system in Sri Lanka, GCE Advanced Level examination is one of the important hurdles of life. I have met several people who made a wrong choice in selecting A/L stream. Some of them managed to get through the examination with flying colors. Some of them failed. Some of them were in between as usual. But, at a later stage some of the persons belonged to all these categories regretted thinking that their lives would have been so different, and they would have been so happy if they have chosen the right path at right time.

There were students who studied commerce subjects who thought, being a Chartered Accountant is the only option available to them. But it’s not the case.

I have found many students who happened to study mathematics subjects on the request of teachers and parents. They were given the task of gearing up the results of the school and bringing the fame to the family. They did get selected to different engineering faculties such as electronics, construction and chemical engineering etc. But after some time I meet them working at banks doing banking exams with the students who did commerce subjects at school.

I have found students who have done Arts subjects because they loved to do it. Later they regret thinking that there are no jobs for what they have studied. One girl told me that she would not select arts subjects. Because she thought, the only possible job for a student who goes in the arts stream is teaching or a lower paid government job.

Recently I met a doctor who never wanted to be a doctor. He wanted to be an engineer. But due to the continuous requests, demands, threats and sobbing of his father, finally he decided to select biology stream subjects in order to get in to medical college. He was too much of a sensitive boy that he could not just bear the cutting of animals and testing in labs and seeing people suffering from illnesses. He was such a brilliant student; he managed to get selected to the medical college. He completed his internship as well, but today he is not working as a doctor. But for a doctor exit strategies are very low or rather not practical. So once a doctor is always a doctor here.

There is a world more than that. There is a much larger world outside which our students have never seen or may never have showed to them. When I was at that age, I never knew how many different opportunities are there in Sri Lanka or how many career paths are there if someone wants to succeed. Money is not required to uplift or be happy. Today I know. Therefore I thought I should share my knowledge with whoever who seek these information.

Importance of selecting advanced level subjects for the higher education

If you are a student with a plan of  doing a degree in a particular field, you should check whether the subjects you have selected fulfill that requirement. For example if you are planning to follow a degree in computer science in many universities around the world (including Sri Lanka) demands that you must have done Mathematics as a subject.

How to apply to a foreign university + to a scholarship for an undergraduate degree ?

If you are planning to obtain for a scholarship to a high ranking university, then also the subjects you do matters. Its always important to go to these university web sites and scholarship granter's web sites and do a pre check as to what their requirements are. I have given some links for this in another article.

 

What’s the plan?

Many people request me to do this. Many well-wishers at different peaks contribute with ideas. Many key people in the country, who think of themselves as successful as well as happy, agreed to help. I hope students in the next era will not fall in to a wrong path, just because they do not have information. I wish students of future will not regret in later stage thinking that they were too late for a key decision in life. Hope this will change a lot. Stay with us. We come with a promise to commit ourselves to uplift your lives. But it will only be guidance and direction. Rest of your life will depend on how you see it and how you want it to be.

Uplift lives towards happiness

When I walk through the roads towards my destiny, I met these people. By the look of them, considering the basics about them, they were the people who just live for the sake of it. Some were beggars. Some were millioners. Most were in between those two. But one thing was similar to all of them. After several years when I met them, they have not developed even a bit from what they were.

They were struggling to live wondering how others could be rich, happy, educated and this and that and what not. They did not think too much or rather they did not have too many expectations. Or they had too many expectations but had no vision or did not know the path. There was something about them that holds their luck. There was something on their way to block their journey. They did not know what it was. As usual like all the people of that category, they also blame the government, capital markets, black magic of the neighbors and social system etc for their fate.

I had this quotation of ‘Lao Tzu’ somewhere on my desk.

"Go to the people.

Live with them.

Learn from them.

Love them.

Start with what they know.

Build with what they have."

But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say "We have done this ourselves".”

When I live so much with them and learn about them, I realized I’m in love with them. I managed to see above their fate. I saw how I can start with what they know and build with what they have. I realize how I can contribute to uplift them. People are not bad. Its just they need to be directed. Everyone has something in them. Every life can be uplift to next level. Everyone can be happy. This is my effort in uplifting lives of them in order to make them and keep them happy throughout. I will do what I can do. I will do what I should do. I feel I’m the chosen one. I want people to say that they made it by themselves !!!