The Imperial College of Business Studies (ICBS), the fastest growing business school in Sri Lanka offers students the opportunity to follow the most accredited Degree programme in the world, the BA (Hons) International Business & Finance, in affiliation with the University of the West of Scotland ( UWS). The degree provides students with access to more than 10 professional qualifications from various countries giving students a global passport upon completion of this prestigious degree programme.
Upon completion of this programme, students also become eligible to apply for 5 direct memberships (CPA Australia, Institute of Financial Accounts, Institute of Public Accounts, AAT UK, Chartered Management Institute) and further, secure exemptions for 5 professional qualifications including ACCA and CIMA.
According to Mr. Pravinth Rajaratnam, Academic Director of ICBS, this is the only qualification in the world that provides students access to such a large number of memberships and exemptions. The degree is a 3 year programme covering 480 credits and has been designed to provide students with the most uptodate knowledge and skills that the industry demands. The degree guarantees employability in diverse fields particularly in the Accounting, Finance, Audit, Management, Operations, Marketing and Tax. The minimum requirement for school leavers to be
eligible for this degree is 1 Credit and 2 Simple passes at the local A/Ls and its equivalent at the London A/Ls. O/L students can gain entry upon completion of a degree foundation programme. Previously, ICBS undergraduates had access to 11 exam exemptions from CIMA, the maximum at the time, requiring them to attempt 5 exams to complete the CIMA qualification. Now, with ICBS becoming the first College in Sri Lanka to come onboard the recently launched CGMA Finance Leadership Programme (FLP) by CIMA, the undergraduate students at ICBS are eligible
to receive 13 exam exemptions.
With this development ICBS becomes the first Partner in the country that is able to provide students 13 exemptions making it possible for students to complete the CIMA qualification by completing just the 3 CIMA case study exams in addition to the use of CIMA’s digital learning platform The CGMA FLP was launched by CIMA using a digital learning platform, in response to the increased demand and need for remote learning created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing professional landscape. The CGMA FLP seeks to help undergraduate students adapt
to the increased digitalisation in the fields of education and business and become CIMA qualified graduates, with the maximum exemptions granted by CIMA. Currently the UWS Undergraduates at ICBS are the only students in the country that are eligible to follow CIMA through the CGMA FLP route.
CIMA’s digital learning platform coupled with the world class Learning Management System (LMS) used by ICBS provides students with greater flexibility to complete the CIMA qualification in a short period of time at a remarkably low cost, allowing students to save approximately 70% of the cost incurred when following the normal CIMA route. ICBS has produced over 300 graduates who have earned the BA (Hons) International Business and Finance Degree in the last 5 years and has over 600 students in both Colombo and Kandy following it at present. ICBS guarantees their students a successful career through provision of both excellent academic teaching and practical experience. With an employability rate of 95% their graduates are either employed full time or are pursuing further studies locally and internationally, the most recent developments will ensure that these impressive statistics will continue well into the future.