University students have been given an opportunity to bridge the gap between the academic and real work world and become work ready when Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Sri Lanka conducts the Financial Analysts Competition 2008 from July to September. Endorsed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC), teams of five participants form universities and academic institutions will vie for honours and for the Rs. 100,000 prize and internships in reputed Financial Institutions or Corporate Finance divisions of leading companies. The universities of Kelaniya, Moratuwa (Departments of Mathematics and Management Technology), Peradeniya, Sabaragamuwa and Sri Jayawardenapura, Royal Institute, APIIT, Imperial Institute of Higher Education and Australian College of Business and Technology will be submitting a team. "The winning team will be eligible to participate in the CFA Regional Investment Challenge in Hong Kong and if successful in the Global Investment Challenge in North America," Sanjay Kulatunga, Project Chairman, Financial Analysts Competition 2008, said in a letter to the press. While aligning academic knowledge with real world like application the competition seeks to impart best practices in financial analysis and research and develop interest in securities analysis and the investment profession. Held for the second year, this year’s competition will focus on Sri Lanka’s telecommunication industry with Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) offering itself for analysis by the youngsters. Each team will be assigned an industry mentor and a faculty advisor. Each team is expected to formulate a research report on SLT which will be graded by investment professionals. Overall assessments will made on the reports and on a 15 minute oral presentation with 15 minutes for questions and answers for the finalists. The SEC has also stepped forward to sponsor the competition. A seminar for the participating teams will be held at the SEC today and will cover Industry Analysis, Company Analysis, Report Writing and Presentation. An overview of the telecom industry will also be given to the scholars who will also meet their industry mentors for the first time. The research reports are due for submission on 30th September 2008. The finalists will be announced on 20th October and they will make their oral presentations on 5th November. The winner will be announced on 15 December. |
