Local business leaders, financial regulators, economists and civil society leaders called on the Sri Lankan Government to strengthen financial investigating bodies in the light of recent scandals that have rocked the public’s faith in financial institutions. This was discussed at a roundtable gathering held on 26th February 2009 at the BMICH. The discussion was facilitated by Transparency International Sri Lanka.
Presenting a comparative analysis of recent corporate collapses in in Sri Lanka and India, Sujeewa Mudalige of PriceWaterhouseCoopers questioned the capability of investigating authorities to adequately investigate white-collar crime. Mudalige also expressed his concern that the media in Sri Lanka was not highlighting these issues adequately.
Discussing the role of business integrity in preserving corporate stability former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chandra Jayarathne said that in all recently reported incidents the common thread observed was a significant failure amongst operating market-participant stakeholders, of a non-adherence to expected values, societal norms, professional standards and much valued codes of conduct, governance, transparency and ethics. He stressed on the need for civil society, including the citizens and the media, to take a large part of the blame for their ineffectiveness, inactiveness, disinterest, greed, overconsumption and lack of social consciousness, as demonstrated by their inept behavior whilst being key indirect market participants.
A lively discussion followed the introductory presentations. The forum discussion was moderated by Dr Mario Gomez, human rights lawyer.