Ajith Tudawe
chairman of Ceylon Hospitals Ltd (Durdans Hospital) and group financial director of Tudawe Brothers Ltd, Sri Lanka
Ajith Tudawe chose ACCA because he wanted a career that gave him the widest range of opportunities. For him, accountancy is a profession that inspires logical thinking, leadership and innovation. Today, Ajith is a group director of a diversified group of companies, encompassing building and civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, real estate development and healthcare services. He is also the chairman of a leading private healthcare institution.
Deriving great personal fulfilment from the varied aspects of his work, Ajith says: 'I enjoy the challenge of achieving continuous improvement and growth, which can be accomplished only if the path I am following is subject to change.' One of his greatest challenges was the restructuring of Durdans Hospital to achieve greater operational efficiency and broad-basing the capital structure of the company. His vision is to establish the Hospital's cardiac unit as a centre of excellence by offering world-class technology and services in healthcare to the people of Sri Lanka.
Ajith believes strongly in giving something back to society. During his Presidency of ACCA Sri Lanka, Sustainability Reporting Awards were introduced to widespread acclaim. 'My hope is that we can create an environment where all businesses, from the largest conglomerates to the smallest micro enterprises, take responsibility for their actions and are aware of the effect these have on society and the nation as a whole.'
Reflecting on the role of accounting professionals, Ajith says: 'Compliance with relevant accounting standards, corporate governance and ethical codes is crucial. Our work must also always be towards goals that encompass the values reflected by society and the people around us. We must think "out of the box" and be high performance achievers. We are what we make of ourselves.'