Yohan Perera, the Managing Partner, and Priyanka Jayatilake, the Deputy Managing Partner of KPMG Sri Lanka demonstrate grandiosity in terms of their journey and their experience, leading them to the leadership positions in KPMG Sri Lanka, a member firm of the KPMG network, one of the world-renowned audit firms.
After concluding his studies at Royal College, Colombo, Priyanka Jayatilake was selected for a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics at the University of Colombo. However, with his refined interest in the field of computing, he daringly chose to step foot in the new field, back in the 1980s. Meanwhile, he also pursued Chartered Accountancy and had to join KPMG to get the relevant training attuning his eligibility to attend his finals. Initiating his journey as a trainee, he completed chartered accountancy before becoming a Manager in 1990. After completing his Master’s in Computer Science Scholarship at the University of Sheffield, started as an Audit Partner at KPMG before moving on to an Advisory Partner role. In 2012 Priyanka became the Head of Advisory and continued till the end of March this year, when he took over the position as the Deputy Managing Partner of the Firm with the change in leadership. He continues to lead the IT Advisory services of KPMG and says that “by embedding trust and technology into everything we do, we integrate innovative approaches and deep industry expertise to deliver real results”.
“Our purpose, to inspire confidence by building trust while empowering change to shape a better future, is rooted in the rich history of KPMG, built on our role to protect the public interest while shaping a better future for our clients, our people, stakeholders and society”, adds Priyanka. KPMG, as a professional services firm with the vision to be the most trusted and trustworthy professional services firm, maintains a zero-tolerance policy on matters relating to integrity. Reviews are carried out by Teams from the region and global on compliance with KPMG Values and policies on risk management, quality framework, accreditation process, continuous training requirements and assessment of independence to maintain the brand image across the KPMG network.
Priyanka shares his advice for the future generation as a man of great calibre. “You need to be passionate about what you do”, said Priyanka. According to him, following goals passionately with resilience is a deficient component he sees in the current younger society. He urges the youngsters to pursue what they want with passion and determination rather than doing what is expected by the others around them or giving up due to impatience. Without that, he believes there is no justice left for both parties, for the person and the ones’ around. “Discipline, good values and hard work are needed. It’s not about the number of hours one works but the quality of work that matters. Doing beyond the bare minimum is crucial to climb higher in the ladder of success”.