Q: Could you give us a brief history and progress of delivery centre operations in Sri Lanka?

Chamara Abeyrathne (CA): KPMG in Sri Lanka has been in existence for over 125 years. With a view to expand and explore greater opportunities to serve the global market in line with our global growth strategy, we invested in a set of professionals in the year 2019.

KPMG Cayman Islands joined hands with us at the beginning of 2022 and since then, our workforce has grown beyond 50 employees in total.

We provide numerous services to our offshore teams that go beyond statutory audits – namely, financial risk management services (FRM), IT advisory services, learning and development (L&D) services, and assistance in completing KPMG’s global quality management requirements.

I believe that we have set our initial blueprint and are thrilled about the incredible growth achieved within a year.

Q: What are the benefits of delivery centre operations for Sri Lanka?

CA: We commenced delivery centre operations during one of the most turbulent periods in the country. As a nation, we experienced challenges with foreign currency inflows and reserves due to post-pandemic repercussions. With this initiative, our focus was on transforming Sri Lankan professionals into global professionals.

Therefore, our efforts were not limited to generating foreign currency inflows to the country as we’ve also acquired foreign technical expertise from those who share their industry knowledge with our local professionals while creating ample opportunities.

We retained the professional talent pool within the country at a time when it was much needed by providing opportunities and global exposure.

Q: Why is Sri Lanka a good location for global outsourcing operations for professionals?

CA: Sri Lanka consists of a large pool of finance professionals. Our students are highly skilled with language proficiency and committed to a high quality of service delivery with passion. Furthermore, we operate in a comparatively cost competitive market, which has resulted in attracting many global outsourcing giants to the country.

Basic technical and communication abilities, coupled with two to three years of relevant experience, will enable a professional to enter this service line. Moreover, our local professional qualifications have been reinforced by global accreditations and as a result, many Sri Lankan professionals hold global business roles today.

These are some truly evident factors as to why Sri Lanka is seen as the ideal destination for outsourcing.

Q: What are the challenges in providing delivery solutions and how have you overcome them?

CA: One of the main challenges has been attracting the right talent during a period of continuing brain drain due to skill migration.

However, we are able to develop our existing talent pool through various training programmes and one-to-one coaching with the assistance of our overseas counterparts by bringing trainers from abroad and enabling our staff to participate in various remote learning modules.

With a positive attitude and mindset, we can overcome any challenge – it’s just that we need to get our act together as one team. We need to be focussed and optimistic about our country’s journey on the road to recovery.

Q: Could you outline the firm’s future plans?

CA: We have growth momentum and are immensely proud of what we’ve achieved so far. Our immediate focus is expanding existing service deliveries and becoming an important source of resources to our offshore counterparts.

Our efforts are directed towards improving the quality of our services by attracting talented young professionals while we continue to challenge ourselves to strive for the highest quality to cater to our stakeholders. At KPMG, we look forward to achieving more by working together.

Q: Could you discuss the importance of the Sri Lanka delivery centre to KPMG Cayman Islands?

Luke Murray (LM): We started with five people and have 50 now, outgrowing our expectations. As for the overall context, this is 22 percent of our offshore resources and six percent of our total workforce. This level of growth in such a short period is unprecedented.

We were positively surprised by the level of experience in the people who joined us, as typically we would need to grow slowly by training less experienced people. Here, we were able to bring in people with a wealth of experience.

The other area we have seen really grow is FRM and valuations. Hiring professionals with experience in that sector is very difficult but this is a fast growing part of our team.

Q: What benefits will Sri Lanka enjoy due to the delivery centre operations?

LM: The perception of outsourcing can be that someone comes in from the outside and takes resources without giving back but I believe that we come as equal partners.

We had our Head of Learning and Development, and technical trainers on the ground providing technical and digital training. Another partner visited in May this year to assess the development of the team.

It’s not simply using their time and efforts. We’ve been investing in our people and growing their skills. In October, we saw the results as a large number of the team got promoted. We truly treat them as an extension of our core teams.

Q: Why is the delivery centre model ideal for any professional services firm to follow?

LM: You diversify your operations on a global scale. If you can outsource to Europe, the US or the Caribbean, the business can grow in the different peaks and troughs of global business cycles.

From the employees’ perspective, they diversify their experience. This will differentiate you as an employer.

Q: What transformational technologies have been introduced?

LM: During the training, we started with the basics of Excel, and then Alteryx and DataSnipper. Rather than replacing people, we train our people here to use that technology and have created a technology enabled workforce.

Q: Why should Sri Lankan professionals pursue a career in delivery operations?

LM: I enjoyed my career at KPMG UK. I was working hard and getting rewarded but always felt that there was more out there. So I moved to KPMG Cayman Islands and that has become my home.

You grow personally and professionally by taking yourself out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself. You accumulate life experiences and work-based skills that enhance many aspects of your life.

– Compiled by Allaam Ousman

COMPANY DETAILS

Telephone: 5426426 | Email: kpmgsl@kpmg.com | Website: kpmg.com/lk/en/home.html