CMA Sri Lanka SL4 Corporate Governance & Ethics Exam study guide
CMA Sri Lanka SL4 Corporate Governance & Ethics Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
SL4 Corporate Governance & Ethics is a subject-level examination within the CMA Sri Lanka professional programme. It suits candidates progressing through the CMA qualification, finance professionals moving into board-facing or compliance roles, and company secretaries or internal auditors who need a structured grounding in governance. The CMA Sri Lanka SL4 Corporate Governance & Ethics Exam study guide has 9 sections and about 3,272 words.
01Corporate Governance: Concepts, Theories and Frameworks
This domain tests whether you can name the theories that justify governance rules and then map them onto the instruments that actually bind a Sri Lankan listed company: the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, the CSE Listing Rules (Section 7.10 on corporate governance) and the CA Sri Lanka/SEC Code of Best Practice on Corporate Governance 2017.
365 words, about 2 min02Board Structure, Composition and Effectiveness
This domain tests how a board should be built - size, mix, independence, chair and CEO roles, meetings, evaluation - and whether you can distinguish structural compliance from real effectiveness. Setting direction and approving strategy; monitoring management and performance; accountability to shareholders; setting risk appetite; appointing, remunerating and succeeding the CEO.
345 words, about 2 min03Board Committees and the Audit Committee
This domain tests why boards delegate, how committees should be composed, and what the audit committee specifically owns. Expect questions on composition, terms of reference, reporting lines and the boundary between oversight and management.
361 words, about 2 min04Directors' Duties, Responsibilities and Liabilities
This domain tests the content of directors' duties, to whom they are owed, and the consequences of breach. In Sri Lanka the statutory duties sit in the Companies Act No.
360 words, about 2 min05Risk Management, Internal Control and Internal Audit
This domain tests three related but distinct systems - enterprise risk management, internal control and internal audit - and whether you can place each in the right accountability structure. ISO 31000:2018 sets out principles, a framework and a process: scope and context, identification, analysis, evaluation, treatment, monitoring and communication.
378 words, about 2 min06Stakeholders, Disclosure and Transparency
This domain tests who counts as a stakeholder, how companies engage them, and what a listed company must disclose, when, and to whom. The examiner wants quality of disclosure, not page count.
345 words, about 2 min07Ethics, Ethical Theories and Ethical Decision Making
This domain tests whether you can apply a named ethical theory to a business dilemma, rather than simply asserting that something is wrong. Expect questions that ask you to reason, not to moralise.
355 words, about 2 min08Codes of Ethics, Corporate Culture and Whistleblowing
This domain tests how ethical intent becomes operational: a code that is enforced, a culture that rewards the right behaviour, and safe channels that surface problems early. A credible code names the principles (for CA Sri Lanka members these are integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour), then translates them into rules on gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, inside information, bribery, fair dealing and confidentiality.
388 words, about 2 min09Governance and Ethics in the Sri Lankan Regulatory Context
This domain tests whether you know which Sri Lankan institution does what, which instrument is legally binding, and how the layers interact for a listed company. Registrar of Companies administers the Companies Act No.
375 words, about 2 min