Dear Friends,

This is indeed probably the most turbulent of times we have seen for a while and even more alarming than the virus is the associated economic hit that all countries will have to deal with.

No one knows exactly how this is going to play out in the short and medium term let alone the long term. All we can do is to prepare ourselves to manage our affairs based on what we think is going to happen.

However, it is fair to say that the impact will be massive.

In this regard we recognize the importance of our business functioning smoothly so that we can help you to manage the turbulence. In order to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted service we at CAL have taken many actions and would like to share some of them with you.

First of all, we recognize that our people are the most valuable asset we have and have taken various precautions such as stopping all foreign travel and conferences seminars etc. where large number of people gather. Anyone who has been exposed to such an event such as the recently held cricket matches etc. has been asked to self-quarantine. We have also asked all client meetings to be moved to virtual meetings and since we have largely moved towards a paperless operation the need for physical signatures etc. would be kept to a bare minimum.

At an operational level we have gone beyond our traditional “Business continuity planning“ to introduce “split operations” by identifying critical business operations and forming two teams who are trained to handle the same business processes. These two teams will work from two different locations. One team will operate at our head office in Nawam Mawatha and the other team will operate at our disaster recovery site. The two teams will not come into contact with each other at all. This way CAL is mitigating the risk of all team members being exposed to COVID 19 at the same time.

In addition, we are also very fortunate to have had a very innovative and proactive IT team who over the years have introduced the latest technology and IT security systems to the company. All CAL systems are on a secure cloud and staff can also work from home. The ability to work from home has given the team at CAL much comfort during these difficult times as they are able to complete all tasks in a timely manner.

At a strategic level we have been de-risking as much as possible for the past several weeks, and will continue doing so. We know opportunities will come along the way but until we see some clarity emerging it’s best to stay safe. We firmly believe there is always opportunity to make good decisions even in the worst of times and are keeping a careful eye for any emerging directional signals.

These actions have allowed CAL to continue business operations as usual to ensure all client needs are met during this critical period. Over the next few days we will be contacting all our valued partners but please feel free to reach out to anyone at CAL at any time over the phone if you need any assistance or clarification.

We are fully operational and look forward to weathering this storm together with you.

Stay Safe!

Ajith Fernando
Group CEO