http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/122 2026-10-30T22:19:58Z 2026-10-30T22:19:58Z Mithila, G. http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/13194 2026-10-28T07:53:07Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Sustainability, ESG and Integrated Reporting in Sri Lanka Pathways to Modernizing Financial Accounting Authors: Mithila, G. Abstract: As global reporting standards continue to include sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, Sri Lanka is adjusting its corporate reporting practices to keep pace with these changes. This chapter discusses how integrated reporting and ESG disclosures are shaping financial accounting practices in Sri Lanka, in line with international standards. Sri Lanka has begun following the International Sustainability Standards Board guidelines, with plans to apply IFRS S1 and S2 from 2025 for sustainability and climate related reporting. Local regulators and the stock exchange have also taken steps to improve ESG reporting rules. Based on a literature review and data analysis, the chapter builds an ESG Quality Index and an ISSB Readiness Score to understand how well companies are preparing to meet global standards. Findings from 2024 show that more companies are publishing integrated reports, with fifty reports released and ten of them following the international framework. However, challenges remain in areas such as consistency, selecting material topics, and connecting ESG information with financial results. To make progress, stronger policy support, training efforts, and better alignment with international frameworks will be important.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Mithila, G. Kengatharan, L. Sinthujakanna, V. http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/13190 2026-10-27T04:25:01Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The mediating role of digital literacy between financial literacy and investment scam awareness Authors: Mithila, G.; Kengatharan, L.; Sinthujakanna, V. Abstract: This study analyses whether digital literacy mediates the relationship between financial literacy and investment scam awareness. Despite the rapid expansion of digital financial services, there remains limited knowledge of whether financial and digital literacy interact to shape resistance to online investment scams. A crosssectional survey was conducted among undergraduates who were selected through stratified random sampling in Sri Lanka. Financial literacy is measured through budgeting skills, financial attitude, financial product literacy and risk awareness. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to estimate the direct effects and mediating effects. Budgeting skills, product literacy and risk awareness enhance digital literacy, while financial attitude shows no meaningful effect. Digital literacy exhibits the strongest direct influence on investment scam awareness. Mediation analysis confirms that digital literacy transmits the effects of budgeting skills, product literacy and risk awareness to scam awareness, whereas financial attitude remains non-significant. The study conceptualizes digital literacy as a coping appraisal mechanism that enables individuals to operationalize financial knowledge in digital financial environments. Guided by Protection Motivation Theory, the study interprets financial literacy as supporting threat appraisal and digital literacy as supporting coping appraisal. The single institution, cross-sectional and self-reported design may restrict generalizability and causal inference. Future studies should use multi-site samples, longitudinal designs, fraud simulation experiments.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Mithila, G. Lingesiya, K. Sherin, V. http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/13170 2026-10-12T08:11:31Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Impact of Digital Finance on SMEs’ Growth and Sustainable Practices Authors: Mithila, G.; Lingesiya, K.; Sherin, V. Abstract: Digital finance is increasingly used by small and medium enterprises to manage payments, banking transactions, business records, and routine financial activities. This study examines how mobile application services, internet banking services, service efficiency, and digital adoption rate are associated with SME growth and sustainable practices in the Colombo District of Sri Lanka. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 200 registered SMEs, while 163 complete responses were used for regression analysis after data screening. The findings show that mobile application services are the strongest predictor of both SME growth and sustainable practices, followed by internet banking services and service efficiency. However, digital adoption rate is not statistically significant once these functional and efficiency-related dimensions are included. The results suggest that SME outcomes are associated more strongly with the quality, usefulness, and routine integration of digital finance than with adoption frequency alone. The study contributes to SME digital finance literature by showing that digital finance can be understood as an operational capability that supports growth and sustainability through transaction speed, record discipline, financial control, and traceability.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Mithila, G. Kengatharan, L. http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/13114 2026-09-28T03:25:07Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Predicting Financial Distress among Listed Hotels in Post-War Sri Lanka Authors: Mithila, G.; Kengatharan, L. Abstract: This study examines the financial indicators associated with financial distress among listed hotel companies in Sri Lanka and develops a model for predicting distress in a post-war tourism context. The analysis uses 21 hotel companies over the period 2013–2022. Financial distress is measured as a binary variable that takes the value of one when a company reports negative operating earnings, negative operating cash flow, or both, and zero otherwise. Profitability, liquidity, activity, leverage, market-based and firm-specific indicators are examined using logistic regression with company-clustered standard errors. The revised model is statistically significant and demonstrates satisfactory predictive performance, with an overall classification accuracy of 83.50 per cent and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.913. The findings show that return on assets has a significant negative association with the probability of financial distress, indicating that hotels generating stronger earnings from their asset base are less likely to experience financial difficulty. In contrast, working capital to total assets has a significant positive association with distress probability, suggesting that a higher level of net current assets does not necessarily indicate financial strength when those resources are inefficiently employed or concentrated in less liquid operating assets. The remaining profitability, liquidity, activity, leverage, market and firm-specific variables are not statistically significant. The findings highlight the importance of asset profitability and effective working capital management in assessing financial vulnerability within the hotel sector. The model assists managers, investors, lenders and policymakers in identifying financially vulnerable hotel companies and taking timely corrective action.

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