Sri Lankan-born finance professional Priyan Fernando has been honoured as Chief Financial Officer of the Year at the 2025 Australian Accounting Awards.
The awards ceremony, held in Sydney on 20 June 2025 in partnership with CPA Australia, recognised outstanding achievers in the accounting industry across the country.
Born in Colombo, Fernando pursued his early education at St. Peter’s College and Elizabeth Moyer School, where he excelled with straight A’s in both GCE O/L and A/L examinations. In 2002, he moved to Australia as an overseas student and graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2005, beginning his career as a financial accountant.
His career path shifted dramatically in 2008 when his father, a pioneer in Sri Lanka’s garment industry, fell into a coma while in the United States. Fernando returned to Colombo to manage the family’s garment business, which employed over 1,200 staff across four factories. Guiding the company through the global financial crisis, he worked alongside his father to restructure operations, safeguard jobs, and strengthen his expertise in leadership and financial strategy.
During this period, he also served as General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Garment Exporters Board, earning recognition for his service to the industry and wider community.
After returning to Australia in 2013, Fernando resumed his finance career while furthering his studies. He completed an MBA at Macquarie Business School—ranked Australia’s top business school—in 2019. In 2022, he founded Matrix Advisory, a firm dedicated to supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Australia.
Today, Matrix Advisory has expanded into a dynamic operation with a 10-member professional team based in Sri Lanka.
