Annual Report Award for 2009:

HNB wins Gold

Chanaka DE SILVA

Investors can deal with bad news. But they intensely dislike uncertainty. The investors get spooked when information they rely on proves to be unreliable, they loose confidence and head for the exit. That is why corporate governance reporting is so important, said International Accounting Standards Board Chairman Sir David Tweedie at the 50th annual report awards ceremony organized by Institute of Chartered Accountant of Sri Lanka (ICASL)in Colombo the week.

Stressing the importance of quality financial reporting, ICASL President, Nishan Fernando said, "In the context of recession and financial down-turns in today's global economy, transparency, social accountability, and good governance of an organization play a pivotal role. This competition encourages organizations to meet these global expectations".

Union Assurance PLC won the Gold Award for 'Corporate Governance Disclosures'. John Keells Holdings PLC won the Gold Award in the 'Corporate Social Responsibility', category while Union Assurance PLC won the Gold Award in the 'Management Commentary' category.

Recognizing organizations which have achieved excellence in annual reporting, the Annual Report Awards is a prestigious event which is much looked forward to in Sri Lanka's annual corporate calendar since 1964. Thirty-two awards were presented in 22 categories, with a winner and runner-up in each category. The awards open to every organization that produces an annual report and attracts entries ranging from larger corporate entities to small community groups.

Among the Silver and Bronze award winners were :

- Hayleys PLC (Silver Award) and Union Assurance PLC (Bronze Award) in the 'Excellence in Annual Financial Reporting' category.

- Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC and HNB Assurance PLC (Silver Award) and John Keells Holdings PLC and Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (Bronze Award) in the 'Corporate Governance Disclosures' category.

- Union Assurance PLC (Silver Award) and Hayleys PLC (Bronze Award) in the 'Corporate Social Responsibility' category, - Hatton National Bank PLC (Silver Award) and Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (Bronze Award) in the 'Management Commentary' category.

"The ICASL Annual Report Awards competition has become the pioneer in promoting transparency and good governance practices and recognizing the companies on such reporting.

This also increases the importance of proper annual reports from companies, as it helps support their market value, boost investor confidence in the market, and create real quality growth driven by the private sector", he added.

The panel of judges takes into account the size, complexity and sophistication of each entrant as well as the resources available. The Annual Reports are evaluated against established criteria. These, however, do not include actual financial position or actual financial or non-financial performance of an organization.

ICASL President Nishan Fernando said that as Sri Lanka's premier National Accounting Body, the ICASL has been proud to conduct these awards for the past 44 years.