LACP Annual Report Competition:

Sri Lanka gains top honours

Sri Lanka has gained top honours for the quality of its annual reports at the recently concluded League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Annual Report Competition.

Several Sri Lankan companies received awards for their annual reports whilst two companies also made it to the global top 100 list. Smart Media - The Annual Report Company was awarded the Gold for Agency of the Year in the Asia Pacific Region.

This was revealed at a media conference hosted by the winning companies.

Explaining the stature and significance of these awards, Smart Media’s Chairman, Dr. Vijith Kannangara said that, nine out of the top ten Fortune 500 companies participate in LACP competitions.

“This year, there were more than 4,000 entries from 28 countries for this Global Annual Report Competition conducted annually in USA. Only the top 15 percent have received award-level recognition.

The average split between narrative and financials in judging has been 40 percent to 60 percent”, said Dr. Kannangara.

Diesel and Motor Engineering Company Chairman and CEO Ranjith Pandithage whose company won its category Gold, as well as the Gold for the Most Engaging Annual Report in the Asia Pacific Region and was ranked No. 61 among the global top 100 said, ‘Dimo works with over 50 Principals from around the world, representing many of the world’s top brands.

Our principals want to know how we deal with their products. The Annual Report is a tool of communication in this regard. It is also a means of demonstrating our commitment to Sustainability.

Excellent partnership with Smart Media spanning over 15 years has helped us to produce a world class Annual Report that fulfills all our aspirations. In the past Dimo Annual Report has also won many awards at the Annual Report Awards Competition organized by the ICASL”.

Seylan Bank Executive Chairman Eastman Narangoda - who won its category Gold, as well as the Gold for the Most Improved Annual Report in the Asia Pacific Region said, ‘One and a half years back the bank faced a crisis. Thanks to the timely intervention of the Central Bank and the new Director Board the bank was successfully turned around.

Our unique success story was captured in the form of a Case Study in the Annual Report 2009, probably the first of its kind in the world. We are receiving excellent feedback not only from investing community, business and financial communities but also from the academia, students and many diverse parties from across the world”.

The other companies whose Annual Reports won awards at the competition are Dipped Products, Hayleys PLC, Nations Trust Bank, Talawakelle Tea Estates, Lanka Orix Finance Company Limited, Islamic Business Unit, The Business for Peace Alliance (BPA) and National Savings Bank.

Smart Media - the Annual Report Company Chairman said, “Over the past two years, Smart Media has also been laying valuable ground work within the international corporate reporting arena and has successfully positioned itself in selected overseas markets.

These efforts have borne fruit, as the company turned out an award winning report for Oman Air, in its maiden attempt. Oman Air’s report won category Silver as well as the Silver for the Most Improved Annual Report from the Asia-Pacific Region at the LACP Annual Report Competition”.