JKH, Aitken Spence, DIMO and HDFC awarded

ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards 2009:

Sri Lanka's most transparent and accountable business entities were felicitated at the annual ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards held yesterday for the sixth consecutive year with JKH, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings, DIMO and HDFC Bank rewarded for their exemplary reporting tenets benchmarked to GRI guidelines.

While John Keells Holdings emerged the winner in the large category, HNB was selected as the Runner up with Sampath Bank gaining a commendation. In the medium category, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings and DIMO were adjudged joint winners, with People's Leasing Company obtaining a commendation.

HDFC Bank, the winner of the small-scale category was also presented the winning award in the First Time Entrant category, introduced by ACCA for the first time this year, while HNB Assurance became Runners Up. Guest of Honour ACCA President Mark Gold said that accountants will be a key part of the fight against climate change and ensuring a sustainable future for the global economy and society.

"Without the effective measurement and accounting of resources, there will be no way of shepherding the earth's resources in an efficient or meaningful way. Sustainability reporting provides the most complete and useful look at a business, operations, accounts, and strategy. It moves reporting well beyond simply looking at bald financial figures and casts a light on the foundations of a business' finances," he said.

Chief guest, 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace Co-Winner IPCC-AR4 Vice Chair, and Colombo's Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND) Chairman Professor Mohan Munasinghe said, "The economic, social and environmental impacts (both direct and indirect) of business activity need to be examined objectively, proactively and with greater accountability. The concepts of corporate social responsibility, best practices and compliance standards are crucial for any organisation's long-term success".

Postgraduate Institute of Management Director Professor Uditha Liyanage said, "While it is clear that there is a consciousness of the environmental and social factors in almost all the reports, the winning reports demonstrated that the sustainability principles are fully integrated with the business objectives and provide such evidence.