By Rafiq Vayani
KARACHI: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and Institute of Cost and Management Accountant of Pakistan (ICMAP) organized the much anticipated event of the corporate world, Best Corporate and Sustainability Report 2017 (BCSR) Awards here at a local hotel on Tuesday. More than 40 awards were presented to best performer companies for good reporting.
Tariq Hassan, Chairman Audit Oversight Board, Mr. Richard Morin, CEO Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited and Dr. Zeeshan Ahmed, Dean of Karachi School of Business Leadership were the guests of honor.
President ICMA Pakistan, Zia-ul-Mustafa in his address said excellence in reporting encourages better governance. It increases levels of trust and confidence in the governance arrangements between companies, their shareholders and other stakeholders. Disclosure becomes an essential process for building confidence that the company will deliver value over the longer term and, at the same time, manage its risks and its reputation, he added.
President ICAP Riaz A. Rehman Chamdia in his address offered heartiest felicitations to all the companies who participated in this competition and in particular to those who were adjudged the best. He said this competition has brought tremendous improvement in the annual reports of the companies over the period. This fact has also been acknowledged at the regional level as the number of winning Pakistani companies of SAFA awards has increased.
The Evaluation Committee Chairman Abdul Rahim Suriya in his brief said that the criteria for the year 2018 has been revamped and it is based on International Integrated Reporting Framework <IR> which aims to improve the quality of information available to providers of financial capital to enable a more efficient and productive allocation of capital. He observed that in Pakistan there are number of NPOs/NGOs receiving substantial amount as Zakat and donation but they usually lack in transparency, one of the reason being that their annual reports are neither published nor placed on their websites. The Committee recommends SECP to direct all Public Interest Companies and NPOs to follow the 2018 BCR criteria in their Annual Reports. It also recommends PSX to consider it for giving some weightage in their criteria for selecting best performing companies at PSX.
CEO Pakistan Stock Exchange Richard Morin said that PSX in collaboration with the regulator is taking measures to improve investor confidence through better regulations and new rules of material information enabling corporate transparency.
“There is ample evidence that companies that are more transparent and keep a simpler structure are rewarded with higher valuation, which is good for all shareholders, especially the sponsors,” he stressed.
He said such awards would promote corporate transparency, which leads to more capital formation – something a country with a very low savings rate like Pakistan sorely needs – and better allocation of capital in the economy.”
The best corporate report award for 2017 was won by Cherat Packaging Limited while best Sustainability report award was won by ICI Pakistan.
Mughal Iron & Steel, Attock Petroleum, Cherat Cement, MCB Bank, Jubilee Insurance, Kohinoor Textile Mills and Fauji Fertilizer won best corporate awards in their respective sectors.
Other award winning companies were Abbot Laboratories Pakistan Limited, Al-Ghazi Tractors Limited, Allied Bank Limited, Atlas Battery Limited, Atlas Honda Limited, Attock Refinery Limited, Bank Alfalah Limited, Cherat Packaging, Crescent Steel & Allied Products Limited, Cyan Limited, EFU General Insurance Company Limited, EFU Life Assurance Limited, Engro Polymers and Chemicals Limited, First Habib Modaraba, Gadoon Textile Mills Limited, Gul ahmed Textile Mills Limited, Hub Power Company Limited, HSE, Lotte Chemicals Pakistan Limited, Lucky Cement Limited, Maple Leaf Cement Limited, Mari Petroleum Company Limited, Meezan Bank Limited, Mughal Iron & Steel Industries Limited, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited, Pak Electron Limited, Pakistan Steel Oil Limited, Pakistan Tobacco Company, Sadaqat Limited, Shakarganj Limited, Synthetic Product Enterprises Limited, Thatta Cement Limited, The Citizen Foundation, TPL Insurance Limited and Tri Pack Films Limited.
In his vote of thanks, Honorary Treasurer ICMAP Yasin applauded efforts and enthusiasm of the members of the Evaluation Committee for organizing the BCR Event for 18th consecutive year.
