Rewarding transparency, accountability and responsibility of action

Wednesday, 15 February 2017 10:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Strengthening its fundamental ethos of rewarding transparency, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Sri Lanka will hold its flagship calendar event for the 13th year in succession on 28 February at Cinnamon Grand.

Rewarding Sri Lanka’s most transparent, accountable and responsible entities, ACCA will felicitate not only those companies who have shown immense commitment and dedication to the fundamental principles of accountability and transparency overall, but also highlight those who have made a difference in various categories.

Under the aegis of Resident Coordinator of the UN Sri Lanka and Resident Representative of UNDP Sri Lanka Una McCauley, an overall winner and runner up will be crowned as will be those who have showcased continuous commitment to these principles namely, Conglomerates and Diversified, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, SME (turnover less than Rs. 1 b), Retail and Trading, Leisure and Connected Services and General Services and Utilities.

President of the Member Network Panel of ACCA Sri Lanka Adrian Perera explained that while organisations the world over are under mounting pressure from their wide array of stakeholders, from investors to governments to non-governmental organisations and even communities and customers, it has become imperative that entities are transparent and accountable in all their dealings.

“They must demonstrate their efforts to manage the impacts of their operations. Sustainability reporting has now become an important route through which corporate accountability and integrity can be demonstrated.”

The ACCA Sri Lanka Awards for Sustainability Reporting were launched in November 2004, based on the objectives of rewarding and recognising those organisations which report and disclose environmental, social or full sustainability information within Sri Lanka, encourage the uptake of environmental, social and/or sustainability reporting and raise awareness in corporate transparency issues and increase accountability of responsiveness to stakeholders.

“All organisations have an impact on the environment and society and therefore should be accountable to their stakeholders,” said Perera.

Sri Lankan companies join over 3,000 entities worldwide, including over two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500 in producing reports detailing sustainability and corporate responsibility following the framework set out by the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative).

In addition to Sri Lanka, the ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards are held in a number of countries including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the UK and the USA with similar awards, largely based on the ACCA criteria, existing in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.