CIMA-ICCSL-Daily FT announce ‘Most Admired Companies of Sri Lanka 2021’

CIMA, together with ICC Sri Lanka and the Daily FT, yesterday unveiled the winners of Sri Lanka’s Most Admired Companies Awards 2021.

The top 10 companies in alphabetical order are Cargills Ceylon PLC, CBL Investments Ltd., Ceylinco Life Insurance Ltd., Commercial Bank PLC, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, HNB PLC, LOLC PLC, NDB Bank PLC, NSB Bank, and People’s Bank.

The five honourable mentions in alphabetical order are Abans PLC, BOC, DFCC Bank PLC, SLT PLC, and Sunshine Holdings PLC.

In a year that challenged even the strongest of organisations, these companies came up on top and are recognised, not just for their financial performance, but also the value they create for their shareholders, customers, employees and the wider community in general. 

These companies inspire other organisations and entrepreneurs. They have proven their mettle with consistency, authority and sustainable growth, creating excellent business performance.

The Most Admired Companies are selected under stringent evaluation based on globally accepted criteria by a distinguished panel of judges. These awards were open for companies that have been in business for over five years as of 30 June, had 30% or more Sri Lankan ownership and were also open to both listed and unlisted companies in Sri Lanka.

The esteemed panel of judges, chaired by Ravi Abeysuriya, consisted of Hajar Alafifi, Rolf Blaser, Sunil Dissanayake, Varuni Amunugama Fernando, Santosh Menon, Faizal Salieh, Dr. Sulochana Sigera, and Deepal Sooriyaarachchi. 

The Assurance Partner is KPMG. The Platinum Sponsor for the event is AIA Insurance.

Mid this year, a survey link was shared via the Official Telecommunications Partner – Dialog Axiata PLC – where the general public was asked to nominate the organisations they felt were the most admired in Sri Lanka. Based on the survey, the organisations thus nominated were invited to participate in this competition. Post the various adverts on the Daily FT, there were other organisations who applied as well. 

The initial round consisted of a financial evaluation which was done by a team of CIMA members. Thereafter the KPMG team ratified the scoring and selected the Top 20 organisations from nearly 50 organisations for the second round, which was a presentation by the companies to the panel of judges. This was the most exciting element of the competition as almost all presentations had the Top Management present at the sessions. After an exciting two weeks, the final winners have thus been unveiled.

Elaborating on the judging process, panel chair Abeysuriya FCMA, CGMA, MBA, CFA said: “Being recognised as a most admired company is a definitive globally recognised, independently assessed report card of corporate standing in Sri Lanka. Selecting the top 10 most admired companies involved judges independently scoring the presentations made by the top management team of the finalists on multiple attributes such as the ability to attract and retain talent, quality of products or services, innovativeness, effectiveness in doing business globally, role in the community, environmental, social and corporate governance principles followed, including the track record of integrity and work against corruption in all its forms. The presentation was followed by the panel of judges having an interactive session with the management team to assess how well the companies had actually adopted the said business practices.”

KPMG Sri Lanka Managing Partner and KPMG Middle East and South Asia (MESA) Regional Cluster Chairman Reyaz Mihular, FCMA, CGMA said: “KPMG is proud to be the ‘Assurance Partner’ for the Most Admired Company Awards for the fourth consecutive year and we are honoured to play this significant role in the evaluation process. KPMG once again ensured an impartial and independent method was undertaken in selecting the winners to make the process of evaluation a success. I would also like to extend my warmest congratulations to all those who made it to the top of the list as outstanding companies in Sri Lanka, and to the five honourable mentions, and wish each and every one the very best for the future. It is highly commendable to see organisations going that extra mile to overcome the challenges they faced during the pandemic and for demonstrating sheer determination and perseverance. KPMG also wishes to congratulate ICCSL and CIMA and the other partners on the successful completion of yet another ‘Most Admired Company Awards’ and the panel of judges for their valuable time and effort.”

International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody, FCMA, CGMA said: “In a year in which the country leaned more heavily than ever on service providers to connect and even provide us with our food in a time of isolation, it’s fitting for these companies to be recognised in the most admired list of companies. We congratulate these companies for their tenacity and endurance.”

Daily FT Founding Editor and CEO Nisthar Cassim said: “I congratulate the winning organisations for their persistence in doing their best for all their stakeholders in this challenging period and thus being evaluated as the Most Admired in Sri Lanka. They have done admirably well in financial as well as non-financial aspects and thus are an inspiration for other organisations as well.”

CIMA Sri Lanka Country Manager Zahara Ansary, FCMA, CGMA said: “History has repeatedly shown that the most sustainable companies aren’t necessarily the most profitable but ones that have learnt to balance profits with consideration for the impact on the economy, society and the environment. The organisations lauded as the Most Admired this year have certainly done so despite the various challenges posed by the pandemic and the economic crises. 

“On behalf of the world’s leading and largest body of professional accountants, the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA and CIMA), I am delighted to congratulate these organisations and hope they will continue to be the shining examples in Sri Lanka’s corporate world. I am grateful to our panel of judges, Assurance partner KPMG, sponsor and our co-partners in this competition, ICCSL and Daily FT for joining us to enable yet another successful awards initiative.”

The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held soon.