ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards on 24 Feb.

Wednesday, 17 February 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

For the 12th year in succession, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Sri Lanka will reward Sri Lanka’s most transparent, accountable and responsible entities at the ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards on 24 February at The Kingsbury. Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs D.M. Swaminathan will be Chief Guest.

This year’s awards spotlight seven categories in addition to rewarding the overall winner and runner up. The seven categories are 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.

In the awards held last year, from nearly 80 entrants, JKH gained kudos as the winner in the Conglomerates and Diversified category. HNB won the award in the Banking category, while in Financial Services and Insurance, Mercantile Investment and Finance enjoyed the top spot.

The winner in the SME (less than Rs. 1 b turnover) category was Sanasa, while DIMO emerged the winner in Retail and Trading. In Leisure and Connected Services, John Keells Hotels bagged the top award, while American & Efird Lanka were adjudged winner in General Services and Utilities. Awards for runners up were presented in each category. ACCA Sri Lanka Member Network Panel President Danushka Samarasinghe stated: “ACCA, while being one of the largest global accounting bodies, has identified the importance of reporting sustainable corporate initiatives and developing a framework to encourage more acceptance and participation of the same. Through this, we envisage developing Sri Lankan institutions to nurture exemplary sustainable business conduct and share their achievements with the stakeholders effectively.”

Sri Lankan companies, over 3,000 entities worldwide, including over two-thirds of the Fortune Global 500 in producing reports detailing sustainability and corporate responsibility follow 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.