FT
Tuesday Nov 05, 2024
Thursday, 9 December 2010 01:36 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
It was a festive moment when HNB Managing Director and CEO Rajendra Theagarajah (right) walked in to accept the Overall Winner award at the Annual Report Excellence competition organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Chief Guest Senior Minister for International Monetary Cooperation Dr. Sarath Amunugama and ICASL President Sujeewa Mudalige look on – Pic by Kushan Pathiraja
HNB sweeps Annual Report awards
Hatton National Bank (HNB) on Tuesday night swept the prestigious Annual Report Awards competition organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL).
HNB’s impressive tally included Overall Excellence award in Financial Reporting 2010 wining the Cyril Gardiner Memorial Trophy (Gold), the Edmond J. Cooray Memorial Trophy award under the Banking Sector Category, Gold Award for the Corporate Governance Disclosure and Gold for the Management Commentary sector.
The overall Silver award was shared between Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc and Union Assurance Plc while Hayleys Plc and John Keells Holdings Plc shared the Bronze award.
A total of 57 awards were given out at Tuesday night’s ceremony spanning diverse sectors in the country including finance, banking, hotel, health, manufacturing and insurance. This year’s competition saw 81 applicants, a massive increase from 2009’s 69 entries. The 46th Annual Report Awards ceremony was held under the auspices of Senior Minister of International Monetary Cooperation (Dr.) Sarath Amunugama and Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha.
The panel of judges consisting 15 members was chaired by Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal. A total of 150 Chartered Accountants were appointed to closely scrutinise the annual reports during the initial selection process, while some 40 experts from respective sectors were tasked with going through the reports in those relevant sectors.
HNB sweeps...
The competition is seen as a platform which encourages excellence in the presentations of information covering transparency, social accountability and good governance among diverse Sri Lankan business entities in the field of financial reporting.
Chief Guest at the event, Senior Minister Sarath Amunugama, underscored the need for the private sector to play a more pivotal role in the country’s long term development.
He emphasised on the need for mass participation which will generate equitable growth in Sri Lanka. “The private sector has to pay a major role to play in society to ensure sustained growth in the country,” he said. “Today all of us are united, in our attempt to make Sri Lanka the miracle of Asia and this is within our reach,” he declared.
He also noted that his government was creating an environment where more and more companies can be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange giving more opportunities to the masses to enjoy the benefits derived from this effort. While emphasising that the middle class population in Sri Lanka was growing, the Minister disclosed that out of a population of 20 million, 17.5 million are registered mobile and land phone users.
Guest of Honour, Ashok Kantha highlighted the need for both Sri Lanka and India to tap on the unused potential shared between the two nations. “We should take full advantage of the opportunities before us and build on this for our long-term benefits,” he said.
Other key winners
Overall Silver: Commercial Bank and Union Assurance
Overall Bronze: Hayleys and JKH
CSR Reporting
Gold: JKH
Silver: DIMO
Bronze: Commercial Bank
Corporate Governance Disclosure
Gold: HNB
Silver: Union Assurance
Bronze: Commercial Bank
Management Commentary
Gold: HNB
Silver: Commercial
Bronze: Sampath
Sector Gold Winners
Diversified holdings - Groups above 5 subsidiaries
(Lal Jayasundera memorial trophy)
Hayleys Plc
John Keells Holdings Plc
Diversified holdings - Group up to 5 subsidiaries
Diesel & Motor Engineering Plc
Banking Sector
(Edmand J. Cooray memorial trophy)
Hatton National Bank Plc
Financial Institutions
(Albert A. Page memorial trophy)
DFCC Bank
Healthcare Sector
Nawaloka Hospitals Plc
Services Sector
Hayleys Advantis Limited
Telecommunications Sector
Sri Lanka Telecom Plc
Motor Companies Sector
United Motors Lanka Plc
Finance Companies Sector
Mercantile Investments Limited
Leasing Companies Sector
People’s Leasing Co. Ltd.
Trading Companies Sector
ODEL Plc
Hotels Sector
John Keells Hotels Plc
Plantations Sector
Watawala Plantations Plc
Manufacturing Sector
Chemical Industries (Colombo ) Plc
Insurance Sector
Union Assurance Plc
Food & Beverages Sector
Ceylon Cold Stores Plc
NGOs / NPOs Sector
Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka