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Hooray HNB

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

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