Siemens on top in Best Corporate Report Awards: SBP chief for more transparency in corporate governance

The Governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Salim Raza, on Monday urged the country's corporate sector to introduce more transparency in governance and decision making through greater disclosure of financial and non-financial information to the stakeholders.
Speaking as chief guest at the Best Corporate Reports Award Ceremony, jointly organised by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) at a local hotel, he stressed the need for change in the thinking of the corporate sector, saying that the system of protectionism was unable to meet the global challenges.
He expressed hope that these awards would also help the country boost its economy, "which needs sizeable investments in fixed capital". The government's efforts towards structural reforms and recent geopolitical developments in South Asia have again enabled Pakistan to attract foreign investments and these awards will serve as a catalyst in augmenting this progress, he remarked.
He urged the professional accountants to work with a renewed zeal to enhance the prestige of the profession in the present global economic slowdown. Raza opined that the Best Corporate Reports Award would "certainly take us towards greater transparency in disclosure of annual accounts" and strengthen good governance practices in the corporate sector. These awards would also improve the credibility between various stakeholders and the management of the companies, he added.
He said that the level of reliance by all stakeholders on the corporate reports and annual accounts should significantly grow in the years to come. The SBP Governor said that the cross border exposure of the corporate sector, the exposure in new asset forms such as derivatives and accounting for off-balance sheet exposure are all accompaniments of globalisation and liberalisation and they make new demands for progress in the area of accounting and regulatory discipline.
He said that to maximise dividend of the global opportunity, the corporate sector has to improve the corporate governance even in tightly held ownership companies. Raza observed that the modern accounting system underpins the continuity and evolution of joint stock companies, which is the base of all developments in the modern economy.
He said that from the simple double-entry book keeping system, the profession of accounting has evolved itself as a qualitative framework of methods and standards that ensure a company's affairs are well understood to all constituencies ie, shareholders, employees, fiscal authorities, financial stakeholders and prospective investors.
He said that the accounting profession is one of the cornerstones that have immensely supported and contributed towards the emergence of modern day economic system and its institutions.
"The world is changing at a rapid pace, and the accounting profession must come up to the international standards of accounting and good corporate governance," Raza said. On this occasion, Asad Ali Shah, President of ICAP, Hasan Bilgrami, President of ICMAP, and Abdul Rahim Suriya, Chairman of Joint Committee of ICAP & ICMAP, were also present.
In engineering sector, Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering Co Limited topped, while Crescent Steel & Allied Products, International Industries Limited, Hinopak Motors Limited, and Atlas Honda Limited remained at second, third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
Pakistan Petroleum Limited topped the Fuel and Energy sector, while Pakistan Oilfields Limited, Attock Petroleum Limited, Oil & Gas Development Company, and Attock Refinery were at second, third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited received the first position in the Chemical and Fertiliser sector, as ICI Pakistan Limited, GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited, Dawood Hercules Chemical Limited, Sanofi Avantis Pakistan Limited remained on the second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively.
Askari Bank Limited topped the Financial Sector - Banks, while Allied Bank Limited came on second, Faysal Bank Limited on third, Meezan Bank Limited on fourth and Muslim Commercial Bank Limited on fifth positions. Financial Sector - NBFCs was topped by IGl Insurance Limited, followed by Atlas Insurance Limited on second, Arif Habib Securities Limited on third, Adamjee Insurance Co Limited on fourth, and New Jubilee Insurance Company Ltd on fifth positions.
The Miscellaneous Sector was topped by Rafhan Maize Products Co Limited, while Pakistan Tobacco Co Limited, Shakarganj Mills Limited, Security Papers Limited, KSB Pums Co Limited were on second, third, fourth and fifth positions respectively. Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering Co Limited got over all top position in the competition of the Best Corporate Report Awards-2008.