ICMA International: Message from Ashfaq Yousuf Tola FCA President, ICAP

TEXT: In the face of growing challenges in reporting information, there is greater need of transparency and building investor confidence.

Excellence in corporate reporting and compliance with international financial reporting standards play a fundamental role in promoting transparency and building confidence among investors in the capital market. It also helps establish Pakistan as a viable option for foreign investment.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) has always been committed to promote transparency, governance and accountability in Pakistan’s corporate sector. The Best Corporate & Sustainability Report (BC&SR) Awards is an example of the Institute’s commitment towards improving and enhancing the quality of financial reporting in Pakistan.

In a dynamic global economy, investors are demanding an integrated and holistic approach to performance and value creation in corporate reporting. This in turn is shaping the corporate reporting landscape. Stakeholders now want to know about an organization's sustainability and how it is accurately reporting on its corporate activities.

In recent years, sustainability reporting has become an important part of corporate reporting. The use of sustainability reporting is a new way for organizations to become more sustainable and contribute to a sustainable global economy.

Making sustainability reporting a part of company’s core business strategy, helps drive innovation, better risk management and improved operational efficiencies. This results in enhanced loyalty of employees, customers, suppliers, communities and investors. Over 90 percent of the world’s largest companies are already reporting on their sustainability impacts using global reporting frameworks like GRI Standards or International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) framework.

I am pleased to share that considering the new challenges and also to promote sustainability reporting in Pakistan the Joint Evaluation Committee of the ICAP and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan took the initiative well in advance and launched the Best Sustainability Report (BSR) Awards in 2011.

The BSR Awards are aimed at creating awareness about sustainability reporting and help guide companies to operate in a socially responsible way.

It is heartening to see that over the period, the BCSR competition has brought tremendous improvement in the annual reports of the companies and an increasing number of companies are now focusing and developing sustainability reporting /disclosures and are also participating in the ICAP-ICMAP BSR Awards.

I congratulate the companies who have participated in the competition and won the awards and hope that they will continue to achieve excellence in corporate reporting in future as well. I specially thank honorable Chief Guest, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar and Guest of Honor, Mr. Siraj Aziz for gracing the event.

I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the Chairman and members of the Evaluation Committee and the executives of both the Institutes, Ms. Farheen Mirza and Mr. Asim Hussain Khan and their team for their tireless efforts in the entire process of evaluation of annual reports, results finalization and announcement.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022