PICG, ACCA Pakistan hold seminar on integrated reporting

PICG, ACCA Pakistan and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) collaborated to bring together a seminar on Integrated Reporting. The event was held at a local hotel in Karachi. Executives from organisations, including Shield Corporation Limited, Feroze Mills, Atlas Honda and Archroma Limited, amongst several others, participated in the event.
Syed Khurram Shahid, Head of Investment Banking at AKD Securities started off the seminar by delivering his address titled 'ACCA's policy perspective on IR. He said that the need for integrated reporting sprung up after the global financial crisis and a draft in this regard was issued in 2002.
Following the welcome address PICG President & CEO Fuad A. Hashimi shed light on PICG's engagement with the IIRC through the Pilot Programme. He was of the opinion that Pakistan would not be far behind where voluntarily adoption of integrated reporting was concerned, adding that renowned Pakistani organisations were already prioritising international reporting standards including voluntary adherence to sustainability reporting.
Jonathan Labrey, Chief Strategy Officer IIRC informed participants about IIRC's narrative on IR. He was of the view that 'high quality corporate reporting' was 'clear, open, timely and effective' while stressing the need for greater transparency in areas of strategy, business models, risk and risk mitigation, and company prospects. Labrey also stressed that for an organisation to be dynamic, its management should engage in fair discussion and analysis.
Labrey was followed by Indus Motor Limited CEO Parvez Ghias who spoke about "Embedding Sustainability in Business Operations." He said that organisations previously adhered to sustainability reporting to enhance their reputation but over the years sustainability reporting had become imperative. He concluded by saying that to give stakeholders a wider picture, growth and risk management were key aspects that reporting should take into consideration.
The seminar ended with a panel discussion and an interactive Q&A Session with the participants. While answering one of the questions, Labrey commented that IR was not meant to replace current accounting standards, but to enhance and complement them. He commented that currently the IIRC has not developed standards but rather globally tested principles which they were offering to regions to see whether those principles worked in their respective cases too.-PR