The best corporate and sustainability report (BCSR) awards for the year 2015 would be held on October 7 here in Karachi. The event would be organized jointly by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP). This was announced by Chairman of the Joint Evaluation Committee of ICAP and ICMAP, Yaqoob Suttar, at a media briefing at the ICAP here on Tuesday.
Nadeem Yousuf Adil, president ICAP, and Anis ur Rehman and Muhammad Kamran Jamil from ICMAP were also present on the occasion. Yaqoob Suttar said that that was a yearly award ceremony launched by the ICAP and the ICMAP- the two bodies that were carrying forward and regulating the accounting profession in the country. He was of the view that the awards encouraged the publication of timely, accurate, informative and well presented annual reports for shareholders, investors, regulators, and employees, and recognised and honoured those organisations for their achievements.
Suttar maintained that the annual reports were adjudged in accordance with the criteria through a transparent evaluation process. As many as 50 companies are conferred the awards in 10 categories such as banks, NBFIS including insurance, chemical and pharmaceuticals, fuel and energy, engineering and autos, cement and sugar, textiles, mutual funds, non-profit organisations and others. Anis ur Rehman of ICMAP suggested that the cost audit should be declared compulsory for the entire industry in the country.
He also pointed out that some 7,000 members of ICAP and about 5,000 members of ICMAP were working for the betterment and promotion of the accounting profession in the country.
President ICAP, Nadeem Yousuf Adil said the concept of sustainability was becoming an important business concern, which was balancing economic performance with social and environmental performance. He said investors, consumers and other stakeholders want to know whether a company is working towards ever more sustainable development. 'Proactively managing environmental, social and governance issues is not only good for the success of business, but is also a practical way of addressing some of society's greatest challenges, including poverty, climate change, equality and health,' he added.
President ICAP said the awards were initiated with the aim to promote responsible reporting by entities covering economic, environmental and social performance of the business. 'The winner of BCSR awards from Pakistan would be recommended for the SAFA-South Asia Federation of Accountants, level awards,' he added.