Annual Report is an important medium through which stakeholders obtain knowledge about a company for their economic decision making. It can generate more value if viewed as a communications opportunity rather than a compliance obligation. Providing high quality financial reporting information is important because it positively influence capital providers and other stakeholders in making investment, credit, and similar resource allocation decisions enhancing overall market efficiency.
Excellence in reporting encourages better governance. It increases levels of trust and confidence in the governance arrangements between companies and their shareholders and other stakeholders. It also encourages good quality investor engagement and enables stakeholders to benefit from increased levels of transparency and accountability. In return companies can benefit from greater commitment, loyalty and support from the stakeholders.
Disclosure becomes an essential process for building confidence that the company will deliver value over the longer term and, at the same time, manage its risks and reputation. Disclosure changes behavior and improvements in disclosure can become a driver of improved governance performance. This, in turn, increases the pressure on a company to maintain and improve its operational performance.
The rising concerns of the stakeholders (particularly investors) on transparency and accountability has increased the focus, on both the role of the Board and its effectiveness in executing its responsibilities. ICAP is committed to promoting transparency and accountability in Pakistan's corporate sector. With due adherence to professional ethics, professionalism and discipline, the profession has brought about a marked improvement in corporate governance and high quality reporting in Pakistan.
ICAP has been playing a key role in developing the profession at the national as well as at regional and international level in bodies like SAFA, CAPA and IFAC, through its ongoing contribution to enhancing the quality of disclosure and transparency aspects of Corporate Governance. ICAP has taken steps to enhance the reliability of the financial statements prepared by the companies through the adoption of international standards on auditing and ensuring their full compliance through a robust system of quality control enforced by an independent Quality Assurance Board. The aim of the Best Corporate Report Awards is to encourage and give recognition to excellence in annual corporate reporting. Awards seek to promote corporate accountability and transparency through the publication of timely, informative, factual and reader friendly annual reports. Over the period, this competition has brought tremendous improvement in the annual reports of the companies. This fact has also been acknowledged at the regional level as the number of SAFA awards winning companies from Pakistan has increased.
I wish to offer my heartiest felicitations to all the companies who have participated in this competition and in particular to those who are adjudged the best. I appreciate the efforts and continued support of the participating companies which in turn encourages the two Institutes in their endeavors.