The last decade has witnessed the financial disclosures increasingly getting improved through international accounting standards and IFRSs to achieve the transparency desired by the readers. However the numbers are only quantitative; they lack the description of qualitative factors. The operational management for their decision making still prepare a different set of management accounts. However for external stakeholders a good Annual Report helps in better understanding of the operating results and financial position of the business as well as governance practices adopted by the entity.
Stakeholders, especially investors, equate high quality annual reports with high quality management. For an investor, the Annual Report should be such that the reader can see inside-out of the company not only the positive aspects but also the negative performance.
I am pleased to put on record that the Code of Corporate Governance Code was developed on the initiative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) after the members passed a resolution in the Fifth All Pakistan Chartered Accountants' Conference held in December 1998 and SECP approved CCG in 2002 after consultative process.
In order to encourage transparency and better and relevant reporting from companies through additional disclosures, ICAP and ICMAP launched the Best Corporate Reporting Awards. The awards are given to companies as an acknowledgement for voluntarily providing relevant and timely information to the stakeholders to help them make economic decisions. An elaborate 'Criteria' which has evolved over the years, is used as a basis to evaluate best reports.
The Evaluation Committee of ICAP and ICMAP always look out for new trends in information sharing. The aim of the Best Corporate Report (BCR) Awards is to encourage and give recognition to excellence in annual corporate reporting. Instituted and presented for the first time in 2000, BCR Awards seek to promote corporate accountability and transparency through the publication of timely, informative, factual and reader friendly annual reports. SECP may consider this document to be made part of CCG for further improving Financial and Governance Reporting.
The Criteria is developed based on:
a) IFRS Practice Statement Management Commentary issued by International Accounting Standard Board
b) Other information as per International Auditing Standard ISA 720
c) Global Best Practices
d) Experience of Committee members
The Criteria of 2013 is placed on websites of both the Institutes.
I thank members of the Evaluation Committee and Secretariat for tremendous efforts in doing evaluation of annual reports and improving the Criteria.