Tuesday, 15 October 2013 00:07
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Smart Media The Annual Report Company was once again adjudged the global champion at the International ARC Awards 2013. The company clinched the prestigious Platinum Achievement Award by winning the highest number of awards on behalf of clients spread across nine countries. Smart Media’s bag of 95 awards included seven Grand Awards and 25 Gold Awards. The Grands are often referred to as the ‘Oscars’ of the annual reporting world, for which the best of the Golds compete.
Dr. Vijith Kannangara along with Raja Senanayake, Jayantha Nagendran and Suwini Amarasinghe accepted the coveted Platinum Achievement Award on behalf of Smart Media at the gala event held in New York City last week. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Kannangara posed the question as to whether an annual report should be a mere statutory obligation or a marketing tool that drives business. If it is the latter, he opined that the report should be designed as such all the way with clear objectives and a choice of relevant media and not get stuck in the middle as often seen today.
DFCC Bank won the Grand Award for the Best Annual Report of Sri Lanka. DFCC’s Rosheeni Madanayake, in her acceptance speech, made the point that DFCC Bank was one of the oldest Development Finance Institutions in the world, but one that has successfully adapted its business model in a fast-changing world.
Jetwing’s Lighthouse Hotel received three Grand Awards including that for the Environmentally Sound Annual Report. Lighthouse Hotel was ahead of large hotel chains such as the Peninsula Hotels Group.
The social enterprise So Others May See Inc. won two Grand Awards; the best Written Text (Asia/Pacific) and President’s Letter (Non-profit), ahead of Asian heavyweights such as Bank of China, Daiwa House Industry of Japan and Trinity Limited of Hong Kong.
Diesel & Motor Engineering was seen rubbing shoulders with General Electric. They both won the Grand Award for the Best Online Annual Report; General Electric for USA, and Dimo for the rest of the world outside USA.
The awards won are a reflection of the country’s capabilities in world class financial reporting, an essential element among others in advancing Sri Lanka’s goal of becoming a global financial services hub.
The ARC Awards is the biggest annual report competition in the world, duly recognised for its independence, integrity and international perspective. Established 27 years ago to honour overall excellence in annual reports, the competition attracted over 2,200 entries from 34 countries this year.
