Ceylinco Life’s Annual Report 2020 honoured by CMA among 10 Best Integrated Reports

Ceylinco Life Director/Chief Financial Officer Palitha Jayawardena and Executive Director/Deputy CFO Ranga Abeynayake (fourth and second from left) receive the CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting award on behalf of the company from Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal

The 2020 Annual Report of Ceylinco Life has been recognised as one of the 10 Best Integrated Reports of that year at the seventh edition of the ‘CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards’ presented by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (CMA) of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s life insurance leader won this prestigious accolade for its Annual Report titled ‘Derisking The Future’ which offers insights into how the company created value for its stakeholders in both financial and non-financial terms while adhering to best governance practices during one of the most challenging years on record.

In all, 41 integrated reports that met the CMA criteria were evaluated using guidelines set out in the International Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework issued in December 2013. The evaluation took into account not only accounting and financial information but also non-financial information provided in the integrated reports. The submitted reports were examined by an experienced evaluation panel, comprising eminent international and local judges.

Ceylinco Life has followed the Integrated Reporting Framework since 2015 subsequent to the segregation of Life and General Insurance into separate business entities under Section 53 of the Regulation of Insurance Industry (Amendment) Act No 3 of 2011, which came into effect that year. Integrated Reporting provides a holistic view of how the company creates sustainable value for its diverse group of stakeholders.

The reporting frameworks that made up the award-winning 2020 Annual Report of Ceylinco Life were Financial Reporting, Integrated Reporting, Governance Reporting and Sustainability Reporting. In an attempt to reduce printed copies of the report, shareholders and interested parties were provided with the option of downloading the report from the company’s website or accessing the Annual Report and the financial statements on their electronic devices by scanning a QR code.

The guiding principles that underpin the preparation of an integrated report include strategic focus and future orientation, connectivity of information, stakeholder relationships, materiality, conciseness, reliability and completeness, and consistency and comparability. According to CMA, integrated reports submitted for the awards must comprise content elements such as organisational overview and external environment, governance, business model, risks and opportunities, strategy and resource allocation, performance, outlook, and basis of presentation.

The CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards competition is organised annually by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka which is the national professional management accounting institute in the country. The purpose of the ‘Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards’ is to encourage Sri Lankan companies both listed and unlisted and state-owned institutions to undertake integrated reporting which will be beneficial to investors and stakeholders. The Colombo Stock Exchange is the ‘Supporting Partner’ of this awards program.

Voted the ‘Most Popular Service Provider’ in Sri Lanka’s Life Insurance industry in 2021, Ceylinco Life has been the country’s leading life insurer for more than half of the 33 years it has been in existence. The company was ranked the ‘Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand’ in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance also in 2021, during which it was also named one of the 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka by the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), was voted the ‘Peoples Life Insurance Service Provider of the Year’ for a record 15th consecutive year, was certified as a ‘Great Workplace’ in Sri Lanka by Great Place to Work and was named the ‘Best Life Insurer in Sri Lanka’ for the eighth consecutive year by World Finance.

Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies and is acknowledged as a benchmark in the local insurance sector for innovation, product research and development, customer service, professional development, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.