SEC lauds listed companies for high quality financial reporting

Thursday, 19 December 2013 00:52 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) reviews Annual Reports of Listed Companies to enhance the quality of financial

reporting and ensure that material information is promptly disseminated by listed companies. Furthermore, global financial scandals which took place in the recent past have galvanised considerable interest in high quality financial reporting and the role of corporate governance and this led to the launch of a joint Code of Best Practice on Corporate Governance in 2013 in Sri Lanka by the SEC and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL). This Code sets standards to enhance public trust in corporations, the capital market as well as the financial reporting process. The SEC appreciates the initiative taken by ICASL to hold its Annual Report Awards Competition on 10 December 2013 under the distinguished patronage of Speaker of Parliament Chamal Rajapakse as the Chief Guest and Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy as the Guest of Honour. This annual event which is organised by ICASL recognises excellence in annual reporting and attempts to enlighten Sri Lankan corporates on evolving global trends in financial reporting and encourages them to adopt best practices to be on par with their global counterparts. Against this backdrop this year’s event was aptly themed ‘One Destination - Towards Integrated Reporting’ and not only focused on small and medium sized entities but also increased the number of sectors at this year’s competition to 23. It is in this light that SEC commends Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC for winning the prestigious Overall Excellence in Annual Financial Reporting at the 49th Annual Report Awards Competition, and is pleased to note that a large number of listed companies managed to clinch most of the sector awards (Gold) i.e Laugfs Gas PLC, Access Engineering PLC, Seylan Developments PLC, Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, HNB Assurance PLC, CIC Holding PLC. Watawala Plantations PLC, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, Singer ( Sri Lanka) PLC, Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC, People’s Leasing & Finance PLC, United Motors Lanka PLC, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, Colombo Dockyard PLC, Nawaloka Hospitals PLC, Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC, John Keells Holdings PLC. The SEC also commends all the companies that registered for the competition and won Silver and Bronze Awards. It is envisaged that competitions of this nature will lead to setting high standards in financial reporting and promote corporate governance and transparency among all corporate in Sri Lanka.