ICAB awards 23 entities for best annual reports

Highlight

• Aside from 5 NGOs, all the winners are publicly listed companies
• IDLC Finance Ltd was the Champion of Champions amongst 12 different categories
• The national award winners will compete in the South Asian competition

23 entities have been awarded in the 20th ICAB National Awards for their well-presented annual reports during the 2019 fiscal year.

With the exception of five non-government organisations (NGOs), all the winners are publicly listed companies.

IDLC Finance Ltd, the top non-banking financial institution in the country, became the Champion of Champions, amongst 12 different categories.

Aside from recognising companies in first, second and third categories, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) awarded "Certificates of Merit" to 18 entities, which had received a minimum score in these categories.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi was chief guest at the award ceremony held on Thursday at a city hotel and handed over crests and certificates to representatives of the respective organisations. 

Commerce Secretary, Dr Md Jafar Uddin, and Financial Reporting Council Chairman, Dr Hamid Ullah Bhuiyan, were special guests at the event.

ICAB President, Muhammad Farooq, and Chairman, ICAB Review Committee for Published Accounts and Reports, Mohammed Humayun Kabir also spoke on the occasion.

In the Banking Sector (Private) category, Brac Bank Limited secured first prize, while Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited and Bank Asia Limited became joint second prize winners, and Mutual Trust Bank Limited and Mercantile Bank Limited tied for third prize.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, City Bank Limited, Standard Bank Limited, and Dutch Bangla Bank Limited received Certificates of Merit in the Banking category.

In the Financial Services Sector category, IDLC Finance Limited won first prize, IPDC Finance Limited won second prize, and LankaBangla Finance Limited won third prize.

In the Manufacturing category, British American Tobacco (BD) Limited won first prize, Orion Pharma Limited won second prize and Summit Power Limited won third prize.

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited, Renata Limited, BSRM Steels Limited, Shinepukur Ceramics Limited received Certificates of Merit in this category.

Grameenphone Limited was the lone prize winner in the category of Communication and Information Technology.

Green Delta Insurance Co Limited, Prime Insurance Co Limited and Reliance Insurance Limited won first, second and third prizes, respectively, in the Insurance category. 

Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) was the only winner in the Public Sector Entities category.

SAJIDA Foundation secured the first prize, Ghashful and CODEC jointly secured the second prize, and Action Aid Bangladesh won the third prize in the NGO category. BURO Bangladesh received a Certificate of Merit in this category.

Unique Hotel and Resorts Limited was the first prize winner in the Service Sector category, while Golden Harvest Agro Industries Limited was the first prize winner in the Agriculture category.

In the Integrated Reporting category, Lanka Bangla Finance Limited won first prize, IDLC Finance Limited won second prize, while Bank Asia Limited and BRAC Bank Limited tied for third prize.

For Integrated Reporting, IPDC Finance Limited, Mutual Trust Bank Limited, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited received Certificates of Merit.

In Corporate Governance disclosures, IDLC Finance Limited and Lanka Bangla Finance Limited jointly won first prize, Bank Asia Limited won second prize, and Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited and Brac Bank Limited tied for third prize.

Green Delta Insurance Co Limited, Prime Bank Limited, Golden Harvest Agro Industries Limited, IPDC Finance Limited, Mercantile Bank Limited, British American Tobacco (BD) Limited, Grameenphone Limited won Certificates of Merit for their quality of Corporate Governance disclosures.

ICAB President, Muhammad Farooq said, "The role of ICAB is to promote, enhance and improve the framing of financial statements and reports to reflect fair views of the entities in order to safeguard the interests of investors, government, stakeholders and other user groups."

This year, 54 entities were nominated for the ICAB award, while no public sector banks were nominated for the award.

The Award for Diversified Holdings category could not be given as participating entities scored less than the threshold marks.

A nine-member jury board headed by Chairman of Industrial & Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IIDFC) and former Finance Secretary, Md Matiul Islam, reviewed the proposed list of winners.

The remaining eight members of the jury board were former Comptroller and Auditor General Bangladesh, Ahmed Ataul Hakeem; former Bangladesh Bank Governor, Dr Atiur Rahman; Director, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dhaka University, Dr Sayed Ferhat Anwar; Director, Bangladesh Bank Board of Directors, AKM Aftabul Islam; former Senior Secretary, Hedayetullah Al Mamoon; Member, Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Dr Mahmuda Akhter; Distinguished Fellow, Center for Policy & Dialogue, Dr Mustafizur Rahman; and Editor, Financial Express, Shah Husain Imam.

Like every other year, the national award winners will compete in the South Asian competition under the South Asian Federation of Accountants' Best Presented Annual Report Award, where an increasing number of Bangladeshi companies have been winning in various categories. They also have been awarded overall championships in recent years.