The TAGS Awards, formerly known as the Annual Report Awards, with a 58-year inspiring history, will be held at Shangri La hotel on December 12.
The TAGS Awards honours organisations delivering excellence in corporate reporting that promote the fundamental pillars of transparency, accountability, governance, and sustainability.
President CA Sri Lanka, Sanya Bandara said, “This year we aim to harness the power of corporate reporting by conveying the importance of trust, individuality, and collective responsibility in driving progress of sustainability, and positive change through transparency, accountability, and well-governed reporting practices, with the end goal of empowering sustainable growth at corporate and country levels.”
Applications for the TAGS Awards 2023 will be accepted up to September 12 and any organisation, including multinationals, blue-chips, conglomerates, SMEs, community groups, as well as NGOs and NPOs that produce annual reports can apply and be honoured for the integrity of financial, environmental, social, and governance reporting.
Organisations producing annual reports can register for the highly acclaimed competition by providing their Annual Reports for the Financial Year ending on December 31, 2022 or March 31, 2023.
Bandara said that the economic crisis renewed calls for stronger transparency, accountability, and governance across the board, and the anti-corruption bill, if implemented properly, will pave the way for a better and stronger corrupt-free system.
“But to fight corruption and increase transparency and accountability, we need a holistic approach involving all stakeholders along with political will to ensure successful implementation.”
The key difference between the Annual Report Awards and the TAGS Awards is that the competition has evolved from financial reporting to embrace corporate reporting, especially with non-financial reporting becoming mandatory in many countries around the world, he said.
“Recently, the International Sustainability Standards Board unveiled the S1 and S2 Sustainability Disclosure Standards for businesses committed to sustainability. In our statutory role, CA Sri Lanka too announced its decision to adopt these two standards in Sri Lanka.
“Unlike financial reporting, corporate reporting serves as a window into the operations, performance, and impact of companies, allowing stakeholders to have a deeper understanding of their activities.
“As Sri Lanka endures a severe economic setback, I am certain that the TAGS awards can help harness the power of corporate reporting, with the end goal of helping companies attract more investments, which will ultimately reflect positively on the sustainability of Sri Lanka,” Bandara said.
The best annual reports will be recognised as the “Overall Winner” under the gold, silver, and bronze categories, while companies will also be recognised under four special categories of awards: corporate governance disclosure, sustainability reporting, integrated reporting, and digital transformation.
Awards will also be presented to companies representing 29 industry sectors - Banking Institutions, Diversified Holdings, Finance Companies, Leasing Companies and Other Financial Institutions, Food and Beverages Companies, Healthcare Institutions, Trading Companies, Hotel Companies, Insurance Companies, Land and Property Companies, Manufacturing Companies, Motor Companies, Telecommunication and Technology Companies, Unit Trusts, Media and Entertainment, State Corporations and Statutory Boards, Plantation Companies, Construction Companies, Power and Energy Companies, Not-For-Profit Organisations (NPO), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), Small and Medium-Sized Entities, Education Services, Newly Listed Companies, and Service Organisations.
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is the Strategic Partner of TAGS 2023.