KARACHI, Aug 20: A ‘best corporate report awards’ ceremony will be held on August 26 to honour listed companies that produced annual accounts for the year 2004, which were judged as the best in accounts, information, style, content and colour.

A press release issued by the Joint Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) on Saturday stated that the objective of the award was to encourage and give recognition to excellence in annual corporate reporting. It sought to promote corporate accountability and transparency through the publication of timely, informative, factual and reader-friendly annual reports, the press release stated.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Salman Shah would be the chief guest on the occasion and would give away awards/certificates to chief executives of the winning companies.

The institutes said that the “Best Corporate Report” awards were instituted and presented to companies in the year 2000 with a view to promoting good governance in the corporate sector.

The joint committee had requested all the companies listed on the country’s stock exchanges to send their published accounts for the year 2004. It has also circulated the criteria for the selection of awards. The entire corporate sector was divided into six sectors — financial, chemicals and fertilizer, engineering, fuel and energy, textiles and miscellaneous.

A sub-committee comprising members of the ICAP and ICMAP evaluated the published annual reports for 2004, which were received for the contest.

“In each sector five best reports have been short-listed and final positions will be announced at the ceremony. There is also an overall best — top of the top — award amongst all sectors,” the institutes added.