Introduction
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the second largest accounting body globally. The ICAI has made significant contributions in transforming the Indian Financial Reporting framework and practice to newer heights. The objective of financial reporting is to provide more transparent, reliable and relevant information to various stakeholders. Annual report continues to be the most important and easily accessible medium for dissemination of financial and non-financial information. Annual Financial Statements of the entities aim to provide public confidence. Financial reporting through annual reports facilitates sound decision making for finance and investment purposes to market participants such as investors and analysts.
The Research Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is one of the technical committees set up in 1955 with a view to undertake research activities to improve the quality of services rendered by the profession.The primary objective of Research Committee is to undertake research in the field of accounting and other affiliated areas with a view to enhance the value of services rendered by the profession. In 1958, Research Committee, has constituted a sub-committee, the Shield Panel, that has been associated with the goal of promoting better standards in financial reporting through the annual competition, 'ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting', wherein the entities are being awarded for following better financial reporting practices amongst their peers .
Objective
To recognise and encourage excellence in preparation and presentation of financial information.
Process for deciding awardees
Selection of awardees in specified categories are made through a robust three tier process:
• Review by Technical Reviewers
• Review of short-listed annual reports by Shield Panel and
• Selection by External Jury consisting of representatives from regulatory bodies, professionals academicians etc.
Significant Factors for Selection of Awardees
1. Compliance with Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) issued by ICAI/Accounting Standards/ and Guidance Notes and other authoritative literature issued by the ICAI and other applicable institutional framework.
2. Compliance with the requirements of concerned regulators e.g., RBI in case of banks and SEBI in case of listed companies, other requirements as per the Companies Act 2013 and/or other applicable statutes in preparation and presentation of financial statements.
3. Comprehensiveness, adequacy, quality and content of disclosures required.
4. Clarity, adequacy and disclosures over quarters or between audited and unaudited results.
5. Statement of Value Added and its distribution amongst Government, Shareholders, employees and the enterprise.
6. Ratio Analysis with description of formulae and Explanatory Statements by Management with brief comparative analysis of performance of the entity.
7. The nature and quality of financial information presented in annual reports to enable informed decision making. The following are the generally applied key considerations:
• Judicious use of schedules, proper cross references to schedules, use of sub-totals, manner of showing comparative figures, ease of references, use of rounding off parameters.
• Extent to which financial information is presented and analyzed through charts, tables and graphs.
• Extent of clarity, lucidity and comprehensiveness of the information contained in the results/financial statements from the viewpoint of individual/small shareholders.
• Additional information or measures like integrated reporting, human resource accounting, inflation adjusted accounting, social responsibility accounting, etc.
8. The extent, nature and quality of non-financial information presented in annual reports. The following information is generally considered relevant in this regard:
• Comprehensiveness and adequacy of management discussion and analysis - overview of the state of affairs of the Company including a general review of performance of the entity as a whole and that of its divisions, activities of subsidiary/associates, nature of risks associated with the activities, manner in which it is dealt, future outlook.
• Description of various risks faced by various businesses of the Company as a whole and steps taken to prioritize, mitigate and monitor identified risks.
• Description of the Company's policy relating to human resource engagement, training and development, including information on measures taken by the company to meet its obligations and responsibilities towards employees.
• Corporate Social Responsibility - policy and practice - information regarding policy of the company relating to corporate social responsibility and how it has been applied in practice including contribution to community developments projects etc., keeping in mind the applicable statues in this regard.
• Measures taken by the company towards environment protection, sustainable development and growth of the business as well as 4Ps bottom line reporting. 4Ps include Product, Profit, Planet and People.
• Corporate governance policies, manner and extent of compliance with applicable statues.
Procedure for Participation
1. There is no fee for participation in the competition.
2. Annual report relating to the financial year ending on any day between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 (both days inclusive) is eligible for participation in this competition.
3. Decisions of the Panel of Judges in all the matters relating to the Competition will be final.
4. An entity awarded 'Hall of Fame' may again participate in the competition after the cooling period of three years of receiving the award of 'Hall of Fame'.
5. Fill in the Entry Form and submit with requisite documents on or before September 30, 2019 to:
The Secretary
Research Committee, Technical Directorate,
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India,
ICAI Bhawan, Indraprastha Marg,
New Delhi - 110 002
Note: The documents submitted by the entities for the competition will not be utilized for any other purpose.
For any further information please write to research@icai.in or visit our website www.icai.org.
Award Categories
• Hall of Fame awarded to the entity that has been winning the first prize under the same category continuously for five years.
• One Gold Shield in each category for the best entry.
• One Silver Shield in each category for the next best entry.
• Plaques to be awarded to the entities who are following better financial reporting practices as is decided by the Jury.
Award Categories of the Competition 'ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting' for the year 2018-19
Category I : Public Sector Banks
Category II : Private Sector Banks (including Foreign Banks)
Category III : Co-operative Banks
Category IV : Life Insurance
Category V : Non-Life Insurance
Category VI : Financial Services Sector (Other than Banking and Insurance)
Category VII(a) : Manufacturing and Trading Sector (including entities engaged in
processing, mining, plantations, oil and gas enterprises) (Turnover equal to Rs. 3000 crores or more)
Category VII(b) : Manufacturing and Trading Sector (Turnover equal to and between Rs.
500 crores and Rs. 3000 crores)
Category VII (c) : Manufacturing and Trading Sector (Turnover less than Rs. 500 crores)
Category VIII(a) : Service Sector (Other than financial services sector) (Turnover equal to or more than Rs. 500 crore)
Category VIII(b) : Service Sector (Turnover less than Rs. 500 crore)
Category IX : Not-for-Profit Sector
Category X (a) : Infrastructure and Construction Sector (Turnover equal to or more than Rs. 500 crore)
Category X(b) : Infrastructure and Construction Sector (Turnover less than Rs. 500 crore)
Category XI : Public Sector Entities
Category XII : Integrated Reporting
In a case, where an organisation is engaged in more than one business, the dominant source of revenue will determine the category to which the organisation belongs. Turnover will be determined on the basis of standalone financial accounts.
Click here to download the Entry Form
CAclubindia
