PriceWaterhouse Coopers last week maintained their long standing sponsorship of the best corporate reports and accounts awards in Botswana. The awards, which were conceived in 1989, still under the sponsorship of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, were given to Botswana companies and public entities that have excelled in their Corporate Reports and Accounts for the financial year 2008/09.
They are meant to encourage local companies to produce published financial statements that comply with international accounting standards and statutory disclosure requirements; foster acceptance and observance of generally accepted accounting principles; and encourage the Botswana business community to improve the standard of financial reporting, through benchmarking and adoption of best practice.
PriceWaterhouse Coopers, which has been operating in Botswana for the last 40 years, has been the sole sponsor of the awards ever since they were conceived. The awards have over the years grown to become a big feature in Botswana’s business directory, and participation has been steadily increasing over the years, with the number of participants increasing from five in 1989 to twenty six in 2009.
Minister of Finance, Ken Mathambo, who was the guest speaker at the awards, said that the increased participation in the awards demonstrates the willingness of participating companies to play a meaningful role in encouraging a strong culture of corporate ethics and adherence to the highest standards of communication and reporting.
“I wish to commend PricewaterhouseCoopers and partners for initiating these awards. This effort has contributed significantly to the emergence of improved accounting skills and knowledge among local entrepreneurs” said Mathambo.
Chairman of adjudicators, Odirile Merafhe, also revealed that the judges had a tough time in determining the winner as almost all of the reports were of very high quality and standards. This, he said, is also evidence that most of Botswana’s corporates have embraced principles of sound corporate practice and reporting.
He said that they have noted a number of improvements in the financial reports as companies have now started providing timelines and stating key milestones in their operations. Others, he said, have also provided graphical elaborations to further explain their financials.
“There has been a real effort to communicate more than the compulsory figures, but also add explanations of the company’s figures and operations,” he said.
He however decried the fact that a lot of the financial reports give scant detail and explanation to corporate social responsibility, while others do not even explain who they are and their scope of operations.
“Listed companies in particular should communicate to their stakeholders and shareholders,” he said.
The awards were divided into five categories, which are financial services sector, commerce and industry, parastatals, not for profit sector and corporate social responsibility reporting.
ABC Holdings was a winner in the financial services sector, while Sefalana Holdings won the award in the commerce and industry category. Botswana Telecommunications Authority won the award for the not for profit sector while Barclays bank won the award for the corporate social responsibility sector. The best local designer was won by Hotwire. The biggest winner of the day was Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, which won the award in the parastatal sector and the best overall award.
