From left: CA Sri Lanka Vice President Heshana Kuruppu, Annual Report Awards Revamping Task Force Chairperson Chamila Cooray, President Sanjaya Bandara, TAGS Awards Committee Chairman Thivanka Jayasinghe and Chief Executive Officer Dulani Fernando

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) on Wednesday announced the official rebranding of the prestigious Annual Report Awards Competition, as TAGS Awards, from this year onwards.

TAGS stands for Transparency, Accountability, Governance and Sustainability and the newly-rebranded awards will reflect the core values of the over half a century competition to also strengthen and uphold the integrity of the financial, environmental, social and governance reporting, apart from promoting the need to increase the transparency of companies, which produce annual reports.

The announcement was made at a press conference held under the patronage of CA Sri Lanka President Sanjaya Bandara, Vice President Heshana Kuruppu, TAGS Awards Committee Chairman Thivanka Jayasinghe, Annual Report Awards Revamping Task Force Chairperson Chamila Cooray and Chief Executive Officer Dulani Fernando, at the institute premises. 

The Annual Report Awards Competition, which commands prestigious legacy spanning over 56 years, was reconceptualised and rebranded as TAGS Awards following months of extensive research and deliberations. CA Sri Lanka’s ultimate objective through the reconceptualisation is to continue to provide a contemporary competition to honour the companies ranging from multinationals to conglomerates as well as small and medium enterprises for promoting the core concepts, which are transparency, accountability, governance and sustainability, in both financial and non-financial reporting aspects. 

Apart from the new identity, the TAGS Awards will also see some sweeping changes, including an enhanced focus on corporate reporting, instead of the traditional core focus, which was financial reporting during the past 56 years of the competition. Ultimately, the newly-rebranded TAGS Awards will become a platform where organisations are evaluated for both financial and non-financial performance as well as for embracing digitalisation and transformation amidst increasing demands and expectations from investors and shareholders as well as society.
Bandara said that for more than a half century, CA Sri Lanka has been enhancing and improving the reporting standards by hosting the Annual Report Awards competition. 

“But change is essential to face the dynamic environment with confidence whilst also striving to be a greater force in the future. Therefore, after months of research and deliberations, the Annual Report Awards competition has been reconceptualised and from this year onwards it will be branded as the TAGS Awards.”
He said that corporates have a critical role to play in the success and sustenance of a country but it takes support to achieve this goal. 

“As a responsible professional body, CA Sri Lanka understood the changing dynamics in a competitive corporate environment and this was the main thinking behind revamping the competition to help businesses become the best they can be, despite the complex surroundings,” he added. 

Among the changes to the awards from this year, the base of the TAGS Awards will be changed to Corporate Reporting instead of Financial Reporting, with special emphasis on the importance for companies producing annual reports to pay special focus on the ESG (environmental, social and governance) framework while recognising such efforts during the overall evaluation process of the competition. Another key change will be to change the composition of the panel of judges and to also include international judges at the final review panel.
Jayasinghe said that credible financial reporting is essential as it provides key information that would enable investors to learn in-depth about a company’s operations and performance and make informed decisions. 

“However, the annual report has evolved tremendously and it is no longer only about providing financial information to stakeholders, instead, it has become an important document going beyond the financials, as it elucidates a company’s achievements but also discloses its commitments towards sustainability and ensuring a safer planet.”
According to him, the non-financial reporting framework that the newly-revamped competition is promoting through the TAGS Awards will give stakeholders better insights into the corporate entity’s performance across risk management, corporate governance, environmental and social compliance and sustainability.

Cooray highlighted that despite the relentless challenges the pandemic posed it has also helped businesses understand its critical role in ensuring sustainability not just in a sense of gaining profits but also on how to effectively contribute towards the sustainability of people and planet. 

“This was the thinking behind the reconceptualisation of the awards, after so many years because just as corporates are expected to adapt, even competitions no matter how prestigious, must change with times,” she said.