Wahid Omar (sixth from left) with the winners of the ACCA MaSRA 2014.
KUCHING: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is the overall winner of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Malaysia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ACCA MaSRA) for 2014, making it the second consecutive year this banking conglomerate emerged victorious.
Maybank also walked away with the Best Workplace Practices award as the judges recognised the company’s extensive discussion in their sustainability report of workplace best practices and diversity and inclusion initiatives, which engage talent across key markets and demographics.
Axiata Group Bhd came in as the runner-up in the Best Sustainability Report award category. ACCA also awarded MISC Bhd with the Best First Time Reporting award and Allianz Malaysia Bhd with the Best Reporting within an Annual Report award.
Presenting the awards to these companies was Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, who also delivered a keynote address at the ceremony.
“I welcome the growing number of companies producing high quality sustainability reports with disclosures on diversity. I hope Corporate Malaysia will increasingly embrace diversity, not just for reporting purposes but to truly embody greater inclusiveness in their workforce and top management as a driver for superior business performance and a better nation,” Wahid Omar said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan, president of the ACCA Malaysia Advisory Committee, said that the ACCA MaSRA is Malaysia’s longest running sustainability reporting award programme in Malaysia, a fact which they are very proud of.
“For 11 years, this programme has been rewarding corporate transparency by recognising companies’ innovation at communicating their corporate sustainability practices and performance,” Zaiton said
A total of 55 entries were received this year, more than last year’s 48 entries and a notable improvement from the initial 11 entries when the Awards programme was initiated in 2002.
“The judges had noted that the quality of submitted reports continues to advance, making it that much harder to evaluate and pick the winners this year. And with more companies producing stand-alone sustainability reports, this is a positive indication that companies in Malaysia are going beyond regulatory compliance,” he said.
The ACCA MaSRA 2014 is supported by Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp) and Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), and endorsed by Bursa Malaysia Bhd.
The theme of the Awards this year was ‘Sustainability and Inclusiveness’ to emphasise the need for companies to uphold sustainable workplace practices and policies such as diversity of talent, optimum usage of resources, minimising carbon footprint, contributions towards employees and social welfare, as well as conserving the environment.
As such, several other companies also received Commendation awards for their reporting efforts, namely Sime Darby Bhd for Reporting on Sustainability Strategy, Cenviro Sdn Bhd for Reporting on Stakeholders Engagement, PwC Malaysia for Reporting on Diversity and Inclusion, and Nets Printwork Sdn Bhd for Sustainability Reporting in SMEs, an award they had also won in 2013.
“Ultimately, a company’s strength is in its people and Malaysia’s is in its diverse talent. In line with the aspirations of the New Economic Model, the ACCA MaSRA 2014 theme of ‘Sustainability & Inclusiveness’ gives due prominence to sustainability at the workplace, celebrating organisations with best people practices and those embracing diversity and inclusion,” Johan Mahmood Merican, chief executive officer (CEO) of TalentCorp, said.
For over 20 years, ACCA has been a leading voice in promoting environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting for businesses as an integral part of mapping their impacts beyond traditional financial accounting practices.
This emphasis is motivated by a strong believe that accountants and finance professionals must play an active role in providing viable solutions to the global sustainability challenges.