9th ICAB National Awards Giving Ceremony for Best Published Accounts & Reports was held at the evening of 30 December 2009 at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka. Mr. Muhammad Faruk Khan MP, Minister for Commerce, GoB joined the function as the Chief Guest and distributed Awards & Merit Certificates among winner companies. Mr. Md. Ziaul Haque Khondker, Chairman, Securities & Exchange Commission(SEC)attended the function as the Special guest.

Mr. Nasir Uddin Ahmed FCA, President-ICAB delivered the Address of Welcome on the occasion. Mr. Nasir in speech commented that since establishment in 1973, ICAB has been relentlessly trying to promote the accountancy profession in Bangladesh and as result the number of qualified accountants has increased substantially. He said that ICAB’s objective is to create awareness in the corporate sector about the value of timely publishing the audited financial statements as well as adequate disclosure of the financial and non-financial information. ICAB believes disclosure of information in time will ultimately establish better transparency and accountability in the corporate world and ensure the efficient use of resources and bring success to the business and thereby safeguarding the interests of the stakeholders in the long run. The ICAB BPA Awards is also expected to help improving the level of harmonization of Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards in Bangladesh with IFRSs and ISAs and thereby attracting foreign direct investment in the country.

Mr. Muhammad Faruk Khan MP in his speech as Chief Guest highly appreciated the evaluation process of ICAB of the Published Accounts and Reports and hoped that this will have a positive impact in bringing about transparency, accountability and good governance among the entities. He said that ICAB is regularly doing the job for awarding prizes to the listed companies in the Financial, Non-Financial, Manufacturing, Communication & Information Technology, Non-governmental Organizations and Public Sector Entities Categories after meticulous evaluation on the basis of stringent criteria and South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) guidelines

Mr. Md. Ziaul Haque Khondker, Chairman, SEC in his speech as Special Guest stressed on the application and compliance of accounting and auditing standards in the preparation of financial statements. He also said that this annual event inspire greater transparency and better disclosure adhering to globally accepted best practices as well as to sound corporate governance principles. The committee tasked with selecting best published accounts and reports applied prudence and wisdom in picking the winners.

As a Special Guest, Mr. Sheikh A. Hafiz FCA said that this Award is an appreciation of excellence and encourages organizations to aspire for future awards by raising the quality of their financial reports. It is important to understand that the Awards symbolize ICAB’s recognition and reward for organizations which have achieved excellence in presentation and disclosure of high quality, relevant, reliable and objectively comparable financial statements, particularly within the IAS/IFRS framework. I sincerely hope that this Award continues to achieve its objectives.

Mr. Anwaruddin Chowdhury FCA, Chairman, Review Committee for Best Published Accounts and Reports of ICAB(RCPAR) presided over the function. In his speech Mr. Chowdhury narrated the scenario of published accounts and reports in the SAARC region. “I would like to make it clear that these awards are not performance award. The awardees are not necessarily the best performing companies in their respective sectors. Their disclosuers and presentations of the stakeholders’ information particularly on performances and prospects of their operations and corporate governance were better than others; disclosures were, in some cases, beyond statutory requirements. In addition they have complied with BASs and BFRSs. They have disclosed their strategies and core values specifically to achieve their visions/missions. The winner companies published the annual reports precisely ‘within time’ and held their AGM within a specified time for the interest of the stakeholders. They disclosed about their efforts on CSR activities within which they operate and their contribution to the national exchequer. The awards therefore are a recognition for the publicly disclosed financial and other corporate information and do not in any way represent any attestation by the ICAB for the operational performance, financial position, capital adequacy and liquidity status of the companies, for decision making by lenders, investors or any other interested parties. He thanked the organizations that participated in the competition of Best Published Accounts & Reports-2008, said Mr Anwar.

The list of the awardees are given below:

FINANCIAL SECTOR – BANKING Category

Prime Bank Limited - First
Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited - Second
Eastern Bank Limited - Third

Mercantile Bank Limited - Certificate of Merit
National Bank Ltd. - Certificate of Merit
Dhaka Bank Limited - Certificate of Merit
BRAC Bank Limited - Certificate of Merit
Southeast Bank Limited - Certificate of Merit
AB Bank Limited - Certificate of Merit
Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.-Certificate of Merit
Bank Asia Limited -Certificate of Merit
Pubali Bank Limited -Certificate of Merit
Premier Bank Limited -Certificate of Merit
One Bank Limted -Certificate of Merit
Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd -Certificate of Merit


FINANCIAL SECTOR - NON BANKING Category

Prime Finance & Investment Ltd - First
LankaBangla Finance Limited - Second
Green Delta Insurance Co. Ltd. - Third

Phoenix Insurance Co. Ltd -Certificate of Merit
International Leasing Co. Ltd. -Certificate of Merit



NON FINANCIAL SECTOR-MANUFACTURING Category

Singer Bangladesh Limited - First
GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd. - Second
Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited -Third
British American Tobacco Bangladesh -Certificate of Merit
Renata Limited -Certificate of Merit
Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Bangladesh -Certificate of Merit
Reckitt-Benckiser -Certificate of Merit
Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd -Certificate of Merit
PRAN-RFL Group -Certificate of Merit
Beximco Pharma -Certificate of Merit
Bangladesh Lamps -Certificate of Merit
Padma Oil -Certificate of Merit
BOC BD -Certificate of Merit


Communucation and Information Technology

Bangladesh Online Limited -Certificate of Merit


NGO/MFIs

BRAC - First
Buro Bangladesh - Second
Sajida Foundation - Third
Uddipan - Certificate of Merit


PUBLIC SECTOR ENTITIES Catetory

Agrani Bank Limited - First
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) - Second
Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) - Third