Dangote Cement clinched the platinum award at the ICAN-NGX Corporate Reporting Award 2024, with MTN Nigeria winning gold and Seplat Energy as runner-up for their outstanding 2023 corporate reporting

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]angote Cement has been recognized with the prestigious platinum award at the second edition of the Corporate Reporting Award, organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo).

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The award ceremony, held on Tuesday at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), celebrated excellence in transparent corporate reporting by companies listed on the NGX for the year 2023.

MTN Nigeria secured the gold award, while Seplat Energy emerged as the runner-up, both acknowledged for their outstanding corporate reporting practices.

Other top performers recognized at the event included the United Bank for Africa (UBA), which received the Best in Class Award of Excellence in Sustainability Reporting.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings was honored with the Best in Class Award of Excellence in Financial Reporting, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) and Zenith Bank Plc jointly won the Best in Class Award of Excellence in Corporate Governance. The Most Improved Company (overall) award was presented to International Breweries.

Speaking at the event, the 60th president of ICAN, Davidson Alaribe, emphasized the significance of the award in promoting transparency and accountability among organizations.

He stated, “This award is to encourage organisations to be transparent and accountable. They should also look at their immediate environment and serve the people, not just profit maximisation.

Organisations are being encouraged to ensure that they reach out to the society, and in things they do, they should be transparent and also ensure sustainability both for the environment and the people.”

Alaribe further highlighted that adherence to due process and meeting accounting standards in corporate reporting enhances a company’s attractiveness to potential investors.

“This will encourage investors. There’s no way an investor would want to put money in a secretive company. People want organisations that will say, ‘This is what we did.

This is what we realised. This is what it was spent on.’ If an organisation is not transparent, no investor will touch them; they will run very, very far from such a position.”

In his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of the NGX RegCo, Olufemi Shobanjo, underscored that corporate reporting transcends mere regulatory compliance.

“It’s a vital practice that builds trust among the investors, stakeholders and the broader community,” he said. “As we recognise the outstanding achievement of these companies this year, we are reminded of the critical role that accurate and transparent reporting plays in fostering a robust financial ecosystem.

“This award is to encourage organisations to be transparent and accountable. They should also look at their immediate environment and serve the people, not just profit maximisation,” said the 60th president of ICAN, Davidson Alaribe.

This year’s award highlights those organisations that have gone far and beyond in their commitment to best practices and governance.

Your efforts not only enhance your reputation or the reputation of your companies but also contribute to the overall integrity of our capital market.”

Grace Fatogbe, one of the assessors from the panel led by Associate Professor Yinka Moses of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, noted a significant improvement in the quality of 2023 corporate reports compared to the previous year.

“One thing I would like to mention is that following a review of what we did last year and comparing it with this year, there was a significant improvement generally across all the companies. So, you could see that corporate reporting is catching on in Nigeria.

This is largely driven by the regulations coming from the regulators, as well as the fact that the companies also recognise that Nigeria is not an island.

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They are open to the international market, so they need to provide enough information for foreign investors to be able to look at them and make the right decision. So, we would like to say that we are seeing a lot of improvement across all generally.”