Business

CA Sri Lanka continues to champion integrated reporting

Published

3 years ago

2020/09/26

A team from John Keells Holdings PLC discusses the benefits of integrated reporting with IRCSL chairman Asite Talwatte.

President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), Manil Jayesinghe recently continued to push companies in Sri Lanka to adopt integrated reporting and integrated thinking if companies were truly keen in remaining sustainable and successful in the long term.

Addressing a forum on integrated reporting organised by CA Sri Lanka recently, Jayesinghe urged companies and professionals to adopt the integrated reporting framework for their maximum benefit as it is an important stepping stone that will not only help organisations to bring about integrated reporting but also the key element behind it, which is integrated thinking.

“The world has shown us that profits alone is not the real driver, and we have so many things happening around in the world right now and today health and safety is the key priority for companies, and tomorrow it can be something else,” he said.

Jayesinghe elaborated that profit is no longer the key benchmark of success as there were many other factors to consider in benchmarking success including environment, human capital, and society, among other factors. “It is important to make sure that your business is a sustainable business and for this integrated thinking needs to come through and by adopting integrated reporting, corporates will achieve this,” he added.

Jayesinghe shared these thoughts during a discussion featuring John Keells Holdings PLC on their ‘winning story’ in adopting integrated reporting within the organisation.

He also highlighted that since the inception, CA Sri Lanka has recognised the importance of integrated reporting and has taken the leadership in popularising the concept of integrated reporting among corporates in Sri Lanka. “With new events taking place around the world as well as in Sri Lanka, I hope integrated reporting will have better visibility and companies will start adopting integrated reporting as one of their forms of reporting,” he said.

He added that CA Sri Lanka has taken steps to provide all necessary technical, financial and institutional support to the Integrated Reporting Council of Sri Lanka (IRCSL) headed by Mr. Asite Talwatte to carry out the task of promoting integrated reporting and integrated thinking among corporates in Sri Lanka.

Delivering his company’s success story in adopting integrated reporting, Mr. Mohan Thanthirige, Group Finance Controller of John Keells Holdings PLC highlighted that integrated reporting is articulating the different business processes where everyone can accept it.

“We felt that with our stakeholders getting more sophisticated, we too needed to step up in our reporting,” he said. During the forum, it was highlighted that at numerous stakeholder engagement related studies conducted by John Keells Holdings, more and more stakeholders were asking questions in relation to non-finance that the conventional financial reporting seen in annual reports.

Mr. Thanthirige explained that it was important to look at what is best for one’s organisation in terms of culture and infrastructure. “We did so many test runs and it was a long journey with failures and wins, to get here in terms of ensuring our integrated reporting was a success story,” he added.

The forum concluded following a panel discussion which was moderated by Mr. Asite Talwatte, Chairman of the IRCSL. The panel session featured Mohan Thanthirige, Kalpa Munasinghe, Manager Group Finance, Eneeshya Perera, Manager Corporate Finance, Devmi Jayaweera, Assistant Manager – Sustainability, ERM and Group Sourcing, Daniella De Mel, Assistant Manager – Corporate Finance and Mayurika Silva, Assistant Manager – Group Finance.

All News Advertisement

Business

Cabinet approves rationalization of VAT exemptions and abolition of SVAT System

Published

3 hours ago

2023/06/6

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers granted concurrence to the resolution forwarded by the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies to remove most of the releases from Value Added Tax (VAT), further retaining releases that ease the pressure on low – income families to secure the fundamental sectors of the economy as well as the releases for sectors such as education, health and agriculture, as well as to revise the provisions applicable for the Value Added Tax (VAT) act so that the Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT) methodology can be canceled with effect from 01.01.2024 by introducing a more formal methodology for repaying the Value Added Tax (VAT) and to instruct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a draft bill for the purpose.

Business

Venora Lanka Power Panels to set up assembly plant in Australia

Published

8 hours ago

2023/06/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sagara Gunawardene

By Hiran H.Senewiratne

Sri Lanka- based, export- oriented manufacturer, Venora Lanka Power Panels (Pvt) Ltd, with a state of the art electric panel factory at the Export Processing Zone, Biyagama, will set up an assembly plant in Australia.

“Once we set up the electric panel assembly plant in Australia, we will export all our panels from Sri Lanka and that plant will do 30 percent value addition to the product to supply that market, the company’s chairman/ Managing Director, engineer Sagara Gunawardena told The Island Financial Review.

Gunawardena said that the company is a value- addition assembly plant and he would be investing AUS $ 2 million for the project to be set up in Melbourne and hire 100 engineers and other professionals. He explained that the venture has enormous potential.

Venora Lanka provides power panels to mega projects in Sri Lanka and exports to Bangladesh, Maldives, Kenya, Ethiopia, Seychelles and Myanmar. Panel assembling is strictly in compliance with IEC 61439 standards, it was explained.

Gunawardena added: ‘I firmly believe that, being a truly customer focused organization, every employee and every process in the organization has to be aligned behind delighting customers. Therefore, at a time when the country is facing a major dollar crisis, my company would be aiming at bringing dollars into the country, while providing employment for local professionals, especially engineers.

‘At Venora Lanka we do not try to change customers’ mindsets. Instead, we take time to understand what they really want and focus our brand on delivering that. Venora is values- driven first and cost- driven second – creating a unique brand proposition.

‘Since the US dollar rate has come down, it is our concern that importers and suppliers do not change their prices, which is really affecting the manufacturing sector.

Company sources added: ‘The company has several wings of operation, such as local and overseas projects, switch board assembling, telecommunication infrastructure installations, earthing, lighting and surge protection, incorporating world renowned brands.

‘Venora Lanka Power Panels is the first Sri Lankan company to receive the licence, in accordance with the UK Trade Mark Act 1994, to use the trade mark “Best Enterprise”. It won a global award at the event, ‘Golden Awards for Quality and Business Prestige’, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2015.

‘Within a short span of time, with the perfect blend of progressive thinking and expertise, Venora Group has expanded to consist of, Venora International Projects, Venora Telecom, Venora Industrial Solutions and Venora Lanka Power Panels (BOI approved). Further, Venora has established its overseas presence through Venora Engineering Kenya and Venora Engineering Myanmar.’

Business

Share market moves into positive territory; indices up

Published

8 hours ago

2023/06/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

CSE trading got off to a positive note yesterday but during the last session of the day the momentum slowed. However, the market is now moving towards positive territory following the Central Bank announcement of a downward trend in interest rates, market analysts said.

Amid those developments the market witnesses improvements in both indices and in the turnover.

The All- Share Price Index up by 12.8 points and S and P SL 20 rose by 6.97 points. Turnover stood at Rs 710 million with one crossing. The crossing was reported in JKH which crossed 430,000 shares to the tune of Rs 60.2 million; its shares traded at Rs 140.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; JKH Rs 212 million (1.5 million shares traded), Access Engineering Rs 44.7 million ( three million shares traded), Lanka IOC Rs 34.5 million (264,000 shares traded), Browns Investments Rs 28.6 million (5.3 million shares traded), LOLC Finance Rs 23.8 million (4.7 million shares traded), Capital Alliance Rs 22.9 million (615,000 shares traded) and First Capital Holdings Rs 19.2 million (574,000 shares traded). During the day the 31.4 million shares volumes changed hands in 9000 transactions.

Yesterday, the Central Bank’s US dollar buying rate was Rs 285.16 and the selling rate Rs 298.85.