Some of the winners pose with the Award at the FiRe Awards dinner on Wednesday evening.
The President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAU), Constant Othieno Mayende has said that “accountants are best placed to lead on ESG (Environment and Social Governance) matters” because of the “broad range of skills that we possess, and the central position that we occupy in organizations.”
Mayende was speaking at the 2022 Financial Reporting Awards dinner at Africana Hotel in Kampala on Wednesday when he emphasized that “we should therefore use this position to guide regarding ESG decision-making, while also providing oversight through the audit function, to ensure that ESG decisions and policies are implemented.”
“Once we fully assume this role, I am confident that there will be more effective EST action in our economy which is a way of fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals,” Mayende added.
Mayende was speaking against the background that the night’s theme was: Corporate Reporting: Strengthening Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting.”
“This call is for organizations to be deliberate about their ESG efforts. ESG commitment requires that good governance must take centre stage so that organizational resources are steered in the right direction and accounted for properly. It means that organizations must show how they impact on the environment and their intentional efforts to reclaim and restore the degraded features of the earth, not forgetting the communities within which they operate. As the lead for the accountancy profession in Uganda, we are inculcating ESG alertness in accountants through the learing framework. Initially, ICPAU is moving most of its services online. We began with students’ registration, membership enrolment a d now renewal of Certificates of Practice and firm licenses. May other automations are in the pipeline. The Institute is also exploring avenues for computer based examinations. All these are aimed at reducing demand and usage of paper,” Mayande said.
Speaking on the awards, Mayende said that good financial reporting is a key enabler of prudent decision making, and that as a country, “the government and other stakeholders rely on information to make decisions.”
“Such information is best provided through annual reports. This is why annual reports must be relevant, comprehensive and reliable, so as to faithfully represent the affairs of the organization in a given period. Good financial reporting also facilitates comparability of data. The use of global financial reporting standards means that information from a Ugandan organization can be analyzed by an overseas investor and compared with financial statements of similar organizations in various jurisdictions. With increasing globalization, this means that organizations can favorably compete for foreign funds markets. That is, providers of capital can be sourced from across the globe. Thus, the call for FiRe awards partners to regularly promote the awards,” Mayende noted.
However, he said that there ICPAU acknowledges some setbacks.
“Many small businesses in Uganda struggle with book keeping often because they lack the will or skill to prepare financial statements. This means that many of this cannot be eligible to participate in the FiRe awards. Without proper record keeping, such businesses will not pay the right amount of taxes while others evade taxes, hence the country’s narrow tax base,” he says adding that, “ICPAU introduced probono business advisory services through which small businesses are paired with accounting firms to provide them with basics of accounting, assurance advisory and other accounting services.”
The FiRe Awards Committee Chairperson, Stephen Ineget, says the awards exist to continually improve the standards of reporting in the country and aim at recognizing, encouraging and promoting compliance with best practices in reporting.
According to Ineget, the process of preparing the annual report is a great opportunity to re-examine the organization’s business model, refocus strategies and reposition the organization to create sustainable and long-term value.
To this, Ineget says that the winners of the top FiRe awards were selected based on both their financial and non-financial reporting achievements.
Data shows that the 2022 FiRe Awards attracted a total of 108 participating entities, up from 88 last year while 59 organizations that participated in the 2021 FiRe Awards also participated in the 2022 FiRe Awards, representing a 67% retention rate.
NSSF (National Social Security Fund), Umeme, Police Exodus SACCO, Dfcu Bank, Centenary Bank, Stanbic Holdings Uganda Limited and Deposit Protection Fund (DPF) among others organizations were recognized.
Henry Musaasizi, the State Minister for Finance in charge of General Duties who presided over the Awards as Chief Guest pledged total support to the Awards.
“We pledge our support for you (Organizers) to do more. I also direct DPF to continue supporting FiRe Awards,” Musaasizi said.
