SBP Governor for transparency in governance in corporate sector

Tuesday June 16, 2009

KARACHI: Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Syed Salim Raza on Monday urged the corporate sector in the country to introduce more transparency in governance and decision making through greater disclosure of financial and non-financial information to the stakeholders.

He was addressing the 9th Best Corporate Report Awards-2008 ceremony organised by the Joint Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and Institute of Cost Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) at a hotel here.

Earlier, the Governor SBP presented the awards/certificates to the representatives of the winning companies under seven sectors.

Syed Salim Raza said that there was still a need for fostering a change in the thinking of the corporate sector as the old system of protectionism cannot work in this global challenging environment.

He said that these awards would also assist the country's economy, which, he said needs sizeable investments in fixed capital.

The government's efforts towards structural reforms and recent geo-political developments in South Asian Region have once again put Pakistan in a position to attract foreign investments and these awards would serve as a catalyst in augmenting this progress, he added.

He urged the professional accountants to work with renewed zeal to enhance the prestige of the profession in the present global economic slowdown.

He said that the Best Corporate Award would certainly take us towards greater transparency in disclosure of annual accounts and to strengthen good governance practices in the corporate sector.

These awards would also narrow the credibility gap, which exists between various stakeholders and the management of the companies, he said.

The Governor SBP expressed hope that the level of reliance by all the stakeholders on the corporate reports and annual accounts will significant grow in the years to come.

He said the cross border exposure of the corporate sector, the exposure in new asset forms such as derivatives and accounting for off-balance sheet exposure are all accompaniments of globalization and liberalization and they make new demands for progress in the area of accounting and regulatory discipline.

He said that in order to maximise dividend of the global opportunity, the corporate sector has to improve the corporate governance even in tightly held ownership companies.

He observed that the modern accounting system underpins the continuity and evolution of the joint stock company, which is the base of all developments in the modern economy.

He said that from the simple-double entry book keeping system, the profession of accounting has evolved itself as a qualitative framework of methods and standards that ensure a company's affairs are well understood to all constituencies.

Syed Salim Raza said the accounting profession is one of the cornerstones that have immensely supported and contributed towards the emergence of modern day economic system and its institutions.

"The world is changing at a rapid pace and the accounting profession must come up to the international standards of accounting and good corporate governance", the Governor SBP said.

He congratulated the Chief Executives, Chief Financial Officers and representatives of all those companies, who have participated in the competition and those who have been selected as winners of the Awards/certificates.

These awards will play a major role in promotion of excellence in all forms in the corporate sector and such events should be held on regular basis to pay tributes to those who have contributed towards the profession, he added.

Earlier, the President ICAP Syed Asad Ali Shah and President ICMAP Hasan Bilgrami also spoke.


(APP)