The jury of India’s Best Annual Report Awards 2024, constituted by The Free Press Journal and Care Edge has called for transparent financial reporting, sound corporate governance and fair disclosure practices.
M. Damodaran, former chairman of Sebi, and chairperson of Excellence Enablers, is the jury chairman. Other members are Abizer Diwanji, founder, NeoStrat and advisor LLP; Keki Mistry, Former CEO, HDFC; Mehul Pandya. MD & Group CEO, Care Edge; PD Singh, Former CEO, JP Morgan Chase Bank NA (India); R. Mukundan, CEO, Tata Chemicals; Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman, Shailesh Haribhakti & Associates; Utpal Sheth, CEO & Sr. Partner, RARE Enterprises; and Vishakha Mulye, CEO, Aditya Birla Capital Ltd.
“Broadly speaking, our approach is to maximise the transparency of annual reports, promote investor-friendly policies, and encourage corporates to embrace world-class reporting,” emphasized M. Damodaran, jury chairman and former chairman of Sebi, and chairperson of Excellence Enablers. He was addressing the jury meeting of the third edition of the Free Press Journal Best Annual Report Awards here last Wednesday.
By and large, potential investors confront two questions when making an investment decision—how risky is the investment, and what can they expect from it? At the same time, shareholders and regulators are looking at reliable annual reports, relevant and quality disclosures, competent board of directors, and trustworthy management. For the shareholders, returns at regular intervals from their investments are a must.
“Good governance and transparency in disclosures hold the key for listed companies at all stages of business development, institutional building and transformation, and, essentially in the process of annual report preparation—regardless of their capital, market share, performance and market capitalisation,” members of the jury mooted.
“We are certainly living in dynamic times. Market capitalisation and trading volumes have been setting new records since 2015. Economic Survey 2024-25 said, the BSE Market capitalisation to GDP ratio stood at 136 per cent in 2024, far higher than China (65 per cent) and Brazil (37 per cent).
“Often, investors overlook facts, and fail to understand, what is under the surface of management and corporate governance reports in annual reports. Fair corporate governance practices will ensure best annual reports and tell the investor the right information about the company’s fundamentals, and more importantly, help the shareholder read the future of the company, more or less like a SWOT analysis.
“High quality data is an influential factor in presenting best annual reports. The process of assessment in the Free Press Journal Best Annual Report Awards, is based on stringent parameters, and we address top five companies from each sector. Parameters evaluated in the process of annual report awards include presentation, general information, business information, performance analysis, governance and sustainability, quality of financial reporting, penalties and regulatory breaches, etc. We focus on key sectors of the economy, and an unbiased review is ensured at all times.”
The Free Press Journal-Care Edge spokesperson said,” As we uphold the principles of transparency and accountability, we have been receiving overwhelming response from corporates. The key objective of the award is to promote quality governance, and honour companies that have best annual reports. The Free Press Journal Best Annual Report Awards will not only create greater investor-awareness on the significance of reading annual reports but also cultivate accountability and internal governance among companies.”
