The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) under the aegis of the Research Committee and Sustainability Reporting Standards Board (SRSB) of ICAI organised its flagship event i.e. Awards Presentation Ceremony on February 9, 2022 for the following:

• ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting 2020-21
• ICAI Sustainability Reporting Awards 2020-21
• ICAI International Sustainability Reporting Awards 2020-21
• SAFA Best Presented Annual Report Awards, Integrated Reporting Awards & SAARC Anniversary Awards for Corporate Governance Disclosures Competition 2020’ were also presented.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Science & Technology, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space was the Chief Guest at the occasion. Also, present were CA. Nihar N. Jambusaria, President, CA. (Dr.) Debashis Mitra, Vice-President, ICAI along with Past Presidents and Central Council Members of ICAI.

The Award event showcased the best practices followed and captured the legacy of the ‘ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting’ which was first instituted in 1958. ICAI established a mechanism and platform to recognise and reward the efforts put in by the entities in the preparation and presentation of financial information. In this regard, Research Committee of ICAI conducts the annual event ‘ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting’. It follows a rigorous and transparent ‘Three Tier’ process of review and selection of the winners.

The Gold Shield was awarded to:

• For Life Insurance category to HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited
• For Manufacturing and Trading Sector (Turnover equal to or more than 3000 crore) to Grasim Industries Limited
• For Infrastructure & Construction Sector (Turnover equal to or more than 500 crore) to NHPC Ltd
• For Public Sector Entities category to Gail (India) Limited.

A total of 25 awardees were given away the awards (Gold -4, Silver -10 & Plaque -11). The list of awardees is enclosed as Annexure A.

Under various categories of ICAI Sustainability Reporting Awards 2020-21 and ICAI International Sustainability Reporting Awards 2020-21, a total of 15 awards were presented out of which 4 were Gold Shield Awards, 6 were Silver Shield Awards, 5 as Plaque.

For ICAI Sustainability Reporting Awards 2020-21, the Gold Shield awarded

• For Category I (A) – Integrated Reporting (Manufacturing Sector) to Grasim Industries Limited
• For Category I (B) – Integrated Reporting (Service Sector) to Tata Consultancy Services Limited
• For Category II - New Entrants in Integrated Reporting to CreditAccess Grameen Limited
• For Category III - Reporting on SDGs to Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited.

The list of awardees is enclosed as Annexure B.

For SAFA Best Presented Annual Report Awards, Integrated Reporting Awards & SAARC Anniversary Awards for Corporate Governance Disclosures Competition 2020, the Tata Power Company Ltd was awarded 2nd Runner up position in the category Power & Energy and 11 Certificate of Merit were given to Indian entities in the competition. The list of awardees is enclosed as Annexure C.

The award event was a success with diligent and invaluable guidance of CA. Anuj Goyal, Chairman, Research Committee; CA. (Dr.) Sanjeev Kumar Singhal, Chairman, Sustainability Reporting Standards Board; CA. Pramod Kumar Boob, Vice-Chairman, Research Committee & CA. Durgesh Kumar Kabra, Vice-Chairman, Sustainability Reporting Standards Board.

About SAFA : South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) was formed in the year 1984 to serve the accountancy profession in the South Asian Region and uphold its eminence in the world of accountancy. SAFA as an IFAC network Partner represents over 3,75,000 Accountants having membership of the national chartered accountancy and cost and management accountancy institutions in the South Asian countries namely Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Afghanistan. SAFA came into existence at the initiative of the accounting professional bodies in the South Asian Region, which has a bond of culture and homogeneity of professional environment.