Corporate Oscars

by Leslie Yee, Mar 8 2006Excellent Boards, Annual Reports, Chief Financial Officers and Investor Relations practices - these are what the inaugural Singapore Corporate Awards (SCA) seek to recognise.

The event introduces two new awards, for best CFO and investor relations, while incorporating two existing ones - the Best Managed Board Award (BMBA) and the Annual Report Award. Na Boon Chong, a partner at Hewitt Associates, said a study conducted for the BMBA is aimed at "providing a multi-perspective view of a board's effectiveness and has as its ultimate goal the ratcheting up of overall standards by bringing out the best of board practices in Singapore."

The BMBA, the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific, was launched in 2003. Also part of the SCA is arguably Singapore's oldest corporate award - the Annual Report Award (ARA), which traces its roots to 1974. Christine Ong, Singapore country head of UBS, says: "I believe the annual report is a company's most important and effective communications tool, not only for its shareholders and investors but also for all its major stakeholders." The ARA appears as relevant today as when it was launched. Tan Boen Eng, president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS), says: "With investors getting more sophisticated and knowledgeable, the demand for excellent presentation of information and a wider scope of disclosure becomes even greater."

As companies increasingly recognise the need to maintain the trust of investors, the role of a CFO has grown in stature and importance. The CFO's duties have gone beyond merely managing the financial affairs of the company, and increasingly involve corporate governance concerns. The CFO of the Year Award honours the individual who plays an important supporting and advocacy role in promoting good governance, disclosure and transparency - and who is an exemplary role model in such best practices. Another new award recognises exemplary investor relations practices. "Investor relations is much more than simply servicing investors and analysts," says Matthew Miller, head of investor relations at UBS. "It involves serving as an active information conduit between internal and external constituencies."

The SCA is organised by The Business Times (BT) in collaboration with UBS and supported by the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Other partners are ICPAS, Investment Management Association of Singapore, Securities Investors Association (Singapore), Singapore Institute of Directors and Citigate Dewe Rogerson i.MAGE. Choosing winners for the SCA is no easy task. With the ARA, for example, five professionals from Ernst & Young hunkered down for two weeks to go through 604 annual reports for a shortlist of annual reports for further evaluation.

The selection of BMBA winners involves a rigorous process that starts with a content analysis of published materials relating to how a company addresses corporate governance issues. Companies are pre-qualified based on the outcome of the analysis. Detailed data is then requested from pre-qualified companies on directorial practices and board effectiveness with site visits for more in-depth understanding and data validation. Companies that pass this stage will be assessed on a set of criteria and short-listed. The finalists are invited to meet a panel of distinguished judges, chaired by SGX chairman J Y Pillay, which makes the final selection. BT's editor Alvin Tay believes that over time, the SCA could be extended to cover all the other key players on the corporate scene - just like the Oscars. "But it's not only about the winners," he says. "We want to create a prestigious event where all CEOs, CFOs and directors of SGX-listed companies can get together once a year, to socialise, network, and share ideas and views on good corporate governance." - By Leslie Yee