ESA WINS TOP AWARD

ESA’s commitment to good corporate governance and best practice continues to receive positive recognition as it was again awarded the Best Regional Integrated Report Award for the second year running in the Integrated Reporting Awards run by the Chartered Secretaries of Southern Africa (CSSA) in partnership with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited (JSE). This was in respect of the 2014/15 Integrated Annual Report (available here).

The Awards cater for both JSE listed and non-listed companies. The non-listed section caters for South African State-Owned companies, public sector companies, NGOs as well as Regional Companies (outside South Africa). The Regional Category had entrants from Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini. The judges for this year’s Awards were experts from CSSA, JSE Ltd, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Financial Mail, Gordon Institute of Business Science, Wits School of Accountancy, Leigh Roberts Consulting and South African Trust.

This award-winning report represents the outcome of continual improvement efforts entrenched within ESA, as it sought to further enhance its reporting process to stakeholders through the adoption of the International Integrated Reporting Framework as a benchmark for disclosure and accountability. The Awards offer a good platform for companies to benchmark their reports against the best in the region on numerous criteria including governance, risk management practice, strategic focus and sustainability. They also encourage accurate and transparent financial reporting as well as full disclosure of all relevant (non-financial) information to stakeholders.

The Integrated Annual Report at ESA is compiled as an internal exercise by ESA staff and is overseen by the Audit & Risk Committee and approved by Council. The 2014/15 Report was designed and published by a local company, Multimedia International.