PRESS RELEASE
FIRE AWARD 2016 Guest of Honour Announced
Nairobi October 10, 2016…. The promoters of FiRe Award (Excellence in Financial Reporting Award) have confirmed Ms Olajobi Makinwa, Chief Africa at the United Nations Global Compact as the Guest of Honour during the Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony, scheduled for October 28, 2016 at the Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club. The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative that calls on companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals.
The promoters of the Fire Award are; the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (PSASB), Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). The coveted FiRe Award is in its fifteenth year since it was launched in 2002.
Ms Makinwa has also been the UN Global Compact Head of Transparency and Anti-Corruption Initiatives responsible for the UN Global Compact’s 10th principle on Transparency and Anti-Corruption. As part of her assignment, she assisted UN Global Compact participants in the implementation of their commitment to the 10th principle. She has also been head of the 10th Principle Working Group that provides strategic direction to the work of the UN Global Compact on transparency and conducting business with ethics and integrity. Prior to joining the UN Global Compact, Ms. Makinwa was the Executive Director of Amnesty International South Africa. Previously, Makinwa worked with a number of UN agencies and programs in different capacities in Kenya and Switzerland, where she helped develop framework and sectoral environmental laws for several African countries, under the Joint UNEP/UNDP project on Environmental Law and Institutions in Africa.
The promoters observed that the theme for Fire Award this year, “Accountable Governance For Excellence And Reliability In Financial Reporting In East Africa’’, aptly fits with the role of Ms Makinwa has played in her career and looked forward to her insights on how issues around transparency and accountability can be best addressed to unlock the potential of the African continent.
Highlighting the importance of enhanced financial reporting as a key pillar of embedding sound corporate governance practices, the promoters, noted “Our involvement in FiRe Award underscores our commitment to encourage excellence in financial reporting regionally, which is a key pillar for the sustainability and growth of our economies, as corporates turn to the public markets to raise funds to support long term financing and growth ambitions”.
The Fire Award has grown in stature and profile, especially due to the impetus from public sector participation. There were 256 public sector entries in 2015, besides the 120 entries from the financial services sector, industrial, commercial and services sector, public benefits organizations, pension schemes and learning institutions, bringing the total entries to 354 in 2015 compared to 125 in 2014.
The public Institutions include; Ministries, Departments and Agencies, State Corporations and Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies, and the County Governments. Last year witnessed the highest number of entries ever in the history of the Award. The significant growth is attributed to the PSASB directive asking all public sector entities to submit their annual reports and audited financial statements for evaluation.
Fire Award focuses on voluntary disclosure of relevant information in annual reports that go significantly beyond the minimum legal and regulatory requirements. The award continues to embed a strong financial reporting and disclosure culture in Kenya.
ENDS
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE FIRE AWARD
The Financial Reporting (FiRe) Award is the most prestigious and coveted Award in East Africa for financial reporting. The Award is presented annually, during a colorful, gala evening hosted by the joint promoters; the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (PSASB), Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). For the last fourteen (14) years, the FiRe Award has recognized and awarded the best reporting entities in East Africa. The Award is aimed at promoting integrated reporting through enhancing accountability, transparency and integrity in compliance with appropriate financial reporting framework and other disclosures on governance, social and environmental reporting by private, public and other entities domiciled in East Africa.
THE PROMOTERS:
PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD (PSASB): The PSASB is a statutory body established under Section 192 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFM) No. 18 of 2012. The Board is mandated to provide frameworks and set generally accepted standards for the development and management of accounting and financial systems by all state organs and public entities.
ICPAK: The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) is a statutory body that regulates the profession of accountancy in Kenya. The Institute has achieved recognition as a professional body for its contribution in finance and accounting education, governance, professional development, maintenance of high accounting, auditing and ethical standards.
As a professional body concerned with protection of public interest, ICPAK is one of the most active thought leaders in governance and economic matters in the country and the region.
NSE: The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is the principal securities exchange of Kenya. Besides equity securities, the NSE offers a platform for the issuance and trading of debt securities. The NSE is a member of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) and the East African Securities Exchanges Association (EASEA). It is an affiliate member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), an associate member of the Association of Futures Markets (AFM) and a partner Exchange in the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE). NSE is also a signatory to the UN Global Compact.
CMA: The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) was set up in 1989 as a statutory agency under the Capital Markets Act Cap 485A. It is charged with the prime responsibility of both regulating and developing an orderly, fair and efficient capital markets in Kenya with the view to promoting market integrity and investor confidence. The regulatory functions of the Authority as provided by the Act and the regulations include; Licensing and supervising all the capital market intermediaries; Ensuring compliance with the legal and regulatory framework by all market participants; Regulating public offers of securities, such as equities and bonds & the issuance of other capital market products such as collective investment schemes; Promoting market development through research on new products and services; Reviewing the legal framework to respond to market dynamics; Promoting investor education and public awareness; and Protecting investors’ interest.
For more information visit our website: http://www.fireaward.org
