ICSAZ presents first Corporate Governance Awards

All is set for the presentation of the inaugural Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe Excellence in Corporate Governance Awards which will be presented for the first time on Thursday (on November 14).

The awards, which are aimed at enhancing corporate governance by acknowledging corporate boards that are exemplary in their practice of good corporate governance, were launched by the institute with the support of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the Securities Commission of Zimbabwe.

ICSAZ chief executive and secretary Farai Musamba said a team of six adjudicators had used a scorecard system to evaluate companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and currently trading on the local bourse which published annual reports for 2012.  

"The adjudicators used the ICSAZ Corporate Governance Scorecard to rate companies on their corporate governance practices utilising publicly available information such as annual reports and cautionary statements lodged with the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Any other information issued by companies to shareholders could also be used.

"The total scores are then used to profile the companies in coming up with winners for the awards," he added.

Mr Musamba said the adjudicators had looked for evidence of innovative and informative forms of disclosure which moved away from box ticking.

"Comprehensive explanations of departure from various codes provisions and the integration of governance into the organisation's strategy and day-to-day operations were considered.

"Other areas that were looked into include how decisions are made in the company as well as the comprehensive understanding of the link between corporate power and responsibility and shareholder value creation," he said.

He added that prioritisation of governance through a coherent cross-referencing to other sections of the annual report, a demonstration of a holistic thinking that has due regard for different stakeholder priorities and the relevance of succession planning were also considered.

Directors' fulfilment of their statutory duties, including the duty to promote the success of the company, was another key area that was looked into.
 
Apart from the corporate awards, there is a Governance Professional of the Year Award.

In selecting the winner of this award, the adjudicators looked at such factors as extensive expertise in the field of corporate governance, leadership in driving best practice governance initiatives within the individual's own organisations and evidence of being a highly regarded and proactive advisor to senior management and the board.

"The adjudicators also considered whether or not the individual winner demonstrated management of multiple stakeholders to achieve holistic corporate governance, and contributed to the reputation and stature of the role of the governance professional in general.

"Development and effective implementation of innovation in corporate governance  initiatives, effective management and implementation of major corporate governance projects during the period under review  and an active involvement in advancing the corporate governance agenda in Zimbabwe were also considered," he added.

The company awards categories are Best Shareholder Treatment Award, Best Stakeholder Practices and Sustainability Reporting Award, Best Board Practices Award and Overall Best-Governed Company Award.


The inaugural awards will focus on companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange which published annual reports for the 2012 financial year and are still trading on the bourse.

However it is expected that in future, categories of the awards will be expanded to cater for state-owned enterprises, small to medium-sized enterprises and other organisations.