The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing competed in the 55^th  Annual Report Awards conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and was rewarded with a Gold award for the second consecutive year in the Not for Profit Organizations, which also included the Non-Governmental Organizations category.  While SLIM has been producing comprehensive annual reports according to the accounting standards stipulated by CA Sri Lanka for many years now, this is the third time that it submitted a report to be evaluated against those guidelines, resulting in the reward of a second consecutive Gold at this prestigious event.   

Many organisations ranging from blue chip companies and conglomerates to small and medium businesses to community groups vie for laurels at this competition where an eminent panel of judges work on evaluation criteria that has the best practices in governance. This is augmented with a stringent appraisal of the entities’ transparency, accountability and social responsibility in financial reporting.

Assessing the esteemed prize awarded to SLIM, President Suranjith Swaris said, “A credible annual report entails a great deal of clarity in the presentation of financial and non-financial information and SLIM has achieved this, conforming to the highest reporting standards and being suitably rewarded.  We have been infusing best practices into the way we work for many years now, where our value creation in governance, deeper insights and remarkable growth has led to credible financial and operational performance being communicated coherently and comprehensively through our annual reports.  While this Gold award is certainly an honour for us as the national body for marketing, our win also paves the way for others to emulate these best practices and strive for excellence in reporting.”

SLIM has focused on long term strategic planning and the process of reporting and publishing a comprehensive annual report has been one of the avenues the management, has been concentrating on in order to ensure that strategic direction is maintained.  In a continuing endeavour to recognise the finest in annual reporting, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka presented the 55th Annual Report Awards Ceremony in December 2019. A search was made for a masterpiece that’s cohesive and clear, that best reflects an entity’s operations, while going above and beyond the statutory boundaries of reporting. This is a platform that was specifically designed to crown the masterpiece in financial reporting.

Roshan Fernando, Vice President- Education of SLIM noted “This is a solid demonstration of our transparency and accountability in not only delivering maximum financial stability, but also in being compliant with the regulations and standards that govern ‘Not for Profit’ organisations for the second consecutive year, while also being mindful of the triple bottom line.  This is an unequivocal honour for the national body for marketing and one that we will continue to build upon to ensure that our decisions and impacts on our stakeholders will always be positive and for the betterment of the nation as a whole.”

The CEO and Executive Director of SLIM Sanath Senanayake said, “Being a Marketing body, it’s an honour to receive the Gold award in the Annual Report Awards for the second consecutive Gold in SLIM’s history. I extend my sincere gratitude to all our past presidents, founder members, SLIM Council and ExCo, SLIM Management team and also the committed SLIM Staff for their guidance, hard work and tireless efforts for the success of SLIM and this Gold Award is a proud emblem of their perseverance and sacrifice.”