Airtel Africa, a leading telecommunications services provider in Africa, has emerged as a winner at the inaugural edition of the ICAN-NGX Awards, carting away the Most Outstanding in Financial Reporting and the overall gold across all categories, amidst other nominations.
These honours on the company were announced at a special ceremony held on Friday at the NGX headquarters in Lagos.
Organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in collaboration with NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo), the awards recognized excellence in corporate reporting among the top 30 most capitalized companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the 2022 financial reporting year.
Airtel Africa stood out among other nominees in the areas of Financial Reporting, Corporate Governance, and Sustainability Reporting.
In the highly competitive Financial Reporting Category, Airtel Africa was recognized as Most Outstanding, edging out industry giants such as Dangote Cement Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Seplat Energy Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc.
Speaking on the awards, Group Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Carl Cruz, expressed gratitude for the awards while restating the organization’s enduring commitment to promoting transparency and accountability for the benefit of all stakeholders.
The telecom expert enthused: “At Airtel, we strive to set the benchmark for excellence in financial reporting and corporate reporting, and these awards validate our efforts in this regard. We have been deliberate in maintaining a painstaking dedication to transparency for the sake of our shareholders, which is also how we keep our promises to our shareholders.”
Airtel Africa also received the Gold Award in the Corporate Reporting Category which, Cruz pointed out, underscored Airtel’s culture of fair business practices, nothing that the “recognition reminds us to keep upholding the fundamental principles of integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct across all facets of its operations.”
In his remarks at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX Regulation Limited, Mr. Olufemi Shobanjo, stressed the significance of the award and the importance of transparency and accountability in building a more productive market environment.
The investment expert clarified: “It is noteworthy that integrity is an important drive in ensuring a successful business. In this vein, the Corporate Reporting Award underscores our collective commitment to fostering a capital market that operates on principles of transparency, integrity, and excellence.”
While expressing his positive feelings about the awards, the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Innocent Okwuosa, expressed optimism about the future of corporate reporting in the country.
He said: “As sustainability evolves and with Nigeria adopting IFRS S1 and S2 of International Sustainability Standard Board (ISSB). It is expected that the corporate reporting in Nigeria will get better and better.”
Photo Caption
L-R: Director, Corporate Communications and CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran; Chief Executive Officer, NGX Regulation Limited, Mr. Olufemi Shobanjo, and Head, Investor Relations, Airtel Africa, Alastair Jones; during the presentation of the ICAN-NGX Corporate Reporting Award Category on Friday at the NGX headquarters in Lagos
