2023 ARA Handbook

In this section

Welcome

2023 ARA Report of the Year

Patrons Remarks

Chairs Remarks

Chairs Commendations

ARA Awards Sponsors

About the ARA

THE 2023 ARA HANDBOOK

Welcome to this online ARA Handbook which announces the 2023 ARA Award recipients and celebrates the 73rd consecutive year of the Awards.

The ARA Awards provide all organisations that produce an annual report an opportunity to benchmark their report against criteria based on world best practice, and obtain constructive advice from a member of the ARA adjudication team on how to improve the quality of their reporting.

Over the past 73 years there have been many changes in the ways organisations operate and ongoing expansion of the number of issues organisations are required to, or expected, to report on. The ARA role has included identifying the impacts of emerging issues on annual reporting, and drawing attention to them.

This Handbook has been produced as an online report in accord with the transition in annual reporting from the printed report, to an easy to navigate and easy to read interactive website.

Patron’s Remarks

It gave me great pleasure to attend the 2023 Awards Dinner to acknowledge all those who entered the Awards for their interest in, and commitment to high quality reporting, and to congratulate the organisations that had achieved Awards. I understand from the hard-working ARA adjudicators that the standard of reporting this year was again outstanding.

Special congratulations go to Main Roads Western Australia, an organisation responsible for managing one of the most expansive road networks in the world, for receiving the 2023 Report of the Year Award. This followed the recent achievement of more than ten consecutive Gold Awards.

Stephen Varady, Chair of the ARA Awards Committee said, “The Main Roads WA report demonstrates that conscious thought and effort went into every aspect of it to ensure information would be communicated effectively. It provides a clear, balanced view of the organisation’s progress towards achieving its strategic goals.”

I also congratulate all the winners of the Best of Industry Sector Awards for achieving a standard of reporting beyond achieving a Gold Award.

The ARA Seminar this year drew timely attention to reporting on the challenges organisations need to address as a consequence of increasing concerns about climate change. This included the alignment of ESG reporting requirements among international bodies. A presentation on the use of the recently developed artificial intelligence (AI) software as a tool for research, writing and editing was both informative and timely. The coverage of such topics demonstrates the forward thinking of ARA.

Of particular note is the involvement in ARA of Australian organisations with a vested interest in high quality reporting such as the Audit Office of New South Wales, the Office of the Auditor General of Western Australia and CPA Australia as entrants; and CPA Australia and the Business Council of Australia as Alliance Partners.

The steadily increasing number of Awards entries from Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia indicates the ARA Awards are held in high regard in the Asia Pacific region as a measure of high quality reporting, and ARA is an important source of information and advice.

I encourage all entrants to tell others about the benefits they receive from entering the Awards.

Hugh Morgan AC

ARA Patron

Chair’s Remarks

What a wonderful night we had at the 73rd ARA Awards dinner in Sydney with the good natured humour of Michael Pascoe, our MC. Once again, my congratulations to everyone who was recognised and celebrated on the night.

I was very pleased to recognise the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for the extraordinary achievement of twenty consecutive Gold Awards, and CLP Holdings and Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation which achieved ten consecutive Gold Awards this year with the Chair’s Commendation for sustained excellence in annual reporting.

ARA continued to recognise the best in sector with seven organisations being recognised for achieving outstanding reporting among industry sector peers above and beyond achieving a Gold Award. The Report of the Year was chosen from the Best of Industry Sector winners. I was very proud to accept this award on behalf of my own organisation, Main Roads Western Australia.

I do not recall exactly what I said in accepting the Award. It was something we had been striving to achieve for many years. I believe we got there through a dedicated commitment to continuous improvement guided by feedback sessions from ARA. It was exciting to see this effort pay off.

To our sponsors and supporters, a huge thank you for your ongoing participation and support. Thanks also to our Patron, Hugh Morgan AC, and my fellow directors for their significant contributions to ARA and their ongoing support. Above all, I extend a huge thank you to our dedicated volunteer Coordinators and Adjudicators. They make an enormous contribution in terms of giving their time and sharing their expertise. Without them we could not have an ARA.

This year, Stephen Varady the Chair of the Awards Committee has decided to step back from that role but will continue on as a Coordinator and Board Director. I am very pleased to welcome Tulip Penney as the new Chair of the Awards Committee. She has been working closely with Stephen over the last 12 months. On behalf of all of us thank you Stephen and welcome to Tulip.

Congratulations again to everyone who entered the 2023 ARA Awards. By entering you have demonstrated your commitment to excellence in annual reporting. Entries for the 2024 Awards will open in October.

I look forward to seeing you along with new friends next year.

Alan Colegate

Chair, ARA

Chair’s Commendations

The Chair’s Commendation was introduced in 2017 to acknowledge organisations that have demonstrated a long-term commitment to excellence in reporting. To receive this Award an organisation must achieve ten consecutive Gold Awards.

ARA Directors believe the regular independent benchmarking obtained by entering successive ARA Awards makes organisations better able to adapt to regulatory requirements and changed circumstances, maintain a very high standard of reporting to their stakeholders and address community expectations.

CLP Holdings Limited of Hong Kong and the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation achieved a tenth consecutive Gold Award in the 2023 ARA Awards and were awarded a Chair’s Commendation at the Awards Presentation Dinner.

Both of these organisations have also achieved very standards in reporting. CLP Holdings was Report of the Year in 2014 and has won the Sustainability Report of the Year Award several times, and the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation received the ARA Report of the Year Award in 2021 and again in 2022.

*Vivian Au, Director Corporate Affairs (Communications) accepted the Chair’s Commendation Award on behalf of CLP Holdings Limited.*

*Tessa Donovan, Senior Corporate Communications Advisor accepted the Chair’s Commendation on behalf of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation.*

Nick Leys Head of Communication accepted the Award for the ABC.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation received a special Chair’s Commendation to recognise the exceptional achievement of 20 consecutive Gold Awards. Over this period, the ABC maintained a very high standard of reporting and won the Report of the Year Award in 2016 and 2018.

*Ray Lane with ARA Chair Alan Colegate.*

2023 Chair’s Commendation for Adjudication

This Award was presented to Ray Lane, ARA Director and Company Secretary, who has been a strong supporter of the ARA for many years initially as an Adjudicator and subsequently as Coordinator for the Local Government Sector which attracts the largest number of entries (40 to 50) each year. Ray was appointed to the ARA Board and become Company Secretary in 2014.

Chair’s Commendations Honour Roll

    
                Year of Award
                Organisation
                Consecutive Gold Awards (to date)
                Report of the Year
                Entered 2023 Awards
            
                2017
                Australian Broadcasting Corporation
                20
                2016 & 2018
                YES
            
                2017
                Watercare Services Limited
                17
                
                2018
                Glen Eira City Council
                15
                
                YES
            
                2018
                Legal Aid NSW
                15
                
                YES
            
                2019
                Audit Office of New South Wales
                14
                2017
                YES
            
                2017
                Woodside Petroleum
                14
                2013 & 2015
                
                2020
                City of Ryde Council
                13
                
                YES
            
                2020
                Judicial Commission of NSW
                12
                
                2020
                City of Ryde Council
                13
                
                YES
            
                2021
                Main Roads Western Australia
                12
                2023
                YES
            
                2022
                Civil Aviation Safety Authority
                11
                
                YES
            
                2022
                Electoral Commission of Victoria
                11
                
                YES
            
                2022
                Bridge Housing
                10
                
                2023
                CLP Holdings Limited
                10
                2014
                YES
            
                2023
                Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation
                10
                2020 & 2021
                YES
            
                2020
                Marlborough Lines Limited
                10

ARA Directors

The ARA Awards are administered by Australasian Reporting Awards Limited, an independent not-for-profit organisation run by volunteer professionals from the business, government and not-for-profit sectors, with support from organisations concerned with the quality of business and financial reporting. They all have considerable experience in annual reporting and they also participate in the Awards adjudication process as Coordinators or Adjudicators.

The current ARA directors are listed below:

    
               Alan Colegate, DipAcc, GCert(Bus)
                Chair
            
                Bronwyn Wellings, Bec, FCPA, FFTP, GAICD
                Deputy Chair
            
               Ray Lane, BCom, MPA, FIPAA, FAIDC, MIIA
                Company and Board Secretary
            
                Maria Balatbat, BSc, MCom, PhD, FCPA, CA
                Director
            
                Sylvia Bell, BSc, MA(Comm), MRes, GAICD
                Director
            
                Andrew Crawford, MBA, BEC, FCPA, FCA, FAICD
                Director
            
                Tulip Penney, BA, BPsych(Hons), MBA
                Director and 2024 Chair ARA Awards Committee
            
                Stephen Varady, CSM, MA(PublicSectLead), GCert(PubSecMgmt)
                Director and 2023 Chair ARA Awards Committee