Regional Award for Financial Reporting Awarded to NSSF

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has won the African Continent Regional Award at the Integrated Reporting Awards presented by the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA).

The Integrated Reporting Awards of the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa are the most prestigious awards of their kind in the Southern African corporate community. They are co-hosted by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Limited, which has collaborated with CGISA.

They are intended to encourage strong financial and non-financial reporting and full disclosure of information to all stakeholders of the Southern African corporate community.

The awards enable organizations to be compared to their peers and provide the chance to develop and implement excellent reporting practices through constructive feedback.

The Fund has won five honors at the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda’s recently concluded Financial Reporting (FiRe) Awards (ICPAU).

Patrick Ayota, the NSSF’s Deputy Managing Director, stated that these awards demonstrate the Fund’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

“The purpose of our study is to ensure that the Fund continues to be transparent and accountable to its members, employers, the government, and other key stakeholders,” he explained.

Ayota noted that the Fund was the winner of the Report of the Year – Gold Award, the winner of the Public Sector, Sustainability Report, Communication and Presentation categories, and the runner-up for the Corporate Governance Award.

The honor

Initiated in 2011, the Financial Reporting Awards aim to improve the quality of financial and business reporting in Uganda by promoting the implementation of financial reporting standards and other best practices in reporting as stipulated by ICPAU for the various economic sectors in Uganda.

Stevens Mwanje, the chief financial officer of the NSSF, stated that over the years the Fund has produced its annual reports using the customary method.

This time around, the Fund adopted the structure of the Integrated Report (IR). The shift in strategy assures that the Fund will now adhere to global best practices (the International Integrated Reporting Framework).

Mwanje continued, “Our report is a balanced and accurate reflection of our strategy, performance, risks, opportunities, and future outlook in connection to key financial, economic, social, and governance issues.”

This report discusses the financial and non-financial performance of the Fund for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2020. The Fund, which was the overall winner of the Integrated Report of the Year, Gold Award, was lauded for submitting an all-encompassing integrated report that provided a detailed explanation of the value that the organization made for each stakeholder group during the period.

In addition, the FiRe Awards committee applauded the organization for addressing the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in a thoughtful manner, with clear viewpoints and future outlook.

Over the past eight years, the Fund has received an unqualified opinion from the Auditor General, confirming that its financial records and statements have been presented properly and appropriately, in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

The Fund has won numerous Financial Reporting honors, including the Report of the Year Award (Gold) in 2018, Overall Winner (Silver) in 2017, Overall Winner (Bronze) in 2019, Winner (Communication Award) and Public Sector Award (2018 & 2019), and good corporate governance awards (2015 & 2016).