AUDITORS LEAGUE

ERNST & YOUNG ON TOP FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR

For the third consecutive year, Ernst & Young (EY) dominates the LMD 100 auditors league with 44 sign offs to its credit, which is one higher than its tally in the previous edition.

EY audited the financial statements of the LMD 100’s top six entities in financial year 2019/20 – viz. Hayleys, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Hatton National Bank, John Keells Holdings, LOLC Holdings and Sampath Bank.

As in the prior edition, KPMG takes the first runner-up spot, having signed off on 38 statutory audits in 2019/20 – the same count as in the previous year. CT Holdings, Cargills (Ceylon) and Carson Cumberbatch, which feature among the top 10 LMD 100 companies, appointed KPMG to audit their financials for the year in question.

EY and KPMG serviced a combined 82 LMD 100 corporations in the period under review, which represents a marginal increase from their previous year’s cumulative tally of 81.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is a distant third, having audited eight LMD 100 financial statements in 2019/20 (versus nine in the previous year). Among them is Dialog Axiata, which claims a notable presence on the LMD 100’s Leaderboard.

So three of the ‘Big Four’ global audit firms served 90 percent of Sri Lanka’s 100 leading listed companies in financial year 2019/20.

Meanwhile, the Auditor General’s Department signed off on five LMD 100 audit reports while SJMS Associates, Kreston MNS & Co, BDO Partners, B. R. De Silva & Co. and Baker Tilly Edirisinghe & Co. also feature in the 2019/20 auditors league – with one LMD 100 scalp to their name respectively.

LAWYERS LEAGUE

JULIUS & CREASY HELMS LEGAL LISTING YET AGAIN

As far as legal eagles and the LMD 100 go, Julius & Creasy tops the 2019/20 edition of the lawyers league by virtue of representing 17 leading listed companies (as it did in the previous financial year) while Nithya Partners occupies second place with a tally of 14 (up from 11 in the prior year)

In third place is F. J. & G. De Saram, which provided legal counsel to 10 companies in this year’s LMD 100 (in financial year 2018/19, this count stood at nine).

Neelakandan & Neelakandan, Paul Ratnayeke Associates and D. L. & F. De Saram also make their presence felt in the 2019/20 edition of Sri Lanka’s leading listed companies by servicing one LMD 100 client each.

Well over half (69) of the LMD 100 companies didn’t disclose their lawyers or legal consultants in financial year 2019/20, which is broadly in line with the status quo in the previous term.

As far as other facts and numbers go, eight LMD 100 entities – viz. LOLC Holdings, LOLC Finance, Nestlé Lanka, Ceylon Tobacco Company, CIC Holdings, Sunshine Holdings, Softlogic Life Insurance and Commercial Leasing & Finance – appointed joint lawyers in financial year 2019/20.

In the preceding year as well, the same number of Sri Lanka’s leading listed companies (LOLC Holdings, LOLC Finance, Nestlé Lanka, Ceylon Tobacco Company, CIC Holdings, Sunshine Holdings, Ceylon Grain Elevators and Commercial Leasing & Finance) were serviced by two law firms.

DESIGNERS LEAGUE

EMAGEWISE REMAINS A FIRM FAVOURITE FOR DESIGN

For the 12th consecutive year, Emagewise is the most sought after creative firm when it comes to designing annual reports for LMD 100 corporations. In the period under review, it served as design partner to as many as 49 of Sri Lanka’s leading listed companies – this number is slightly higher than its portfolio in the prior financial year when Emagewise collaborated with 46 LMD 100 clients.

Smart Media remains the first runner-up in the creative stakes, having designed 13 annual reports (down from 14 in financial year 2018/19) for LMD 100 entities.

Optima Designs takes the number three spot by virtue of having served eight leading listed corporates in financial year 2019/20 – this is the same number as in the prior year. Copyline follows with seven LMD 100 scalps to its credit in this special edition compared to 10 in the previous year.

Cumulatively, these four design firms account for more than three-quarters (77 annual reports, to be exact) of the entities that are featured in the latest edition of the LMD 100 – deemed to be Sri Lanka’s version of the Fortune 500 and launched as The LMD 50 back in 1994.

The remaining LMD 100 annual reports were designed by creative agencies such as Mediawize, RedWorks and Ceylon Printers – they lay claim to tallies of five, three and two leading listed clients respectively.

On the trivia front, it is worth noting that like in the preceding year’s listing, only 92 of the LMD 100 companies disclosed who designed their annual reports in financial year 2019/20.

PRINTERS LEAGUE

SOFTWAVE AT THE FOREFRONT OF PRINTING REPORTS

LMD’s longstanding print partner Softwave Printing & Packaging takes the number one spot in the LMD 100 printers league yet again, marking the sixth straight time that it has accomplished this feat. During the period under review, Softwave was picked to print the annual reports of 14 of Sri Lanka’s leading quoted companies.

Printage is hot on the heels of Softwave and placed second in the 2019/20 edition of the printers’ rankings of the LMD 100, having served 13 corporate clients (versus 14 in the previous year).

Meanwhile, Gunaratne Offset retains the second runner-up’s place in the LMD 100 printers league with nine clients in the bag, marginally improving on its tally from the preceding financial year. It is trailed closely by Printel, which counts a score of five LMD 100 annual reports in financial year 2019/20 (down from seven in 2018/19).

Other noteworthy contenders in the printers’ stakes include Aitken Spence Printing & Packaging, Nethu Print Solutions, Optima Designs and Ceylon Printers with their respective tallies being in the mid to low single digits. In the meantime, Karunaratne & Sons has one LMD 100 client to its credit during financial year 2019/20.

And finally, as many as 45 LMD 100 entities have not disclosed their print partners in financial year 2019/20, which is broadly in line with the number (43) that didn’t do so in the previous 12 month period.

BANKERS LEAGUE

COMBANK AND HNB SHARE THE SPOILS

Hatton National Bank (HNB) and Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) assert their dominance among the bankers to Sri Lanka’s leading listed companies in financial year 2019/20.

The two private sector banks serviced as many as 72 clients apiece in this edition of the LMD 100. In the previous year, HNB pipped ComBank to the summit by two customer accounts – ComBank serviced 70 LMD 100 clients in 2018/19.

State owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and private sector financial services provider Sampath Bank are placed third and fourth in the bankers league, with tallies of 62 and 61 clients respectively in 2019/20 – in the prior financial year, BOC and Sampath Bank bagged 61 LMD 100 clients each.

National Development Bank (NDB), Nations Trust Bank and People’s Bank served over half of the LMD 100 corporates in the period under review, whereas DFCC Bank and Seylan Bank aren’t far behind with 48 scalps respectively.

Of the remaining 13 banks, eight registered client lists that run into the double digits: Standard Chartered Bank (44), HSBC (34), Deutsche Bank (28), Pan Asia Banking Corporation (28), Citibank (25), Union Bank (25), Cargills Bank (18) and Muslim Commercial Bank (13).

A trio of state banks – viz. BOC, People’s Bank and National Savings Bank (NSB) – serviced 122 LMD 100 clients in 2019/20, which corresponds to a marginal decrease from 125 in the preceding financial year.

Only 85 (versus 84 in 2018/19) companies ranked in the LMD 100 disclosed their bankers in the corporate information section of their 2019/20 annual reports.

Only 85 of the companies that make up the LMD 100 disclosed their bankers in the corporate information section of 2019/20 annual reports. (84 in 2018/19.)