AUDITORS LEAGUE

ERNST & YOUNG AND KPMG SHARE HONOURS

Ernst & Young (EY) maintains its place at the forefront of the LMD 100 auditors league for the seventh year in a row, despite a mo­dest decline in audit sign offs from 46 to 43 – jointly with KPMG this year.

In financial year 2023/24, EY was tasked with auditing the financial statements of five of the top 10 companies in the LMD 100 including Hayleys, Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank), LOLC Holdings, John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Sampath Bank.

Meanwhile, KPMG took on the responsibility of conducting the statutory audits of three prominent entities within the top 10 of the LMD 100 – namely Hatton National Bank (HNB), Carson Cumberbatch and Bukit Darah.

Together, EY and KPMG conducted the audits of 86 LMD 100 com­panies in financial year 2023/24 – an increase of one compared to the previous year.

In a groundbreaking shift, the Sri Lankan firms of Pricewater­houseCoopers (PwC) announced their decision to exit from the PwC network and join Deloitte from October 2023. Consequently, Deloitte concluded financial year 2023/24 with nine sign offs from among the 100 leading listed companies.

Once again, three of the prestigious ‘Big Four’ global professional services firms accounted for well over 90 audits (95 vs 94 in the previous reporting period) of Sri Lanka’s 100 leading listed companies in the 2023/24 financial year.

Additionally, the Auditor General’s Department endorsed three LMD 100 audit reports while BDO Partners signed off on the remaining company in the 2023/24 rankings.

LAWYERS LEAGUE

JULIUS & CREASY HELMS THE LEGAL LEAGUE

Julius & Creasy secures prime position in the LMD 100’s lawyers league for the second year running, representing 13 corporate clients during the period under review. This marks an increase of two clients compared to 2022/23, which earns the firm top billing from last year’s tie with Nithya Partners.

Nithya Partners on the other hand, falls to second position, serving 11 LMD 100 companies – a number that remains consistent with the prior financial year.

In third place is F. J. & G. De Saram, which provided legal services to eight organisations in this year’s LMD 100, matching its count in 2022/23.

Heritage Partners offered legal counsel to five corporate clients listed in the 2023/24 LMD 100, recording an increase of one compared to the preceding year. Meanwhile, D. L. & F. De Saram and new entrant Varners rendered services to four clients each.

Maintaining its prior year count, Neelakandan & Neelakandan, Nithi Murugesu & Associates and Paul Ratnayeke Associates provided legal expertise to one LMD 100 client each.

Notably, only 34 of the companies in the LMD 100 disclosed their lawyers or legal consultants in the corporate information sections of their 2023/24 annual reports as in the preceding financial year.

For the record, 13 LMD 100 entities – viz. LOLC Holdings, Sampath Bank, CIC Holdings, LOLC Finance, Richard Pieris & Company, Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC), Sunshine Holdings, Softlogic Life Insurance, Ceylon Grain Elevators, Renuka Holdings, Renuka Foods, Printcare and Three Acre Farms – appointed joint lawyers for 2023/24.

DESIGNERS LEAGUE

EMAGEWISE DOMINATES THE CREATIVE ARENA

Emagewise continues to consolidate its position as the premier creative agency for designing annual reports for LMD 100 corporates, maintaining its top spot in the designers league for the 16th consecutive year.

During the 2023/24 review period, Emagewise served as design partner for 51 of Sri Lanka’s 100 leading listed companies – this represents an expansion of its portfolio from the previous financial year when it collaborated with 47 LMD 100 entities.

In the creative landscape of annual report design, Smart Media maintains second place by virtue of designing 11 reports in the 2023/24 financial period, up from 10 in the prior year.

This year, Optima Designs shares second position with Smart Media, gaining a notable increase in LMD 100 clients – from six in the pre­vious financial year to 11.

Meanwhile, RedWorks and Copyline designed five annual reports each from among the LMD 100 entities in 2023/24. And Mediawize did the same for two LMD 100 corporates, matching its number in the previous year.

Collectively, these six design firms account for 85 percent of corporates featured in the latest edition of the LMD 100 (financial year 2022/23 – 73), which is widely recognised as Sri Lanka’s version of the Fortune 500.

Notably, only 89 of the LMD 100 companies disclosed the designers of their 2023/24 annual reports, although this represents a substantial increase from the 74 corporations that provided this information in the preceding year of review.

PRINTERS LEAGUE

SOFTWAVE CONTINUES TO SET THE BENCHMARK

For the 10th consecutive year, LMD’s longstanding print partner Softwave Printing and Packaging retains pole position in the printers league; it printed the annual reports of 23 of the country’s leading listed companies during the review period.

This impressive achievement reflects a substantial increase, representing more than double the 11 LMD 100 clients it serviced in financial year 2022/23.

Aitken Spence Printing & Packaging maintains its second position in the league, having been the preferred printer for the annual reports of 11 corporate clients listed in the latest edition of the LMD 100. This marks an increase from the nine leading listed companies that commissioned Aitken Spence to print their annual reports in the previous year.

Printage holds steady in third place for financial year 2023/24. However, its client count from the LMD 100 fell from four to two. Similarly, Printel also experienced a decline in corporate clients, dropping from three to two during the financial year under review.

In contrast, both Gunaratne Offset and M. D. Gunasena printed one annual report each, marking their return to the rankings after failing to feature in the LMD 100’s printers league last year.

While only 40 of the LMD 100 companies chose to disclose their printing partners, this number represents an increase from 30 in the preceding year. This trend highlights a growing awareness of the importance of transparency in corporate reporting practices among leading business houses.

BANKERS LEAGUE

HNB REIGNS AS CORPORATE BANKING LEADER

In financial year 2023/24, Hatton National Bank (HNB) served 79 leading listed companies, reinforcing its status as the banker of choice among quoted corporates and in sync with the previous year.

Meanwhile, Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) retains second place, growing its client base by two to 78. And National Development Bank (NDB) maintains third place with 66 clients in the 2023/24 LMD 100, down from 67 last year.

In a notable shift, Seylan Bank takes a giant leap from ninth to fourth place, serving 65 clients – up from 56 in 2022/23.

Sampath Bank, which held fourth position last year, shares fifth place with the state owned Bank of Ceylon (BOC), both serving 64 LMD 100 clients each. Nations Trust Bank is ranked sixth with 63 clients from the list – an increase from 58 in 2022/23.

DFCC Bank and People’s Bank both served over 50 LMD 100 entities each.

Other banks in the bankers league also reported enviable client lists: Standard Chartered Sri Lanka served 45 clients while Pan Asia Banking Corporation and Union Bank of Colombo catered to 33 each.

HSBC partnered with 31 corporate clients in the LMD 100, followed by Cargills Bank with 22, Deutsche Bank and Citibank (21 each), Bank of China (12), Habib Bank (11), and Muslim Commercial Bank and National Savings Bank (NSB) with 10 LMD 100 corporates apiece.

The three largest state banks – BOC, People’s Bank and NSB – collectively serviced 131 LMD 100 clients in 2023/24, marking an increase of three from the prior financial year.

Notably, ComBank, HNB and Sampath Bank also feature in the top 10 of the LMD 100 this year.

Only 86 of the companies that make up the LMD 100 disclosed their bankers in the corporate information section in the 2023/24 annual reports (86 in 2022/23).

MOST RESPECTED (2024)

JKH REMAINS THE MOST RESPECTED CORPORATE

In an impressive display of perceived corporate excellence, John Keells Holdings (JKH) emerged as the frontrunner in LMD’s Most Respected rankings for the 19th consecutive year. In 2024, JKH achieved a score of 884, outpacing its nearest competitor by more than 380 votes.

The rankings are based on a survey commissioned and conceptua­lised by LMD, and conducted by PepperCube Consultants.

Hayleys made a notable ascent to second place – up from third – with 501 votes while Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) climbed to No. 3 with a score of 454, moving up one position from the preceding year.

In contrast, MAS Holdings dropped to No. 4 (from second place in 2023) for the period under review – its score of 450 represented a decrease from 506 votes in the previous financial year.

Dialog Axiata claimed fifth position with a score of 330 while Sampath Bank made a strong comeback to reenter the top 10, having fallen to 11th position last year, securing sixth place with 228 votes.

Unilever slipped in the rankings to seventh position with a score of 205 in 2024. It is closely followed by LOLC Holdings at No. 8.

Meanwhile, Hatton National Bank (HNB) entered the top 10 (at No. 9) once again, thanks to a vote count of 172, after previously ranking 12th, while Hemas Holdings rounds out the top 10.

The 2024 Hall of Fame showcases the top 20 corporations, comprising 16 listed companies, two prominent privately owned businesses (MAS Holdings and Brandix Lanka) and two multinational giants (Unilever Sri Lanka and Nestlé Lanka).