Last AGS annual report wins an ARA Bronze Award
AGS's final annual report, for the year 2014–15, won a Bronze Award in the 2016 Australasian Reporting Awards (ARA) presented at Sydney last night, Wednesday 8 June. The awards are open to all organisations that produce an annual report, either commercial, not-for-profit or government.
'This Award is terrific recognition of the combined skills and talent of our annual reporting team,' said Liz Lajos, National Manager AGS Client Services.
AGS's annual report was prepared by Karen Leary with case studies written by Sam Miley and Diana Icasate, designed and produced by designers Mandy Orr and Julie Hamilton, cover artist Tiff Brown, web publisher James Gergely and coordinated by David Whitbread, all in AGS Client Services. The same team will be part of the broader team working on the Attorney-General's Department annual report this year.
ARA was started by a group of leading business people in 1950 to improve the standards of financial reporting in Australia. It is an independent not-for-profit organisation supported by volunteer professionals from the business community and professional bodies concerned about the quality of financial and business reporting.
The Bronze Award means our report provided satisfactory coverage of most of the demanding ARA criteria and presented quality disclosures in major areas.
As the ARA states, 'Techniques of good reporting evolve over time but the fundamentals remain constant. Good reporting requires an open willing attitude, attention to detail and accuracy, a sensitivity and responsiveness to stakeholders, a willingness to put in the effort to communicate effectively and a commitment to achieving and improving upon standards.'
ARA criteria have absorbed the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an international benchmark in reporting and reflect the substance of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Like the GRI, ARA seeks reports that:
- provide a balanced and reasonable picture of an organisation's economic, environmental and social performance
- facilitate comparability, benchmarking and assessment of performance
- address issues of concern to stakeholders.