World Bank and European Union Announce Launch of 2022 Best Annual Report and Transparency Award

BARTA, founded in 2019 within the framework of The European Union – World Bank joint project – Financial Inclusion and Accountability, is more important than ever in light of the rapid emergence of sustainability reporting around the world. In April 2021, the European Commission proposed the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) as part of a sweeping package of measures to support the transition to a sustainable EU economy. In the coming years, sustainability reporting will therefore assume equal prominence to financial reporting in the EU. Similarly, at a global level, the IFRS Foundation has established the International Sustainability Reporting Board (ISSB) to develop international sustainability reporting standards (ISRS).

This year’s BARTA competition will be open to all public interest entities (PIEs), which include all A and B listing companies, admitted to trading companies, banks, insurance companies, etc. All listed companies will automatically be scored, provided they meet the eligibility criteria of an unqualified audit report and are in compliance with company category specific report submission deadlines. Other PIEs, including those admitted to trading, will need to self-nominate here.

The deadline for companies to self-nominate is 31 October 2022.

As part of BARTA’s gradual evolution to reflect the emergence of sustainability reporting, the 2022 competition will have two awards for sustainability reporting. Reports must be based on a generally recognized framework, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, and be included within the Annual Report.

To learn more about BARTA 2022 please see here.