Industriemagazin Verlag, together with the Controller Institute, presented the Austrian Public Reporting Award (APRA) for the third time. The winners of the APRA 2016 are in three categories: In the category of listed companies, the construction group Strabag SE came out on top, with Österreichische Post AG in second place and crane manufacturer Palfinger AG in third. In the category of non-listed companies, ÖBB Holding AG won the race, with WEB Windenergie AG in second place and Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien in third place, almost on a par with its parent company, Raiffeisen Holding Niederösterreich-Wien. In the third category, non-profit organisations (NPO), only the winner was chosen, the University of Vienna. Among all ten NPO entries, it was far ahead in all criteria.
In total, almost 150 annual reports were analysed in the application. In a first step, the Controller Institute checked the financial information for completeness and informative value. Only those that stood up to the critical eye of the scientists made it to round two. In this round, top-class jurors from the fields of capital market, investor protection, integrated sustainability, corporate governance, infographics and design & journalism took apart the financial statements, among them Alois Wögerbauer (3-Banken Generali), Paul Severin (Österr. Vereinigung für Finanzanalyse and Erste Asset Management), Stefan Maxian (Raiffeisen Centrobank), Thomas Neuhold (Kepler Cheuvreux), Wilhelm Rasinger (President of the Interessensverband für Anleger, IVA), Christoph Eisl and Heimo Losbichler from the FH Oberösterreich as well as corporate governance expert Viktoria Kickinger and sustainability expert Philipp Gaggl.
Quality stagnates
According to the jurors, the award-winning companies have all achieved a high level of corporate reporting. However, if one looks at all the annual reports submitted, the quality is stagnating. Especially with regard to sustainability, i.e. the credible integration of environmental, social and societal aspects in the annual report, there are deficits, criticise both Rita Niedermayr-Kruse, Managing Director of the Controller Institute, and sustainability expert Philipp Gaggl. This is despite the fact that the EU directive on non-financial performance reporting must be implemented in 2017. This obliges larger companies that are in the public interest to include non-financial information in their reporting, leaving it up to the companies whether they do so in the annual report or a separate sustainability report. While many have their own sustainability report, only a handful of companies are taking the next step, namely that of credible integration into the annual report, according to Gaggl.
On the other hand, there has been a positive development in the area of corporate governance. Here, expert Viktoria Kickinger sees a leap forward. Above all, transparency has taken on a new significance.
Special prices
At the awards ceremony on 29 September at the 25hours hotel in Vienna, Industriemagazin Managing Director Florian Zangerl also awarded special prizes for the best reports in the individual areas examined. The special prize winners are:
Basic analysis :
- listed companies: Flughafen Wien AG
- unlisted companies: ÖBB Holding
Financial analysis:
- listed companies: Austrian Post
- unlisted companies: WEB Windenergie AG
Integrated sustainability:
- listed companies: EVN AG
- unlisted companies: oekostrom AG
Design & Journalism:
- listed companies: Buwog AG
- unlisted companies: Österreichische Bundesforste AG
Infographic:
- listed companies: AT&S AG
- unlisted companies: Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien
Investor protection: Wienerberger AG
Corporate Governance: Verbund AG
(The last two awards were for listed companies only).
Winners of the main prizes at a glance
Listed companies:
1 Strabag SE
2 Austrian Post
3 Palfinger AG
Non-listed companies:
1. ÖBB Holding AG
2 WEB Windenergie AG
3 Raiffeisenlandesbank Lower Austria-Vienna
Non-profit organisations:
1st University of Vienna
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