PRESS RELEASE

Kigali, Rwanda - 30 July 2024

SECOND FINANCIAL REPORTING AND EXCELLENCE

AWARDS 2024 (FREA 2024)

THEME: "Excellence in sustainability Reporting".

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (ICPAR) is excited to announce the opening of the 2nd Financial Reporting and Excellence Awards (FREA) 2024. This event invites organisations to submit their recent audited annual reports and allows members to nominate candidates for various prestigious awards.

The Financial Reporting and Excellence Awards aim to foster a strong corporate and financial reporting culture by recognising and awarding organisations and individuals who consistently demonstrate commitment to the profession. Through sound corporate governance practices and sustainability reporting, these entities contribute to effective economic decision- making by a wide range of stakeholders. In addition to financial information, disclosures on sustainability and climate-related risks and opportunities enhance the trust and confidence required by financial markets and investment attraction.

It is also important to recall that this is not just a mere competition, as the event provides opportunities for individuals and organisations to showcase their efforts regarding corporate and sustainability reporting; which provides a benchmark for various organisations to emulate; and demonstrate good corporate governance and thus better information to support Reporting Excellence through enhanced investments and environmental reporting to various stakeholders.

The benefit to organisations would not end at just identifying, assessing and developing mitigating measures; but also extend to building trust and transparency with investors and stakeholders, attracting sustainable investors, help comply with regulatory requirements and industry standards, which in the end contributes to better performance hence the theme: "Excellence in Sustainability Reporting".

The award is open to all Rwandan-based organisations that prepare financial statements, and all participating entities shall receive feedback on their performance from a team of independent experts. We believe this will go a long way in providing insights from the best performers, encouraging them to share trends and help to spread leading practices, for better performance going forward.

This year, the Institute continues to encourage organisations to embrace ESG reporting as well as recognising individuals or organisations that have contributed to the development of the accountancy profession in Rwanda and beyond. Thus, the rationale for including the following other categories: CFO of the year; CPA of the year; CAT of the year; Young CPA of the year; as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, the institute shall grant CPA fellowships to members who have met the set criteria. There will also be an opportunity to welcome members who became CATS and CPAs this year.

The FREA 2024 gala dinner ceremony to recognize the winners shall be held physically on 27th September 2024, at Crown Conference Hall, Kigali (KG 13 Avenue, Nyarutarama) starting from 14h30. To book for the event please click: https://imis.icparwanda.com/#/events and follow the prompts.

We, therefore, request all interested entities to submit their recent audited reports via https://icparwanda.com/frea2024/ no later than 23rd August 2024 to facilitate an on-time evaluation and assessment of the financial statements.

For more information, please contact us at: pds@icparwanda.com or call us on 0788 677 707 | 0788 848 795.