Deputy Finance Minister calls for stronger ethics, transparency, collaboration in corporate reporting

DEPUTY Finance Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando urged Sri Lankan corpo rates to move beyond compliance-driven dis closures and embrace integrated reporting as a tool for ethical decision-making, trans parency and societal transformation, warning that information asymmetry remains a persistent barrier to good governance.

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Addressing the CMA Excellence in Integrated Reporting Excellence Awards on Monday, Dr. Fernando said that despite rapid advancements in technology and reporting standards, Sri Lanka like much of the world continues to operate within an “information-asymmetric society” where critical data needed for sound decisions is not freely or readily available.

"Information asymmetry is one of the key issues globally. We speak of openness and access, but even what should be publicly available for informed decisions often is not," he said, adding that integrated reporting plays a vital role in bridging this gap.

Dr. Fernando stressed that integrated reporting must go beyond traditional shareholder-oriented disclosure frameworks and serve a broader set of stakeholders with information that is genuinely relevant and useful.

"We must ask ourselves: What do we report, why do we report, and do we actually use this information for decision-making or are decisions influenced by other factors?" he asked.