PwC announces this year's winners for Building Public Trust Awards

Global professional services firm PwC has held the 2018 edition of its Building Public Trust Awards, and the overall award for ‘tax reporting for multinational companies has gone to AngloGold Ashanti followed by MTN as runner up, both of which retain their positions from the previous year. 

Tax reporting is one of the most pertinent issues currently dominating public debate in South Africa, particularly as default rates have hit considerably high levels. The situation has prompted the South African government to increase tax rates and has drive the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to take major preventative measures.

In such a scenario, Big Four accounting and advisory firm PwC has been recognising firms that have excellent reporting practices, both in the domestic and in the international markets. The firm bestows accolades on firms annually at its Building Public Trust Award ceremony.

While the award and runners up title for the ‘tax reporting for multinational companies’ went to AngloGold Ashanti and MTN respectively, the award in the ‘tax reporting for domestic companies’ category went to the Vodacom Group. The runner up in the domestic category was Absa Group.

The ceremony comes at a time when tax reporting practices are increasingly under scrutiny, not only due to the increase in defaults and consequent regulatory measures, but also due to South Africa’s adoption of the Base Erosion & Profit Shifitng tax reporting model, which exerts additional pressure on multinational firms in the country.

Commenting on the awards. Lead for Tax Reporting & Strategy at PwC  South Africa Gert Meiring said, “Now in their fifth year, the PwC Building Public Trust Awards celebrate companies who are leading the way in open, authentic and accessible reporting and communications. The Building Public Trust Awards were introduced in South Africa in 2014 to encourage and promote greater voluntary transparency in tax reporting.”

He added, “PwC has long supported the disclosure of meaningful and relevant tax information through voluntary reporting initiatives. Additional voluntary tax reporting by corporates is one way of helping to improve the level of understanding. Tax transparency will continue to evolve as the mandatory reporting regimes develop and as companies respond to demands from a varied group of stakeholders.”