The awards fall into two categories: one for corporations and the other for non-profit-making and charity organisations.

Similar assessment criteria apply in both categories. Assessments are based on presentation, clarity and coherence, transparency and promptness of reporting.

In the first category, corporations are also evaluated on their compliance with international accounting standards, statutory information disclosure and corporate governance reporting.

CLP Holdings was this year's winner of the Best Report Award, the scheme's top accolade. This is the fourth year in a row that the Hong Kong power company has taken the main trophy.

Mr Gorges, who is also a vice-chairman of South China Brokerage and has been involved in the awards for almost 20 years, said a few firms tended to lead the pack over a stretch of time, taking turns to win the top honours, but in recent years CLP Holdings had led the pack on its own.

'What's great about CLP Holdings is that they have not sat on their laurels,' Mr Gorges said. 'Rather than stick with a formula they know works, they have strived to improve and keep their annual reports fresh each year by changing the format and presentation.'

Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented in both categories.

In the first, general category, past winners had moved up in ranking. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, winner of a bronze award last year, won gold, and the Hong Kong Airport Authority, a bronze winner last year, took silver, along with the MTR Corporation. Meanwhile, bronze gongs went to Hang Seng Bank, Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels and last year's gold award winner, HSBC Holdings.

In the non-profit-making category, the gold award went again to the Securities and Futures Commission, while the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority took silver and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority bronze.

Citations were handed out for reports that stood out in their corporate governance disclosure and design. Mr Gorges said the citations emphasised and encouraged excellence in areas that might not have been necessarily highlighted in the main awards.

This year's citation winners for design were CLP Holdings and City University of Hong Kong.

'Design has become an important element in the production of annual reports.' Mr Gorges said. 'Striking designs engage the reader, enhance information accessibility and promote the organisation's identity.'

Citations for corporate governance disclosure went to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and the Securities and Futures Commission. Both organisations presented reports that were models of how corporate governance reporting could go beyond just a checklist of compliance to offer in-depth insight into operations.

Mr Gorges said this year's entries showed that organisations, and listed companies in particular, were becoming progressively more transparent in reporting their business activities, reflecting pressure from shareholders and regulators for more openness.

'Some companies have adopted an approach that is very much like a fireside chat,' Mr Gorges said.

'They reported not only their successes but also their mistakes and what they had learnt from them. Karrie International is one such company. And they adopt this openness in their annual general meetings. These companies may not have won an award, but we have applauded them in the judges' report.'

Besides checking the entries for statutory information, the adjudicators looked at how organisations had interpreted events of the past year, and how far they had identified problems and outlined business prospects.

Levels of interaction with the public and the addressing of community concerns were also very much on the judges' minds.

All entries elaborated on the corporate social responsibility of organisations, while some entrants dealt with the subject in a separate booklet. 'It's about recognising accountability to stakeholders and the image they project to the wider community,' Mr Gorges said.

The judges felt that employee relations was one important area that could have had more extensive coverage in the reports.

Mr Gorges said non-profit organisations seemed to have done a better job covering staff than listed companies, which by and large had failed to deal with employee-related issues such as staff training and development and recognising staff contributions. Exceptions included CLP Holdings and Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, he said.

Organisations were also encouraged to put in a bigger effort in their analyses and outlines of business prospects.

'We want to see organisations give stakeholders a sense of what, in their view, the future holds,' Mr Gorges said.

'Of course, it's not a straightforward issue. Listed companies must be careful not to mislead investors. As long as they don't make profit forecasts, I don't see why they cannot be more open about their thoughts on the future,' he said.

Mr Gorges advised non-profit-making organisations to give more thought to the future. For example, being clear on goals, plans, mission statements and sources and uses of funds could help a charity enhance its fund-raising capacities.

Existing and potential patrons should know where their donations were going, he said.