TWO Worcestershire companies GKN and Halfords, which are both headquartered in Redditch, have been shortlisted for awards for corporate reporting by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, the professional body for governance.

Halfords has been shortlisted for the quality of its annual report and GKN for an award for best audit and risk disclosure in an annual report.

Now in their seventh year, the ICSA Awards reward excellence in governance through an assessment of governance disclosure in the annual reports of all companies across the FTSE 350. Both companies are being recognised for transparent disclosure and accountability. No nominations are accepted for the awards, which means that just being shortlisted can be seen as an achievement in itself.

Peter Swabey, ICSA’s policy & research director, sAID: "The calibre of entries for this year’s awards shows just how seriously companies are now taking corporate reporting, transparency and accountability in particular. I look forward to hearing which company has won at our awards ceremony in London on 1 December.”

Halfords will be up against stiff competition in the best annual report for FTSE 250 companies’ category from Berendsen, bwin.party digital entertainment and Great Portland Estates, while GKN will face Marks and Spencer, the National Grid and Johnson Matthey in the best audit and risk disclosure for FTSE 100 companies’ category: