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Distinguished Shareholders, I am pleased to assure you that the
future is bright for LASACO Assurance Plc. The Board and the
Management team have put together major strategies that would
bring about the desired transformation which would further
strengthen our Company’s growth and profitability in the year
2011. These programmes include, among others, the adoption of
the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS),
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Quality Management System (QMS),
Merger & Acquisition (M & A) in our quest to stay the course of
leading edge of innovation, transformation and Corporate
Governance in our operations.
Nigeria
agreed to the adoption of the IFRS effective from 2012 for all
the quoted companies in the country. The National Insurance
Commission (NAICOM) and Security & Exchange Commission (SEC)
have mandated all Insurance Companies to comply with the new
reporting standards. Our Company has taken full measures towards
compliance by the appointment of a world class firm for training
and consultancy services that will ensure our smooth conversion
to IFRS.
We continue
to emphasize good corporate governance at all levels of our
operations. We have now established a Governance Risk and
Compliance Department with full complement of staff headed
by a Chief Compliance Officer of the status of a Deputy General
Manager. The object is to establish a systematic approach to
identify, measure and manage all risks arising out of our
operations as an Insurance Company. This process will protect
our resources and income against unexpected losses and identify
business opportunities and modification of our insurance
products for profitability.
One of our
main priorities for year 2011 is to develop and implement an
appropriate Quality Management System (QMS) for our
organization. The key reasons for QMS implementation are to
improve our business and operational excellence, increase
customer satisfaction and to become more competitive. We also
expect to improve our Organizational culture and provide a
framework for continual improvement in our services. The Board
and Management are fully committed to the QMS implementations as
well as obtaining appropriated certification.
Our Company
is set to further expand our capital base and market
shareholdings by exploring various business combination, merger
and acquisition opportunities. We have made significant progress
in this regard during 2011. It is expected that it would be a
much larger and stronger company with equally large capital base
and profit that we shall be reporting on in 2012.
We continue
to maintain our position as a market leader in High-tech
Special Risks Insurance comprising Oil & Gas, Aviation and
Aerospace Businesses. LASACO Assurance Plc recently led 23
other Insurance Companies to provide Space Insurance for the
Nigeria Sats II AND NX Launched in Russia on the 17th
August, 2011. These Earth Observation Satellites were launched
by the Nigeria Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA)
to assist in monitoring disaster prone areas, weather conditions
and remote sensing applications for natural resources
management.
This is a
direct benefit of the Nigeria Oil & Gas Industry Content
Development Act. We continue to project positive impacts on our
organization revenue as we explore opportunities derivable from
the Local Content Act.
In the
emerging business environment of the immediate future, we assure
you that we shall continue to place emphasis on our core values
that have sustained us as well as ensuring the implementation
anti-corruption measures which will be the main plank of Board
oversight, relationship with management and accountability to
Stakeholders.
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