Disclosing the action taken by companies to manage the risk presented by HIV/Aids is more important than disclosing the results of HIV/Aids prevalence tests, according to Stephen Kramer, Actuarial Researcher for listed financial services group New Africa Capital Metropolitan Aids Unit.
Commenting on the recent announcement by the JSE Securities Exchange SA that it would not be mandatory for firms to report on HIV prevalence, Kramer said it would be short-sighted to judge companies on their prevalence results alone.
“Few companies have done prevalence testing, and those that have done so are uncertain of the exact prevalence amongst their workforce due to low participation and a biased sampling.”
Kramer believed the better alternative was for companies to voluntarily reveal information about programmes and policies they have in place to curb the risk of HIV/Aids, as the JSE suggested.
“Announcements by companies such as Anglo and Eskom that they are providing anti-retroviral therapy and other treatment for their HIV positive employees are commendable. What would be further useful to investors is information about the successes of these programmes as they are the ones who bear the costs of HIV/Aids in terms of medical, disability and death claims.”
Although the JSE last week reported that it was in talks with the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants on how to report on HIV/Aids, Kramer said he hoped the bourse would come up with reporting guidelines that would not further jeopardise the reporting process but instead encourage more companies to take action in managing the cost of HIV/Aids.
All in all, Kramer said that the JSE had made the right decision in calling for voluntary disclosure, as this would be more credible and could encourage more reporting by other listed companies. – I-Net Bridge