Exxon helping IBBM to raise business standards

THE Institute of Banking and Business Management in partnership with ExxonMobil PNG Ltd has been conducting assessments of local companies.
Executive director Johnson Pundari said during the small to medium enterprise (SME) leadership awards night in Port Moresby on Thursday that the aim was to raise business governance, management and operational standard in an effort to maximise local participation in the PNG LNG project as well as business operators from around the country.
Pundari said they had been conducting the assessment since 2010.
“The assessment is an evaluation of the capacities and capabilities of local business based on eight business standards:  governance, business management, finance management, human resource management, quality control, inventory control, safety health environment, reputation and images,” he said.
Pundari said the exercise was to identify capacity gaps in businesses which led to developing improvement plans and recommendation of necessary capacity building programmes to address these gaps.
“In an effort to recognise and promote further growth and development of these assessed companies, the centre hosts its SME leadership awards every two years,” he said.
Pundari said this year eight locally-owned and operated companies were selected by a panel of judges based on the highest score received in each of the eight categories.
IBBM also launched the Business Assessment Magazine that promotes 68 local companies.
“We have celebrated the achievement of over 500 companies through the assessment programme and promoted over 277 companies through the magazine. This year we celebrate the achievement of another group of entrepreneurs that have been assessed in 2016 and 2017.”