Spotlight on clear financial documents
Improving financial literacy and giving the public understandable financial information are hot topics right now. A new Financial Sector category in the annual WriteMark Plain English Awards will shine a spotlight on documents that are clear and reader-friendly.
Financial institutions have the opportunity to show they care about clear, honest communication by entering either the Best Investment Statement award or the Best General Financial Document award in the Plain English Awards.
The Best Investment Statement award, which is sponsored by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund covers prospectuses, investment statements and disclosure statements.
The Best General Financial Document award covers all other financial documents. Judges will be looking for the financial document that best helps New Zealanders to clearly understand the choices, obligations, and risks associated with a financial service.
The two main judges for the category are Susan Kleimann (US), an international expert in clear written communication, and Susan Taylor (NZ), chief executive officer of Financial Services Complaints Limited. They will be joined by industry specialists specific to each of the two awards — Neil Williams and Matt Whineray from New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Anna Griffiths from the Retirement Commission.
Speaking about the Best Investment Statement award, Adrian Orr, chief executive officer of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, says, ‘When we invest on behalf of current and future New Zealanders, we demand high-quality information.
‘There are awards for financial documents such as annual reports. The Best Investment Statement award is unique in that it’s the first award to focus on the decision to invest. The quality of information that is available at the point where you decide to make an investment certainly aids the outcome of the investment.’
Diana Crossan, Retirement Commissioner, said ‘New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to develop a national strategy for financial literacy. Making sure documents are clear, understandable, and easy to compare means people can make informed financial decisions throughout their lives. The new Financial Sector category in the annual Plain English Awards recognises financial institutions that take this responsibility seriously’.
And for non-financial documents, organisations can enter a wide number of categories that recognise the clearest documents and websites, and workplace champions of plain English.
Go to www.plainenglishawards.org.nz for information on the Awards and how to enter.
The general public have a voice too. Anyone can nominate a document or website they think is outstandingly clear for a People’s Choice ‘Best’ Award. And they can nominate outstandingly bad documents and websites for a Brainstrain award!
Background information
The categories for the 2011 WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards
Category 1: Plain English Champion
· Best Organisation
· Best Project
· Best Individual or Team
Category 2: Best Plain English Document
· Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
· Private Sector
Category 3: Best Plain English Website
· Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
· Private Sector
Category 4: Best Plain English Sentence Transformation
Category 5: Best Plain English Technical Communicator
Category 6: Best Plain English Financial Document
· Best Investment Statement
· Best General Financial Document
Category 7: People’s Choice
· Best Plain English Document
· Best Plain English Website
· ‘Brainstrain’ Document
· ‘Brainstrain’ Website
2010 winners of the WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards
You may like to contact last year’s winners for comment on entering and winning the Awards, and why communicating in plain English is important to them. Let us know if you want contact details.
Category 1: Plain English Champion
Best Organisation
Winner: Office of the Auditor-General — Wellington
Finalist: Cancer Society of New Zealand — Wellington
Finalist: Statistics New Zealand — Wellington
Best Project
Winner: InfraTrain New Zealand Limited — Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Qualification & Resource Development — Wellington
Finalist: Ministry of Justice — Civil Justice in the District Courts of New Zealand — Wellington
Finalist: Ministry of Social Development — Integrity Services Letters — Wellington
Best Individual or Team
Winner: Stephen Leong — Transpower New Zealand Limited — Wellington
Finalist: Cancer Society of New Zealand — Wellington
Finalist: Statistics New Zealand — Wellington
Category 2: Best Plain English Document
Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
Winner: ACC — Handling Cattle Safely — Wellington
Finalist: Child, Youth and Family — When We Visit — Wellington
Finalist: InfraTrain New Zealand — Horizontal Directional Drilling Guide — Wellington
Private Sector
Winner: Sonar6 — Performance Review Marketing Materials — Auckland
Finalist: House of Travel — Our Business is Your Business Travel — Auckland
Finalist: PORSE — Let’s PORSE — Hastings
Category 3: Best Plain English Website
Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
Winner: Child, Youth and Family — www.cyf.govt.nz — Wellington
Finalist: Career Services — www.careers.govt.nz — Wellington
Finalist: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority — www.energywise.govt.nz — Wellington
Private Sector
Winner: The Wheeling Gourmet — http://en.wheelinggourmet.com — Palmerston North
Finalist: Kiwitax — www.kiwitax.co.nz — Napier
Finalist: Martelli McKegg Wells & Cormack — www.martellimckegg.co.nz — Auckland
Category 4: Best Plain English Sentence Transformation
Winner: Alan Groves — Transpower New Zealand Ltd — Wellington
Finalist: Judith Wright — Statistics New Zealand — Wellington
Finalist: Maryland Spencer — ACC — Wellington
Finalist: Alison Smith — Thames–Coromandel District Council — Thames
Category 5: Best Plain English Technical Communicator
Winner: Meredith Evans — Streamliners NZ Ltd — Christchurch
Finalist: Erwin Timmerman — Dynamic Controls — Christchurch
Finalist: Lesley Hanes — Statistics New Zealand — Wellington
Category 6: People’s Choice
Best Plain English Document
Winner: BT Funds Management (NZ) Limited — Multi Sector Unit Trusts Investment Statement — Auckland
Finalist: Elections New Zealand — Enrolment Form — Wellington
Best Plain English Website
Winner: NZ Transport Agency — www.nzta.govt.nz — Wellington
Finalist: Air New Zealand Grabaseat — http://flightbookings.airnewzealand.co.nz/vgrabview/en_NZ/ — Auckland
Finalist: IRD Child Support — www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport — Wellington
‘Brainstrain’ Document
Winner: Office for Senior Citizens — Home Equity Release: Code of Practice — Wellington
Finalist: NZ Post — International Registered Mail prepaid envelope — Wellington
‘Brainstrain’ Website
Winner: Commerce Commission — www.comcom.govt.nz/anti-competitive-practices/ — Wellington
Finalist: New Zealand Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) — www.gets.govt.nz/default.aspx?show=HomePage — Wellington
Finalist: Massey University Bachelor of Communication — www.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/programme-course-paper/programme.cfm?prog_id=93330 — Palmerston North