Fiscal-reporting awards continue to add up for city
Published 11:04 pm Sunday, May 14, 2017
Was there any doubt?
After earning 20 Certificates of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, it would be a sure bet the City of Washington — thanks to its Finance Department — would earn its 21st such award. Well, city officials, make room for award No. 21 on a wall at City Hall.
The award, announced earlier this month, is bestowed by the Government Finance Officers Association of the U.S. and Canada. It is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting. The award is for fiscal year 2015, which ended June 30, 2015.
Washington is one of 87 municipalities in North Carolina to receive the award this year. The city is one of 323 municipalities with populations of less than 10,000 people to receive the award. There are 31,656 municipalities that could be eligible for a CAFR award, meaning Washington is in the 1.02 percent of those 31,656 municipalities to receive awards this year.
The 21-year streak started under Carol Williams, a former chief financial officer for the city. Matt Rauschenbach, the current chief financial officer, continues the streak. Rauschenbach and Williams have credited the city’s finance staff for doing most of the work that has led to 21 consecutive awards.
“The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by the City of Washington and its management,” wrote Todd Buikema, GFOA’s acting director of technical services in an email. “This is the City’s 21st consecutive year receiving the Certificate of Achievement from the GFOA. Such a record reflects the professionalism and commitment of numerous individuals as well as many hours of hard work. It also reflects a high degree of dedication and leadership on the part of the City Council.”
Of North Carolina’s 553 municipalities, 87 (15.73 percent) of them received CAFR awards. Nationally, 2,039 out of 35,878 municipalities (5.68 percent) earned CAFR awards.
The CAFR program was initiated in 1945 to encourage and assist local and state governments to go beyond the minimum accepted accounting principles to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and recognized governments that succeed in meeting that goal. To be awarded a CAFR, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. Earning the award is not as simple as applying for it. CAFR recipients must meet specific, stringent standards established by the Government Finance Officers Association of the U.S. and Canada.
The goal of the program is not to assess the financial health of participating governments, but rather to ensure that users of their financial statements have the information they need to do so themselves, according to the GFAO website.