The Government Finance Officers Association has awarded to the County of Marin its first Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting, according to the GFOA.
“Its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management,” the GFOA announced in its press release.
“This is our first year of producing a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, often referred to as the CAFR, so I’m very pleased that the GFOA has recognized our work,” said Roy Given, the Director of the Department of Finance.
The report, issued in January 2012 by Given’s staff, was the first CAFR ever created in the history of the County. The document is a thorough description of all the County’s budgeting and accounting actions covering fiscal year 2010-11 and goes beyond the basic set of audited financial statements that is required of all local governments.
“The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive ‘spirit of full disclosure’ to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR,” according to the GFOA.
“It’s a real accomplishment, given that we had not done this type of financial reporting before,” said County Administrator Matthew Hymel. “The Department of Finance worked hard on creating this and it’s good to see its work is being rewarded.”
A copy of the GFOA press release announcing the award has been attached to this email. The Marin County CAFR is available on the Department of Finance homepage at the following link: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AC/Main/finance/pages/financials.cfm
