Janelle Irwin Taylor
The city of St. Petersburg is being recognized this year for its 2019 comprehensive annual financial report, which the city closed this month in the black.
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada awarded its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the city this week.
The certificate is the group’s highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.
“The work of city budgeting and finance is almost never glamorous,” Kriseman said. “But we adhere to strict guidelines, rules and regulations, and I believe in conservative budgeting principles, even as we continue to fund the necessities of a city as well as our administration’s priorities.”
The Government Finance Officers Association judges city budgets using an impartial panel that ensures the annual financial reports meet the group’s rigid standards. In addition to looking for quality accounting and budgeting practices, the group also evaluates transparency by requiring in its certificate requirements a “spirit of full disclosure.” The group’s emphasis on transparency is intended to ensure those who read the city’s budget are able to understand its spending practices.
The certificate recognizes St. Pete as a city where tax payer dollars are spent wisely and prudently and serves as an indicator to businesses that the city is a sound investment for location.
“I am particularly proud of our City Administrator, Assistant City Administrator, as well as our budgeting and finance staff, who work hard every day to ensure we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Kriseman said.
The Government Finance Officers Association’s mission is to promote excellence in public finance. The group represents more than 20,000 public finance officials in the United States and Canada and is run by an 18-member executive board elected by its members.
The group’s certificate recognizes governments that have gone above and beyond the basic standards of accounting principles and that demonstrate financial health.
One comment
Kimball (Kim)
November 21, 2019 at 3:25 pm
Hi. I am just trying to help, so please don’t take offense to my comments.
1. The CAFR and Budget documents are two separate documents and receive two separate awards, each independent of the other. The Certificate of
Achievement is for the CAFR, not the Budget. The Budget Award is a separate award. A city could earn the Certificate and not earn the Budget Award, and vice versa.
2. The Certificate of Achievement and the Budget Award do NOT recognize whether a city spends tax payer dollars wisely and prudently and also do NOT serve as an indicator to businesses that the city is a sound investment for location. that determination is largely subjective. For example, two people could easily define “prudent” differently, as well as “wise”.
A city could be in bankruptcy and still receive the Certificate of Achievement and the Budget Award, as long as they presented all information accurately, fully and in accordance with all professional requirements.
Both the Certificate of Achievement and the Budget Award do recognize that the two separate documents are transparent, include full disclosure of pertinent information, and are easy to read and understand.
Please visit the GFOA’s web site for further information on the Certificate of Achievement and the Budget Award. I would also be happy to talk with you if you about both documents, which the City of Largo receives. Kim
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