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CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING 2000 RESULTS The Certificate' of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (Certificate of Achievement) is an award designed to recognize and encourage excellence in financial reporting by state and local governments. The attainment of a Certificate of Achievement represents a significant accomplishment for a government and its management. The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program (Certificate Program) was established by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) in 194~' The GFOA instituted the program to encourage all government units to prepare and publish an easily readable and understandable comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) covering all funds and financial transactions of the government during the fiscal year. The GFOA believes that governments have a special responsibility to provide the public with a fair presentation of their financial affaim. CAFRs go beyond the requirements of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to provide the many users of government financial statements with a wide variety of information useful in evaluating the financial condition of a government. To be eligible for a Certificate of Achievement, a report must be the published CAFR of a unit of government, a public college or university, a public employee retirement system, or a governmental investment pool. Eligible CAFRs must include general purpose financial statements presented in conformity with GAAP. These repo~cs are also required to have been audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. To earn a Certificate of Achievement, a CAFR should give a clear and thorough view &the government's f'mances. Award-winning reports should enhance the readers understanding of the information required by GAAP for fair presentation of the financial statements, be efficiently organized and adhere to certain generally accepted terminology and formatting conventions. The Certificate Program provides participants with extensive technical reference material on governmental accounting and financial reporting theory. This material provides finance officials with the tools they need to improve their financial reporting techniques. Benefits of the Certificate of Achievement review. The growth in the Certificate Program has been substantial. Based on recent trends, steady growth is anticipated to continue. More and more governments are recognizing the benefits and significance of a program review. Some of the benefits likely to be realized by a government unit which submits its CAFR to the Certificate Program's review process include: Education: Government units participating in the Certificate Program are provided with extensive technical accounting and financial reporting reference materials. Officials submitting CAFRs to the Certificate Program's review process also are provided with a confidential list of detailed comments and suggestions for improving their financial reporting techniques. Recognition: recognized award, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government unit and its management. Securities Marketing Aid: Reports qualifying for a Certificate of Achieve- ment provide a detailed vehicle by which market · analysts, investors, potential investors and others may assess the relative attraciiveness of a government unit's securities compared to alternative investment opportunities. Clarity: CAFRs satisfying the Certificate Program's requirements are likely to be free of ambiguities and potentially misleading presentations. Comparability: Since CAFRs qualifying for a Certificate of Achievement employ standardized terminology and formatting conventions, comparisons from one year to the next and among different government units are facilitated. Completeness: The financial statements, supporting schedules, statistical tables and narrative explanations required for a Certificate of Achievement help to assure that all fiscal data are presented that are needed by the many persons and groups with a legitimate interest in the financial affairs of a government unit. These groups include gov- erning boards, investors and creditors, grantor resource providers, taxpayers and others. To participate in the Certificate Program, government units must complete an application form and submit three copies of their CAFR, with the appropriate fee, to the GFOA for review by the Certificate Program's Special Review Committee. Applications can be obtained from the GFOA's Certificate Program staff in Chicago (312/977-9700) or from the "Forms" section of GFOA's website at www. gfoa.org. Submissions must be postmarked within six months of the government's fiscal year end. The following list identifies all of the governments that were successful in obtaining a Certificate of Achievement for CAFRs with fiscal years that ended in 1999. The governments currently holding certificates that have been recognized the most times in each state or jurisdiction are in bold italics. Special note is given to those governments that prepared a CAFR in accordance with the new financial reporting model established by Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements-and Management's Discussion and Analysis-for State and Local Governments and won the Certificate of Achievement for that CAFR. A listing of these governments precedes the complete list of winners to recognize their accomplishment. Also, a # sign preceding the government's name indicates they received the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for their fiscal period beginning in 1999. The Certificate of Achievement is a nationall.y C -~