Finance Department honored for fourth straight year.

Courtesy City Of Milton

The City of Milton and its Finance Department have again been recognized for excellence, this time in producing the Fiscal Year 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

For the fourth year in a row, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded the City of Milton the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. It is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, said the Chicago-based GFOA.

In addition, the city’s Finance Department again received an award recognizing Financial Reporting Achievement. This award is given to the department or agency designated by the honored government as primarily responsible for preparing the award-winning CAFR.

To view the award-winning 2011 CAFR, click here.

Attainment of both awards represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management, and the fact that Milton has been recognized for the last four years highlights the tremendous amount of work and care that goes both into the CAFR and the city’s financial reporting every day.

“These documents, which provide valuable insight into how the City of Milton uses taxpayer dollars responsibly and frugally, are of utmost importance to our residents and business owners concerned with how their government is being run,” said Stacey Inglis, Assistant City Manager.

Inglis said producing the CAFR – which includes a yearly extensive audit, exhaustive research of historical data and numerous detailed written documents – was a months-long process involving every city department. Next year’s document is already being prepared.

“We invite all of our citizens to explore the CAFR and understand fully the city’s financial position,” she said.

Upon completion, the CAFR is 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 groups to read the report.

GFOA is a nonprofit association with offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals.