City News
CITY AWARDED HIGHEST HONOR IN FINANCIAL REPORTING
The City of Pearland has again been awarded the
Government Finance Officer’s Association’s (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for Fiscal Year 2016. The award is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. Each year, the City of Pearland Finance Department produces a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. This year, just as in the past 38 years, the City’s CAFR has received annual recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada. To receive recognition, the City must comply with the highest standards for disclosure and provide pertinent trend information beyond that which is required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. 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 user groups to read the CAFR. The award was presented to the Finance Department as the department responsible for preparing the award-wining CAFR and the Award of Financial Reporting Achievement. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals throughout North America. 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. The CAFR is submitted and feedback provided each year for continuous improvement, in addition to the Certificate consideration. The project complies with the Council Strategic Priorities of Fiscally Responsible Government, insuring accountability and transparency into a system of decision-making. More information about the Finance Department is available at pearlandtx.gov .
FINANCE RECEIVES STATE RECOGNITION City achieves transparency goals set by State Comptroller’s Transparency Stars Program. The City of Pearland has earned state recognition for achieving transparency goals set by the Comptroller’s Transparency Stars Program. The City was awarded two stars for its work reporting and maintaining financial data related to contracts and procurements as well as public pensions. The awards mark the third and fourth stars that the City of Pearland has received from the Texas Comptroller. Pearland was awarded Transparency Stars earlier this year in recognition of its work in the areas of Traditional Finance and Debt. Now, the City has earned four out of five Transparency Stars from the program. The accolades mark significant success in keeping up with the Pearland City Council’s Strategic Priorities; specifically making sure Pearland is a Fiscally Responsible Government. “The City of Pearland should be congratulated for its ongoing commitment to greater public trust. This effort achieves the goals set by our Transparency Stars program,” State Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “By embracing this effort, the City of Pearland has taken an important step toward improving taxpayer access to essential information,” he continued. The Comptroller’s office launched the Transparency Stars program in 2016 to recognize cities, counties, school districts and special purpose districts making important strides toward greater government transparency. Local entities can be rewarded for their work for up to five stars in the categories of Traditional Finances, Contracts and Procurement, Economic Development, Public Pensions and Debt Obligations. For more on Pearland’s Financial Transparency initiates log on to the City’s Financial Transparency Page at pearlandtx.gov/financialtransparency .
9 Pearland in Motion Winter / Spring 2017 - 2018 Issue
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