By Claire Schlaman
For The Signal
Santa Clarita city staff garnered the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the fiscal year 2018-19, an award given for its transparency in accounting.
“This award signifies the city has gone beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare its comprehensive annual financial report,” said Brittany Houston, finance manager for the city of Santa Clarita. “It demonstrates the city has embraced a spirit of transparency and full disclosure of the city’s financial information.”
The city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, or CAFR, was judged by a panel to meet the standards of the program, including full disclosure of financial history and to motivate potential users to read the CAFR.
“A detailed checklist was used to determine the city’s CAFR met all requirements and demonstrated proficiencies across several categories, including the city’s financial statements, note disclosures, and required supplementary information,” said Houston.
“The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting” wrote Michele Mark Levin, director of Technical Services Center from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada, or GFOA, in a prepared statement.
This is the 31st consecutive year Santa Clarita has earned the GFOA distinction.
