XENIA — The City of Xenia has received the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association for its 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

This is the 32nd time the City has received this prestigious award, the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting. Receiving it represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management, according to city officials.

“The city finance department is pleased to have received the certificate of excellence from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA),” Finance Director Ryan Duke said. “The finance staff is dedicated to ensuring good stewardship of public dollars and works hard each day to adhere to appropriate accounting practices and to meet auditing and reporting standards. This certificate awarded by the GFOA demonstrates our staff’s efforts to achieve excellence in our continued service to the Xenia community.”

To receive the award, the city must submit a CAFR (and the pieces required for a report to be considered a CAFR), to the GFOA within six months of the end of the fiscal period. The GFOA staff and a special review committee then review the report for several months. The reviewers use a checklist to determine compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and program policy.

For example, the CAFR must include an independent auditor’s report whose opinion states that the financial statements are fairly presented. It also must demonstrate legal compliance, and the CAFR must address prior comments documented by the GFOA. A certificate is awarded only if there is consensus among the reviewers that the CAFR substantially complies with generally accepted accounting principles and program policy.

To review the 2017 CAFR or a report from any year dating back to 1983, visit www.explorexenia.com and type “annual financial reports” in the search box. Follow the link to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports page.