Walworth County Finance Director Jessica Conley is pleased to announce that Walworth County is the recipient of two prestigious accolades from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA): the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the year ended December 31, 2020, and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the County’s 2022 budget document. This is the nineteenth consecutive year the County has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the eighteenth consecutive year the County has been recognized with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. To be considered, municipalities must be reevaluated each year.
“Changes continue to be required in both the yearend financial reporting and budget book documents,” says Jessica Conley. “County finance staff work hard to understand and improve these documents to meet our overall goals of transparency and communication. Without the assistance of the departments and support of the County Board, these awards would not be possible.”
Established in 1945, the Financial Reporting Certificate Program evaluates information presented in a municipality’s annual financial report. The program promotes transparency and full disclosure in government by recognizing exemplary financial reporting by state, provincial, and local governments, as well as public universities and colleges, throughout the United States and Canada. Guidelines established by the GFOA ensure that recipients satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective financial reporting, and encourage recipients to go beyond the minimum requirements of financial reporting. To qualify, recipients must be rated proficient or better in all categories. Overall, the review encompasses 17 major categories with hundreds of individual evaluation criteria. The report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements.
The Budget Awards Program, established in 1984, recognizes the best practices in budgeting and the use of nationally recognized budget guidelines throughout North America. There are over 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. To earn recognition, budget documents must meet program criteria and excel as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device.
“These awards reflect Walworth County’s commitment to meeting the highest principles in the areas of governmental accounting, financial reporting, and governmental budgeting,” says County Administrator Mark W. Luberda. “Attaining the awards represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.”
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