City of Sarasota Finance Department wins two prestigious awards

One honor accorded for the 35th consecutive year

File photo
File photo

“Continuing a years-long streak of professional recognition, the City of Sarasota Finance Department was honored recently with two prestigious awards by the Government Finance Officers Association: Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting,” the city has announced.

“Both awards represent the pinnacle of achievement in government accounting and financial reporting,” a news release points out. “The honors were bestowed for outstanding reports produced during the fiscal year [that ended Sept. 30],” the release adds.

This is the 35th consecutive year the City of Sarasota has been honored with the Certificate of Achievement for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), the release points out. This award recognizes local and state governments that prepare comprehensive reports “with an eye on transparency and full disclosure,” and which exceed generally accepted accounting practices, the release explains. To review the CAFR, click here.

For the third straight year, the City of Sarasota was recognized for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting, the release continues. This document is written in layman’s terms — designed to be an abbreviated, easy-to-understand version of the CAFR, the release adds. To read it, click here.

“This is extraordinary,” said city Finance Director Kelly Strickland in the release. “To be recognized consistently for so many years by the premier professional government finance organization in North America truly highlights the commitment and expertise on the Finance team,” she added in the release.

The Government Finance Officers Association in the United States serves nearly 18,000 government finance professionals and Canada, the release notes. Approximately 4,200 entities received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting this year, and 325 received the Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award.