City of Salem Again Receives National Award for Financial Reporting

The City of Salem has once again been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the City’s annual comprehensive financial report.

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting. Its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. This marks the 18^th year in a row that the City of Salem has earned this Certificate of Achievement.

“This award is a reflection of the value we have placed on transparency, professionalism, and financial responsibility in government operations,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo. “It is also a credit to the hard work of our Finance Department, led by Finance Director Anna Freedman.  We are especially grateful for her steady leadership of the Finance department throughout Salem’s mayoral administration transitions that occurred over this past year.”

In awarding this recognition, GFOA stated that Salem’s annual financial report “has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive ‘spirit of full disclosure’ to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.”

The GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program in 1945 to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles in preparing annual comprehensive financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure. The award recognizes individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. The goal of the program is to ensure that users of their financial statements have the information they need in order to assess the financial health of participating governments. Reports submitted to the program are reviewed by selected members of the GFOA professional staff and the GFOA Special Review Committee, which comprises individuals with expertise in public sector financial reporting and includes financial statement preparers, independent auditors, academics, and other finance professionals.

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About the GFOA

The GFOA advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources, and practical research for more than 21,000 members and the communities they serve.