Loading...
Government Finance Officers Association_Certificate of Appreciation TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: GFOA Certificate of Achievement DATE: September 11, 2012 The City of Dubuque, due to the hard work of Finance Director Ken TeKippe and his team, has been awarded its 24th consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Officer's Finance Association (GFOA). This award, which was established in 1945, is intended to encourage local governments and programs to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFR) in a manner that evidences the spirit of transparency and full disclosure. The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program recognizes entities that successfully achieve this goal and recently awarded the City of Dubuque for its 2011 CAFR. / AAh kt1& 4t Michael C. Van Milligen MCVM:jh Attachment cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager Ken TeKippe, Finance Director Jennifer Larson, Budget Director August 30, 2012 Government Finance Officers Association 203 N. LaSalle Street - Suite 2700 Chicago, IL 60601 Phone (312) 977 -9700 Fax (312) 977 -4806 The Honorable Roy D. Buol Mayor City of Dubuque City Hall, 50 West 13th Street Dubuque IA 52001 -4805 Dear Mayor Buol: We are pleased to notify you that your comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011 qualifies for a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management The Certificate of Achievement plaque will be shipped to: Kenneth J. TeKippe Finance Director under separate cover in about eight weeks. We hope that you will arrange for a formal presentation of the Certificate and Award of Financial Reporting Achievement, and that appropriate publicity will be given to this notable achievement. A sample news release is enclosed to assist with this effort. In addition, details of recent recipients of the Certificate of Achievement and other information about Certificate Program results are available in the "Awards Program" area of our website, www.gfoa.org. We hope that your example will encourage other government officials in their efforts to achieve and maintain an appropriate standard of excellence in financial reporting. Sincerely, Government Finance Officers Association Stephen J. Gauthier, Director Technical Services Center SJG /ds GD Government Finance Officers Association 203 N. LaSalle Street - Suite 2700 Chicago, IL 60601 Phone (312) 977 -9700 Fax (312) 977 -4806 08/30/2012 NEWS RELEASE For Information contact: Stephen Gauthier (312) 977 -9700 (Chicago) - -The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to City of Dubuque by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. An Award of Financial Reporting Achievement has been awarded to the individual(s), department or agency designated by the government as primarily responsible for preparing the award - winning CAFR. This has been presented to: Kenneth J. TeKippe, Finance Director The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C. Masterpiece ©n the Mississippi TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager Jenny Larson, Budget Director FROM: Ken TeKippe, Finance Director RE: GFOA Certificate of Achievement DATE: September 5, 2012 Dubuque 2007 The City of Dubuque has been awarded its 24th consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Officer's Finance Association (GFOA). This award, which was established in 1945, is intended to encourage local governments and programs to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFR) in a manner that evidences the spirit of transparency and full disclosure. The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program recognizes entities that successfully achieve this goal and recently awarded the City of Dubuque for its 2011 CAFR. KT /em I Enclosures Government Finance Officers Association 203 N. LaSalle Street - Suite 2700 Chicago, IL 60601 Phone (312) 977 -9700 Fax (312) 977 -4806 August 30, 2012 Kenneth J. TeKippe Finance Director City of Dubuque City Hall, 50 West 13th Street Dubuque IA 52001 -4805 Dear Mr. TeKippe: We are pleased to notify you that your comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, qualifies for a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management Each entity submitting a report to the Certificate of Achievement review process is provided with a "Summary of Grading" form and a confidential list of comments and suggestions for possible improvements in its financial reporting techniques. Your list has been enclosed. You are strongly encouraged to implement the recommended improvements into the next report and submit it to the program. If it is unclear what must be done to implement a comment or if there appears to be a discrepancy between the comment and the information in the CAFR, please contact the Technical Services Center (312) 977 -9700 and ask to speak with a Certificate of Achievement Program in -house reviewer. Certificate of Achievement program policy requires that written responses to the comments and suggestions for improvement accompany the next fiscal year's submission. Your written responses should provide detail about how you choose to address each item that is contained within this report. These responses will be provided to those Special Review Committee members participating in the review. When a Certificate of Achievement is awarded to a government, an Award of Financial Reporting Achievement (AFRA) is also presented to the individual(s) or department designated by the government as primarily responsible for its having earned the Certificate. As the designated individual we have enclosed your AFRA. Your Certificate of Achievement plaque will be shipped to you under separate cover in about eight weeks. We hope that you will arrange for a formal presentation of the Certificate and Award of Financial Reporting Achievement, and that appropriate publicity will be given to this notable achievement A sample news release has been enclosed. We suggest that you provide copies of it to local newspapers, radio stations and television stations. In addition, details of recent recipients of the Certificate of Achievement and other information about Certificate Program results are available in the "Awards Program" area of our website, www.gfoa.org . . current holder of a Certificate of Achievement may include a reproduction of the award in its immediately subsequent ::AFR. A camera ready copy of your Certificate is enclosed for that purpose. If you reproduce your Certificate in your next eport, please refer to the enclosed instructions. A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year. To continue o participate in the Certificate of Achievement Program it will be necessary for you to submit your next CAFR to our review )rocess. n order to expedite your submission we have enclosed a Certificate of Achievement Program application form to facilitate a imely submission of your next report. This form should be completed and sent (postmarked) with three copies of your eport, three copies of your application, three copies of your written responses to the program's comments and suggestions for mprovement from the prior year, and any other pertinent material with the appropriate fee by December 31, 2012. (our continued interest in and support of the Certificate of Achievement Program is most appreciated. If we may be of any urther assistance, please contact Delores Smith (dsmith @gfoa.org or (312) 578 - 5454). incerely, iovernment Finance Officers Association ;tephen J. Gauthier, Director - echnical Services Center ;JG /ds