(Wednesday, October 24, 2007)  The City of West Palm Beach has been honored for financial excellence, receiving the highest form of recognition possible for a municipality.  The Government Finance Officer’s Association (GFOA) has awarded the City a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the City’s comprehensive annual financial report.

“Receiving this award is an honor for our Finance Department and for our City,” said Mayor Lois J. Frankel.  “Governments have a special responsibility to provide a clear picture of their financial affairs to the public, and it’s noteworthy that the City is being honored for doing so.”

“This award is a credit to the entire Finance Department team for its hard work and dedication,” said Finance Director Randy Sherman.

The GFOA Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in government accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.  Certificates recognize financial reporting that goes beyond the requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to provide taxpayers and the many users of government financial statements with a wide variety of information useful in evaluating the financial condition of a government.  This is the 28th consecutive year the City has been honored by the GFOA.

The City’s Finance Department develops and implements financial and accounting policies and procedures.  The department also provides a sound accounting system for protecting the City’s assets by recording and reporting financial transactions in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, Government Accounting Standards Board Pronouncements and other legally mandated standards.  The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 16,000 government finance professionals.