St. John’s sound finances reach excellence
Published 11:45 pm Tuesday, July 29, 2014
The St. John the Baptist Parish Finance Department has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 11 consecutive year.
The award was presented by Paul Rivera, treasurer of the Louisiana Chapter of the Government Finance Officers Association of Louisiana, and is based on its review of St. John’s 2012 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.
Chief Financial Officer Vince Lucia expressed his gratitude for the department’s endless hard work.
“I appreciate the hard work from the Finance staff and the assistance from the Administrative staff that allowed us to be presented the 11th GFOA finance award,” Lucia said.
St. John the Baptist Parish is one of nine government agencies in Louisiana to receive this award for 2012 reporting, placing it in the top 15 percent in Louisiana.
“This award confirms that the parish’s financial standing remains a top priority for our staff and we will continue our efforts to obtain this award next year,” said Parish President Natalie Robottom. “I am pleased with the Finance Department’s continuous hard work and dedication to the job day in and day out.”
The GFOA established the CAFR to encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal.
The CAFR is judged by a panel at GFOA to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” clearly communicating its financial story and motivating potential users and user groups to read the CAFR. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals.
