LAPLACE — The Government Finance Officers Association awarded St. John the Baptist Parish Finance Department two outstanding awards for its 2013 and 2014 budgets.

Don Gaudet, president-elect of the Louisiana Chapter of the Association, presented the 2013 Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the 2014 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to Vince Lucia, CFO and the Finance Department.

The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.

St. John accepted the award for the 12th consecutive year.

Also, for the first time in St. John’s history, the Finance Department was awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, which reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.

St. John satisfied nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.

In order to receive the award, budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories.

“I am pleased with the Finance Department’s continuous hard work and dedication to the Parish’s budget,” Parish President Natalie Robottom said. “Over the last year, the Finance Department as well as all of our staff worked tirelessly to improve the presentation of the budget making it easier to read and understand. The graphs and charts provide more historical information and a clear understanding of the funds. These two awards pay tribute to our commitment of being fiscally responsible.”