Each year the
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada present a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to those governmental units whose annual financial reports are judged and adhere to program standards.
In order to be awarded the Certificate of Achievement, a governmental unit must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized
annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR), whose contents conform to program standards. Such reports should satisfy generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements.
A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of 1 year only.