Town, county awarded for financial reporting

Nassau County and the Town of North Hempstead won awards this week for their financial reporting practices.
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada gave the county and town’s comptroller’s offices its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 2015 fiscal year.
“I congratulate the accounting staff of my office for their expertise and dedication, who every year meet and exceed the highest professional standards in financial reporting,” Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos said. “I am proud that the GFOA continues to recognize their extraordinary efforts in providing to the residents of Nassau County an accurate and timely accounting of how their money has been spent.”
It is the seventh consecutive year the county has received the award for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, while the town received the award for the sixth consecutive year.
“North Hempstead is honored to receive this prestigious Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the GFOA for a sixth year,” Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “We are committed to being open and transparent as well as fiscally responsible. The town is always looking for ways to save money for our taxpayers.”
Town Comptroller Averil Smith said her office was pleased to again receive recognition for its financial reporting practices.
“It is a testament to the hard work that was put into providing [an annual financial report] that meets the reporting standards of the GFOA,” Smith said.
The GFOA founded the financial reporting award in 1945 in an effort to “encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles,” according to its website.
The program does not assess the “financial health” of a government entity, the website states, but instead ensures financial statements show full disclosure and transparency.
Financial reports submitted to the program are reviewed by GFOA staff members and members of its Special Review Committee, which is made up of “financial statement preparers, independent auditors, academics and other finance professionals,” the association’s website states.