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Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)
White Bear Township's financial year ends on December 31st. The financial records are subject to annual independent audit. The audit firm of Larson, Allen, Weishair and Company, LLP has been retained by the Town Board to perform the audit. Copies of the report can be obtained online or by contacting the Township's Finance Department.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) have established the basic financial statements and Required Supplementary Information (RSI) as the minimum standard for financial reporting. Governments are expressly encouraged to go beyond these minimum requirements and to present a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). A CAFR has 3 major sections: introductory, financial, and statistical. The introductory section furnishes general information on the government’s structure, services, and environment. The financial section contains all basic financial statements and RSI, as well as information on all individual funds and discretely presented component units not reported separately in the basic financial statements. Sometimes governments also use the financial section to provide supplementary information not required by GAAP (e.g., information needed to demonstrate compliance with finance-related legal or contractual provisions). The statistical section provides trend data and nonfinancial data useful in interpreting the basic financial statements and is especially important for evaluating economic conditions.
Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting Using the GASB 34 Model; Gauthier, Stephen J.; Government Finance Officers Association; Chicago, IL; 2005 Page 151,152.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to White Bear Township for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. This was the 19th consecutive year the Township has achieved this prestigious award. In order to be awarded a Certificate of Achievement, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements.
A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year only. We believe that our current comprehensive annual financial report continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement Program's requirements, and we are submitting it to the GFOA to determine its eligibility for another certificate.
Overview
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) have established the basic financial statements and Required Supplementary Information (RSI) as the minimum standard for financial reporting. Governments are expressly encouraged to go beyond these minimum requirements and to present a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). A CAFR has 3 major sections: introductory, financial, and statistical. The introductory section furnishes general information on the government’s structure, services, and environment. The financial section contains all basic financial statements and RSI, as well as information on all individual funds and discretely presented component units not reported separately in the basic financial statements. Sometimes governments also use the financial section to provide supplementary information not required by GAAP (e.g., information needed to demonstrate compliance with finance-related legal or contractual provisions). The statistical section provides trend data and nonfinancial data useful in interpreting the basic financial statements and is especially important for evaluating economic conditions.
Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting Using the GASB 34 Model; Gauthier, Stephen J.; Government Finance Officers Association; Chicago, IL; 2005 Page 151,152.
Certificate of Achievement
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to White Bear Township for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. This was the 19th consecutive year the Township has achieved this prestigious award. In order to be awarded a Certificate of Achievement, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements.
A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year only. We believe that our current comprehensive annual financial report continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement Program's requirements, and we are submitting it to the GFOA to determine its eligibility for another certificate.