Geneva Wins 'Triple Crown' Of National Financial Reporting Awards

GENEVA, IL — A nonprofit serving more than 20,000 government finance professionals in the United States and Canada has honored the City of Geneva with three awards for its "financial reporting and transparency efforts."

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada recognized the city for its efforts in 2019, the most recent year it evaluated, the city officials said in a news release.

The awards "represent the highest form of achievement in the field of governmental accounting and financial reporting," the news release said.

Geneva received the Distinguished Budget Award by satisfying "best practice standards," such as how well an entity's budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide and communications device.

To win the award, a city's budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four categories and in the 14 mandatory criteria within those categories. This marked the eighth consecutive year that the city has received the accolade, officials said.

A Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting was also given to the city for its "going above and beyond with its Comprehensive Annual Finance Report," which contains financial statements and records from the past decade, property tax and debt data and general statistical information about the city, according to the news release.

"The award demonstrates the City’s 'spirit of full disclosure' to clearly communicate its financial picture to the public," the news release said.

Lastly, Geneva was awarded the Popular Annual Finance Report (PAFR) Award for creating a 16-page alternative to its nearly 200-page audit report.

The news release described the award as "visually-friendly" and filled with photos and graphs, and said it gave readers a better understanding of the complexities of government finances. Geneva won the PAFR award for the fourth consecutive year, officials said.