Ken Beck, chair of the Scott County Board of Supervisors,; Kerri Tompkins, county auditor; and Tony Knobbe, county treasurer, have jointly announced that Scott County has been given awards for the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (Fiscal Year 2022), and the Popular Financial Report (Fiscal Year 2022). Additionally, the county qualified as a “Triple Crown” winner for the fiscal year 2022 by earning recognition for budgeting and financial reporting programs for the same fiscal year, a news release says.

Scott County is one of two governments in Iowa and one of 334 organizations in the nation to
be recognized as a “Triple Crown” winner for 2021. Data for 2022 is not available yet.

Annual Comprehensive Financial Report – Fiscal Year 2022
The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance
Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for Scott County’s FY22 Annual
Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) is awarded for the 36th year in a row. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition for excellence in state and local government financial reporting. To be awarded a Certificate of Achievement, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized annual comprehensive financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements.

As of Thursday, Scott County is one of only two Iowa counties to hold the Certificate of Achievement. Only 18 of the 1,553 governmental units in the State of Iowa currently hold this honor.

The ACFR report has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the ACFR. The Board of Supervisors has designated the continued achievement of this certification as a priority.

The board, county treasurer, and county auditor expressed their appreciation to David Farmer, CPA, MPA director of budget and administrative services in administration; Megan Petersen, CPA and financial manager in the treasurer’s office; Wes Rostenbach, accounting and business manager in the auditor’s office; Mahesh Sharma, county administrator; and the county’s auditing firm of Baker Tilly US, LLP for its work and professional guidance in helping the county to obtain this financial reporting honor.

Popular Annual Financial Report – Fiscal Year 2022
The Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) is awarded to Scott County for Fiscal Year 2022.

Scott County is the first Iowa government to hold the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for 2022. The county has received this award for the last seven consecutive years. Only six of the 1,553 governmental units in the State of Iowa currently hold this honor for 2021. Data for 2022 is not available yet.

Ken Beck said this award is the highest form of recognition in governmental reporting and represents the county’s best efforts for our community. Its attainment represents a significant
accomplishment by the elected officials and management of Scott County and reflects its
commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental reporting.

To be awarded a Certificate of Achievement, a government is evaluated on information
presented, reader appeal, understandability, distribution, and other elements including the
government’s type and size and the creativity and usefulness of the report. The county must also publish an Annual Compressive Financial Report (ACFR) and receive a Certificate in achievement in that program as well.

The PAFR report has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the PAFR. The board expressed its appreciation to Mahesh Sharma, county administrator; David Farmer, CPA, MPA director of budget and administrative services; Amanda Orr, ERP/ECM budget analyst; Deborah Dierkes, executive assistant; and all the staff for their work and professional guidance in helping the county to obtain this governmental honor.

The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving about 22,500 government finance professionals. The association produces a variety of technical publications in various fields of
governmental finance, and represents the public finance community in Chicago and Washington
D.C.