On January 28, 2022, the GFOA recently announced changes affecting the submission process for the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting award (COA). Beginning March 1, 2022, applications submitted to the COA will be required to be accompanied by a file (PDF or Excel) containing the calculations of net investment in capital assets reported on government-wide statements of net position for both governmental and business-type activities, as applicable. This is in addition to other application materials already required to be submitted.
Governments have the option to include, in that same uploaded file, their calculations of net investment in capital assets for other reporting units such as discretely presented component units or for some or all of their proprietary funds.
Why the change?
COA reviewers should ensure the calculation of net investment in capital assets is done correctly; however, many times information is not available in the annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR) to perform this recalculation. By providing the underlying calculation to reviewers, the GFOA hopes that the review process will be easier for both government applicants and the COA reviewers.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the COA process, contact Tara Laughlin using the information below.
Tara Laughlin
Senior Vice President
Assurance Services
Tara Laughlin, a public sector team audit vice president, focuses exclusively on serving governmental and not-for-profit entities. Her practice includes some of the largest local government entities in the central US.
Tara has earned the Certified Government Finance Manager credential from the Association of Government Accountants. She is an active member and presenter for the Government Finance Officers Association. She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants. Tara earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accountancy from Wichita State University.
NOTE: Any advice contained in this material is not intended or written to be tax advice, and cannot be relied upon as such, nor can it be used for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed by the IRS or states, or promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.