Popular Reporting for Small Governments

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Popular Reporting for Small Governments

• Presented by
• Donna Collins
• Milestone Professional Services

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What is a Popular Report?

• Annual Financial Report designed to meet the
  needs of a broader audience than traditional
  financial reporting
• Citizens
• Other interested parties
• Does not replace the CAFR
• May be a separate report or part of a larger
  document with financial and non-financial
  information

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What is a Popular Report? cont.

• Does not have to be prepared on a GAAP basis
• Designed to supplement traditional financial
  reporting
• Recognized for excellence by the GFOA- Award for
  Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual
  Financial Reporting

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Why prepare a PAFR?

• Great opportunity to interpret your CAFR for
  your citizens and news media
• Rules and requirements are very flexible
• Most of the information is already available as a
  result of the audit process and can be prepared
  in conjunction with your annual financial report

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Guidelines for Preparing a PAFR

• Determine an appropriate perspective
• Provide useful analysis, not merely disclosure
• Be objective
• Prepare a user friendly document
• Develop a distribution plan

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Determine an appropriate perspective

• Identify your target audience
• Know what information your citizens want what
  are the hot topics in your community
• Dont try to please everyone
• Sophistication of presentation depends on
  intended readers
• Education, interests and involvement in local
  government

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Determine an appropriate perspective cont.

• Define clear objectives for the report
• Know the message you are trying to communicate
• Focus on key financial data, accomplishments and
  initiatives that communicate this message
• If there are issues within your community
  consider this forum to address them

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Provide useful analysis

• Focus on the key questions
• Address whether publicized plans turned out as
  expected and whether any new projects were
  implemented
• Address significant changes in key policies or
  programs
• Remember that trend analysis should be focused on
  the impact on future tax rates, utility rates
  charged and levels of service

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Be Objective

• Popular Reports are subject to bias
• Documents lack full disclosure
• Provide true accountability - not just a public
  relations package
• Balance is crucial to effective communication
• Discuss favorable trends
• Also acknowledge and address problems

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Prepare a user friendly document

• Keep it short
• Use journalistic style of writing
• Include pictures, graphs and charts
• Vary the layout
• Simplify the financial information presented
• Ensure report topics flow and message is
  consistent throughout the document

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Develop a distribution plan

• Identify locations where the Popular Report can
  be placed or distributed
• Make use of speaking engagements of elected
  officials to distribute the PAFR
• Consider the impact of the news media
• Place report on your website

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What to include

• Most common items
• Letter from the mayor or county administrator
• Analysis of general fund activity
• Analysis of major utility activity
• Summary of Statement of Net Assets and Statement
  of Activities

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What to include cont.

• Other great ideas
• Capital Improvement Plans
• Future Initiatives and their funding
• Analysis of other items of interest such as large
  grants or donations

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GFOA Award Program

• Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular
  Annual Financial Reporting

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Award Program - Eligibility Requirements

• Must prepare CAFR
• CAFR must have been awarded a Certificate of
  Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting
  for most recent year submitted or ultimately be
  received for current year CAFR
• Any questions regarding eligibility are
  determined by GFOA Technical Services Center

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Award Program Report Requirements

• PAFR must be received by GFOA within 6 months of
  the fiscal year end
• Deadline is not formally extended on regular
  basis however, one-time thirty day extension may
  be granted under certain circumstances. (Must be
  approved in advance and cannot be granted for
  succeeding years.)

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Award Program Report Requirements cont.

• Report must advise readers of the availability of
  the CAFR
• Financial information should be derived from the
  actual GAAP data in the CAFR
• Financial information should have same
  measurement focus as CAFR although presentation
  may be different

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Award Program Report Requirements cont.

• Popular Report may include only selected funds or
  component units but this must be disclosed
• Some form of narrative or graphic analysis for
  items of significant interest or concern is
  required
• May not reproduce Certificate from CAFR program
  within the popular report

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Award Program Report Requirements cont.

• Application must be completed
• Fees apply

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Awards Program Review Process

• Each PAFR is evaluated by four judges
• Judges may not evaluate Popular Reports for
  governments located in their state of residency
• PAFR judges must certify their independence in
  both fact and appearance
• CPA firms may not have members that review a PAFR
  for which they served as the auditor

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Awards Program Review Process cont.

• Each judge completes an evaluation form broken
  down into five categories that carry varying
  weights of importance towards the final grade
• Reader appeal - 10
• Understandability - 25
• Distribution methods - 7.5
• Other (creativity, etc) - 7.5
• General quality and usefulness 50

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Reader Appeal

• Report is short enough to maintain interest
• Format is logical and easy to understand
• Typography is easy to read and appealing to
  readers
• Photographs, charts, graphics or other artwork
  enhance the reports appeal

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Understandability

• Avoids jargon and technical language
• Appropriate graphics are used to enhance
  financial data presented
• Narrative explains financial data and highlights
  significant items of interest
• Report helps users to understand financial data
  in proper context
• Potential for misinterpreting information is
  minimized

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Distribution Methods

• Number of reports distributed is appropriate for
  target audience
• Mode of distribution is appropriate for target
  audience

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Other

• Report is notable achievement for government of
  this type and size
• Report is innovative or creative in form or
  content
• Report is useful to users of entitys services
• Report makes the government more attractive to
  interested parties (e.g. new businesses)

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Awards Program Review Process cont.

• Remaining 50 is based on overall quality and
  usefulness of the report, taking into
  consideration the four previous categories
• Each category is ranked on a scale of 1-5 with 1
  being poor and 5 considered excellent
• All responses of 1,2 or 3 require written
  comments from the judge

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Awards Program Review Process cont.

• TSC staff calculate the weighted average score
  from each reviewer. The lowest score is thrown
  out. The remaining scores must be 75 or higher
  for the report to be eligible for the award.

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Awards Program Review Process cont.

• If the average score falls between 70-74.99, the
  report is subjected to review by TSC staff. This
  reviewers score replaces the lowest of the
  previous three scores and a new average is
  calculated. An average score of 75 makes the
  report eligible for the awards program.

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Awards Program Review Process cont.

• TSC staff compile all written comments offered by
  each of the four judges where a 3 or less was
  given and edit for consistency and adherence to
  PAFR program policies. These are provided to the
  report preparers as suggestions for improvement.

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2006 Award Winners

• In 2006, of the Popular Reports that were
  submitted, 160 of these received the Award for
  Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual
  Financial Reporting
• Included in this list were only 13 entities from
  Florida

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2006 Award Winners cont.

• Alachua County
• City of Gainesville
• City of Miami
• City of Miami Springs
• Hillsborough County
• Manatee County
• Polk County
• Putnam County

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2006 Award Winners cont

• Highlands County
• City of Maitland
• Palm Beach County
• Town of Palm Beach
• Pinellas County

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2006 Award Winners cont.

• Picture your government on this list!

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Questions?