There are three main section in a CAFR
Comprehensive annual financial report
A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is a set of U.S. government financial statements comprising the financial report of a state, municipal or other governmental entity that complies with the accounting requirements promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. GASB provides standards for the content of a CAFR in its annually updated publication Codification o…
What is included in a local government financial report?
This is followed by the financial statements (both government-wide financial statements and fund financial statements); this information includes narratives written by various departments throughout the local government, explaining the data presented in the financial reports.
What is CAFR and why is it important?
As an investor in local government debt instruments, you might often hear the term ‘CAFR’ and its importance in maintaining financial transparency for local governments for financial markets and their investors.
What is a CAFR Transmittal Letter?
The transmittal letter is one of the legal requirements for the CAFR that typically includes the local government’s profile, provides an economic update on the local economy, lists any major initiatives undertaken by the local government and states that financial reports are management’s responsibility.
How is the CAFR audited?
In addition, an independent auditor audits the CAFR using GASB standards prior to their publication. The local and state governments produce many comprehensive documents and reports; however, the CAFR and the entity’s budget book are typically considered two of the most important documents.
What are the sections of a comprehensive financial report?
What is the financial section of a financial report?
What is the benefit of the financial section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report?
What is the statistical section of financial statements?
What is a comprehensive annual financial report?
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What are the components of a CAFR?
The CAFR consists of three sections: Introductory, Financial and Statistical. The Introductory section orients and guides the reader through the report. The Financial section presents the entity's basic financial statements as well as notes to the statements and the independent auditors' report.
What are the five required sections of a CAFR?
Contents of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)...The statistical section is divided into five categories of information, as follows:Financial Trends Information.Revenue Capacity Information.Debt Capacity Information.Demographic and Economic Information.Operating Information.
What are the major sections of the annual report?
Typically, an annual report will contain the following sections:General corporate information.Operating and financial highlights.Letter to the shareholders from the CEO.Narrative text, graphics, and photos.Management's discussion and analysis (MD&A)More items...
What is in the introductory section of CAFR?
Introductory section A key benefit to the CAFR is that the introductory section includes a letter of transmittal. Unlike the management's discussion and analysis, which is included in the financial section and contains specified required elements, the transmittal letter may contain subjective information.
Which of the following is one of the three sections of a comprehensive annual financial report?
The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report consists of three sections: Introductory, Financial and Statistical.
Which of the following sections of CAFR is audited?
Which of the following sections of the CAFR is/are audited? Financial section.
What are the 5 components of financial statements?
The 5 types of financial statements you need to knowIncome statement. Arguably the most important. ... Cash flow statement. ... Balance sheet. ... Note to Financial Statements. ... Statement of change in equity.
What are the four main financial statements What checks are there on the accuracy of these statements?
The financial statements present in the 10-K filing of a company include the balance sheet, statement of equity of the shareholders, statement of the cash flows, and the income statement. 2. To ensure the accuracy of the financial statements, they have to be audited by a neutral party.
What should annual report include?
Annual reports typically include financial statements, statements from the CEO and Board Chair, and key activities and accomplishments. Generally, annual reports are intended to offer a transparent view of an organisation's activities over the course of a financial year.
What is the purpose of the comprehensive annual financial report CAFR )?
The purpose of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is to provide accurate and meaningful information concerning the City's financial condition and performance.
What CAFR means?
The term comprehensive annual financial report was established in GAAP in 1979 by National Council on Governmental Accounting (NCGA) Statement 1, Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Principals.
Why was CAFR changed to Acfr?
Until now, the name applied to those reports was the comprehensive annual financial report. The name change was prompted by GASB stakeholders raising concerns that the acronym of the prior name of the report sounds like a profoundly offensive term when spoken.
What is required supplementary information on CAFR?
Required supplementary information (RSI) is financial information that a government entity is required to include in the financial section of its CAFR to meet the minimum reporting requirements.
What is included in required supplementary information?
Required supplementary information examples include: Management discussion and analysis (MD&A) for governments. Estimates of current or future costs of future major repairs and replacements for common interest realty associations.
What are the minimum requirements for general purpose external financial reports?
The minimum requirements for general purpose external financial reporting are (1) management's discussion and analysis (MD&A), (2) the basic financial statements, including the notes to the financial statements, and (3) combining and individual fund financial statements.
What is the purpose of the comprehensive annual financial report CAFR )?
The purpose of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is to provide accurate and meaningful information concerning the City's financial condition and performance.
Are Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports Useless?
For all their charts and graphs, CAFRs don’t tell public officials -- or the public -- anything about fiscal sustainability or whether a locality’s finances might be trending south.
Benefits of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | LaPorte
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) reports that 4,231 organizations received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting in 2016.
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Purpose of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report | Bizfluent
A comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) is required by law for many state and local governments, and they must submit it at the end of every fiscal year. Other governments may do so voluntarily. The purpose is to provide transparency and a detailed explanation for all financial actions.
CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports - Want to know
CAFR Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports Government's Best Kept Financial Secret. Dear friends, The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is a very little known, yet detailed presentation of a governmental entity's financial condition.The CAFR is also one of government's best kept financial secrets.
What are the sections of a comprehensive financial report?
A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report has three main sections: introductory, financial and statistical. The Introductory Section includes letters of transmittal that give management the opportunity to discuss what the entity has done and plans that will have an effect on the future.
What is the financial section of a financial report?
The Financial Section includes the Independent Auditor’s Report, Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), Basic Financial Statements, Required Supplementary Information and other Supplementary Information. The MD & A is another opportunity to discuss performance but it is more restrictive than a transmittal letter and must contain specified required information. A benefit of the financial section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is the opportunity for management to present expanded fund level financial statements and increased information on budgetary performance beyond what is required in a basic financial statement audit.
What is the benefit of the financial section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report?
A benefit of the financial section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is the opportunity for management to present expanded fund level financial statements and increased information on budgetary performance beyond what is required in a basic financial statement audit.
What is the statistical section of financial statements?
Lastly, the Statistical Section gives context about financial trends, revenue capacity, debt capacity, demographic and economic information and operating information. This allows readers of the financial statements to assess economic condition over time.
What is a comprehensive annual financial report?
What is a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and what are the benefits of preparing one? Preparing a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report allows the unit of government to participate in the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA's) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting program joining over 4,200 other government (about 4% of all governments in America). This program is most beneficial to entities that already, or soon will be, required to report financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in order to issue debt, have a continuing disclosure requirement for audited financial statements and/or receive an audit each year.
What is included in the government financial statements?
A) The government-wide financial statements include a Statement of Net Position and a Statement of Activities, but not a Statement of Cash Flows.
When are fiduciary activities reported?
A) Fiduciary activities are only reported if they qualify as a major fund.
What are fiduciary fund financial statements?
B) Both Fiduciary fund financial statements include the Statement of Fiduciary Net Position, the Statement of Changes in Fiduciary Net Position, and the Statement of Cash Flows prepared using the direct method; and fiduciary fund financial statements are prepared on the current financial resources measurement focus and modified accrual accounting are true.
What is GASB in financial reporting?
GASB provides guidance for determining when a primary government should include a legally separate organization in its financial report. What would be required for the primary government to include the related entity in its financial reports?
What is a budget comparison schedule?
A) The Budgetary Comparison Schedule compares the actual results to both the original budget and the final budget, but display of variances is optional.
Do government financial statements have to be presented prior to year?
C) The government-wide financial statements are not required to present prior-year data.
Does the government-wide statement include a statement of net position?
C) Nei ther The government-wide statements include a Statement of Net Position and a Statement of Activities nor The governmental activities portion of the government-wide statements is prepared using the current financial resources measurement focus and modified accrual basis of accounting.
What is the introduction section of a CAFR?
The introduction section primarily guides a reader through the report with a table of contents for various sections and often includes a transmittal letter from the entity executive. The transmittal letter is one of the legal requirements for the CAFR that typically includes the local government’s profile, provides an economic update on the local economy, lists any major initiatives undertaken by the local government and states that financial reports are management’s responsibility.
What is CAFR report?
As the name suggests, a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report ( CAFR) is a set of financial reports produced by local governments, states and other entities to comply with the reporting rules set by Government Accounting Standards Board ( GASB ).
What is CAFR information?
In the statistical section of the CAFR, there is pertinent information about the local government’s debt capacity, essentially highlighting how much debt the government can prudently afford.
What is CAFR in finance?
As the name suggests, a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report ( CAFR) is a set of financial reports produced by local governments, states and other entities to comply with the reporting rules set by Government Accounting Standards Board ( GASB ). GASB also serves as the oversight board to ensure compliance and communicate any new updates or changes to reporting methods. In addition, an independent auditor audits the CAFR using GASB standards prior to their publication. The local and state governments produce many comprehensive documents and reports; however, the CAFR and the entity’s budget book are typically considered two of the most important documents. Where the budget is a forward-looking document that plans for the future fiscal year and shows how the revenues will be allocated, the CAFR shows the actual numbers of financial activities for the previous fiscal year. In this article, we will take a closer look at different sections of the CAFR and how investors can find information pertinent to their investments in a particular local government’s CAFR.
Why is CAFR important?
CAFR is one of the most important documents for any local or state government to establish financial transparency and establish credibility with its creditors and oversight agencies. As seen in the case of Manassas Park, VA, the inability to produce a CAFR in a timely manner can lead to rating suspensions or downgrades – which would totally limit a government’s ability to access capital markets to fund any future projects and can have serious negative impacts on outstanding debt. For any local government debt investors, CAFR is certainly a great place to start your research on the financial standing and actual revenue and expenditure numbers.
What is debt capacity schedule?
Debt Capacity schedules present information to help the reader assess the affordability of the local government’s current levels of outstanding debt, and the state’s ability to issue additional debt in the future.
What is CAFR in budget book?
As mentioned above, a CAFR is a set of financial statements that presents a wide variety of information needed for readers to understand the true financial picture of a local government’s finances and how they compared to the financial data (both revenue and expenditures) projected in the budget book. There are three main section in a CAFR book: introduction, financial section and statistical section.
What is CAFR report?
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) 1 The Introductory Section includes a transmittal letter, the County's organizational chart, and the list of government officials. 2 The Financial Section includes the general purpose financial statements and the combining and individual fund and account group financial statements and schedules, as well as the independent auditors' report and the Management's Discussion and Analysis. 3 The Statistical Section, which is unaudited, includes selected financial and demographic information, generally presented on a multi-year basis.
What is statistical section?
The Statistical Section, which is unaudited, includes selected financial and demographic information, generally presented on a multi-year basis.
What is the intro section?
The Introductory Section includes a transmittal letter, the County's organizational chart, and the list of government officials.
Is Pitt County's financial statement accurate?
Absent any unauthorized act that deletes, edits or manipulates the words or data in the financial reports and statements, such financial reports and statements are accurate as of their date. By accessing the financial reports and statement, you agree to and acknowledge your understanding of this disclaimer.
What are the sections of a comprehensive financial report?
A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report has three main sections: introductory, financial and statistical. The Introductory Section includes letters of transmittal that give management the opportunity to discuss what the entity has done and plans that will have an effect on the future.
What is the financial section of a financial report?
The Financial Section includes the Independent Auditor’s Report, Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), Basic Financial Statements, Required Supplementary Information and other Supplementary Information. The MD & A is another opportunity to discuss performance but it is more restrictive than a transmittal letter and must contain specified required information. A benefit of the financial section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is the opportunity for management to present expanded fund level financial statements and increased information on budgetary performance beyond what is required in a basic financial statement audit.
What is the benefit of the financial section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report?
A benefit of the financial section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is the opportunity for management to present expanded fund level financial statements and increased information on budgetary performance beyond what is required in a basic financial statement audit.
What is the statistical section of financial statements?
Lastly, the Statistical Section gives context about financial trends, revenue capacity, debt capacity, demographic and economic information and operating information. This allows readers of the financial statements to assess economic condition over time.
What is a comprehensive annual financial report?
What is a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and what are the benefits of preparing one? Preparing a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report allows the unit of government to participate in the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA's) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting program joining over 4,200 other government (about 4% of all governments in America). This program is most beneficial to entities that already, or soon will be, required to report financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in order to issue debt, have a continuing disclosure requirement for audited financial statements and/or receive an audit each year.