Thurston County recognized for 'excellence in financial reporting'

Thurston County recently received the “Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting” from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), announced County Manager Ramiro Chavez during the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) public meeting on Tuesday, May 16.

“This certificate of achievement is the highest form of recognition in government accounting and financial reporting,” said Chavez.

Chavez extended his gratitude and appreciation to the whole county and to Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall.

“It’s important to point out that there's a lot of effort and a lot of people involved in creating this report, it's not just the financial services staff but it's the budget staff and really all the financial folks in the county,” said Hall.

Hall added that the financial report of the county goes through a “rigorous” testing and validation before receiving the award.

“The county should be very proud of the reporting and the transparency that we have despite what our critics say,” Hall added.

According to the GFOA website, the program was created in 1945 to “encourage and help state and local governments go beyond the basic rules of accounting and create detailed financial reports that show transparency and full disclosure.”