Newton, NC - For the 38th consecutive year, the City of Newton has been awarded the prestigious Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

The Newton Finance Department received the certificate from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the city’s annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022. The certificate is the highest form of recognition in the areas of governmental accounting and financial reporting. Attainment of the certificate represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management, according to GFOA.

“Winning a single Certificate of Achievement from the GFOA is quite an accomplishment; to earn this highest of honors for nearly 40 consecutive years is remarkable,” Newton Mayor Jerry T. Hodge said. “Making sound financial decisions is at the heart of so much of our work here at the City of Newton, and our community benefits from the city’s longstanding culture of financial transparency and full disclosure. I congratulate Newton’s finance professionals on this achievement and thank them for their capability and dedication.

“Our elected officials and the citizens we serve expect us to maintain the highest standards of accounting and financial reporting, and that’s exactly what we do,” Newton Finance Director Kimberley Robinson said. “I encourage anyone who is curious about how their tax dollars are spent to take a look at our reporting documents—we take pride in the level of financial transparency we maintain.”

The GFOA established the certificate program in 1945 to encourage and assist governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles. An impartial panel awards the certificate after determining a government meets GFOA standards and demonstrates a constructive spirit of full disclosure to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate people to read its annual financial report. Newton’s annual financial reports and other finance documents are available at www.newtonnc.gov/financialdocuments.

GFOA is a nonprofit professional association that serves more than 21,000 government finance professionals throughout the United States and Canada.