Sept. 23, 2019

School District U-46’s Financial Operations Department will be honored with an “Accent on Achievement” during Monday night’s Board of Education meeting at the District’s Educational Services Center. The department recently earned two awards for producing clear and transparent financial reports.

The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) awarded the District with a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for Fiscal Year 2018 and a Meritorious Budget Award for Fiscal Year 2019.

“Members of our Financial Operations Department are committed to providing the community with a reader-friendly budget document and high-quality financial reports,” said Dr. Jeffrey King, Deputy Superintendent of Operations. “We want taxpayers, staff, and other interested parties to be able to easily follow how U-46 manages its public finances, and I’m proud of the hard work and attention to detail that goes into this effort.”

Development of the Annual Budget Book, which is a plan for the upcoming fiscal period, requires not only excellent accounting skills but deep collaboration among all District departments. At ASBO, a committee of professional accountants and government auditors judge the entries, thoroughly reviewing the material against best practices and standards before determining if a Meritorious Budget Award is warranted. 

The Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting is awarded to the District for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs), which must comply with accounting requirements established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. A CAFR contains the results of the prior year’s financial activities. A team of school finance professionals at ASBO review the submitted CAFRs and supporting documents to ensure they clearly communicate the governmental entity’s financial story.  

Dr. King, Financial Operations Director Dale Burnidge, and Financial Controller Robyn Cornelissen lead the department’s work on financial reports. The Board of Education will recognize the department with an “Accent on Achievement” certificate at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23 in room 140 at the Educational Services Center.