Pontiac, Michigan – Oakland County’s fiscal leadership remains strong in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has bestowed top honors for fiscal reporting on Oakland County for the 29th year in a row. The county earned the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for Fiscal Year 2019, which was published in 2020. The CAFR discloses the county’s finances in full detail to anyone who wants to review them, especially those who seek to invest in Oakland County.

“This year has been full of challenges and our Fiscal Services team has done a tremendous job, maintaining top notch services to taxpayers throughout the pandemic,” Oakland County Executive David Coulter said. “They facilitated the county’s use of federal CARES Act funds in our pandemic response while implementing a balanced budget, maintaining our AAA bond rating, and publishing the CAFR report at the beginning of the pandemic. This recognition from their government peers is well-deserved.”

Oakland County Fiscal Services Officer Lynn Sonkiss congratulated her team for their high-level of commitment throughout 2020.

“Compiling the CAFR each year requires a substantial amount of work and this award is one that we do not take for granted,” Sonkiss said. “All of our fiscal staff contributed to this significant effort.”

Fiscal Services staffer Carol Morin coordinated the CAFR document while employees Chen Tsai, Raleigh Parrott, Penny Cremer, Shannon Lee, and Dave Nelson ran reports or made other key contributions to the document.

The GFOA awards the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to governments to encourage and assist (them) to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal. To view the fiscal 2019 CAFR, click this link.