State law requires the Village to publish financial statements presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards by a firm of licensed certified public accountants. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the independent organization that establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments that follow GAAP. Pursuant to this requirement, the Village issues an Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) each year by October 31.

The ACFR contains an abundance of information about the Village with a focus on the financial activities for the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) and the Village's financial position at the end of the fiscal year as of June 30. In addition to financial information, the ACFR provides key demographic and economic statistical data along with operational data that helps a reader assess the services the Village provides and activities we perform. 

If you are not familiar with governmental financial reports, the GASB issued a white paper entitled "Why Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Is - and Should Be - Different" that is very helpful in understanding why our ACFR is what it is. The different needs and concerns of stakeholders and users of financial statements drive the reason governmental financial reports are different from for-profit businesses. Accountability is the cornerstone on which governmental financial reporting is built and the ACFR is one way we fulfill our citizens' right to know how their tax dollars were spent. You can access the GASB's white paper on their website www.gasb.org under the Reference Library.

The Village's ACFR is also prepared to meet the requirements of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting program, which it has earned for over 30 consecutive years. The GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program to encourage and assist state and local governments 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 recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal.